MAY 2025 GARDEN BIRDS

I spent part of May in the Western Cape, entertained visitors, and was so plagued by my arthritic knee that I didn’t spend nearly as much time outdoors as I usually do. This month’s bird list is thus probably the shortest I have ever posted.

The Hadeda Ibises cannot be ignored, whether or not one goes outdoors, for they make their presence felt from well before sunrise! Much more pleasing to the ear are the melodious calls of the Black-headed Orioles that fill the garden soon after dawn:

We continue to provide cheese for the Fork-tailed Drongos that wait outside the kitchen as soon as we emerge outdoors. Also enjoying the cheese – if they manage to get some – are the Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbuls:

I think it may be a little early to hear the slow mournful calls of the Black Cuckoo and yet these sad sounds have filtered through the garden. The loud contact calls of the male Southern Boubou are more cheerful to listen to by far. Now the rasping calls of the Knysna Turaco are far from pretty, yet the bird itself is a wonder to see:

There have been many Red-winged Starlings about too. You can see one of them on our roof with a fig in its beak:

My bird list for this month:

African Green Pigeon
Black Cuckoo
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Cattle Egret
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Hadeda Ibis
Knysna Turaco
Laughing Dove
Red-eyed Dove
Red-winged Starling
Southern Boubou

APRIL 2025 GARDEN BIRDS

This year has been a rather topsy-turvy one during which I have dipped through periods of either not having the time, and sometimes not the will, to maintain my traditional monthly bird blog. Some readers have missed it, while others probably haven’t really noticed its absence. I haven’t stopped both watching and recording birds visiting our garden though and so have at last opened my notebook to April.

One can be guaranteed to be woken up about twenty minutes before sunrise by the Hadeda Ibises that perch overnight in the Natal fig in our front garden and in the Erythrina tree in the back garden – as shown in the photograph below. There is no need to check the clock as their loud greetings rent the still morning air and replies from other hadedas lower down in the valley come echoing back – only to set off another round of raucous conversation.

A pair of Black-headed Orioles also call to each other from very early in the morning as well as throughout the day. They regularly visit the feeders to see what kind of food is available – it is a pleasure looking at their handsome yellow and black livery and bright orange beaks. I have written before of the pair of Fork-tailed Drongos that have taken to sitting outside the kitchen as soon as they become aware of us being up and wait – none too quietly – until I toss up small blocks of cheese for them.

The flocks of African Green Pigeons visiting the fruiting Natal Fig have been a delight to listen to – and especially to see on the odd occasions when they emerge from the thick foliage!

The Yellow-fronted Canaries choose to visit the feeder once the main rush of birds is over and they can eat the seeds in peace.

Small birds such as these, and the Bronze Manikins shown below, are always a joy to see in the garden.

Our garden simply wouldn’t be the same without the peaceful burbling sounds of the Laughing Doves.

My bird list for this month:

African Green Pigeon
Barthroated Apalis
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bronze Manikin
Cape Crow
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Bush Shrike
Hadeda Ibis
Laughing Dove
Olive Thrush
Red-eyed Dove
Red-winged Starling
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Thick-billed Weaver
White-rumped Swift
Yellow-fronted Canary

FEBRUARY 2025 GARDEN BIRDS

You are not seeing things: I published the March list before this one as I couldn’t find the right notebook! So many other activities demanded my attention that there was little time to devote to watching birds. Two new ones on my list this month are the African Darter – several have flown over the garden during the late afternoons – and a Black-backed Puffback, which I happened to spot through my study window.

This Pintailed Whydah was a regular visitor – see his beautifully long tail:

I often think Greyheaded Sparrows deserve more attention than they get, for they are subtly rather attractive birds:

Apples are a sure drawcard for Blackeyed (Dark-capped) Bulbuls:

This is one of a pair of Forktailed Drongos that regularly calls at the kitchen door for cheese:

Black-collared Barbets have been heard more often than I have seen them, although they too enjoy venturing down for a bite of fruit:

My bird list for this month:

African Darter
African Green Pigeon
African Hoopoe
Barthroated Apalis
Black-backed Puffback
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bronze Manikin
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Common Fiscal
Diederik Cuckoo
Fork-tailed Drongo
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Knysna Turaco
Laughing Dove
Lesser-striped Swallow
Olive Thrush
Pintailed Whydah
Red-eyed Dove
Sacred Ibis
Southern Boubou
Streaky-headed Seedeater
White-rumped Swift

MARCH 2025 GARDEN BIRDS

As this hasn’t been a good month for me to spend time watching birds – let alone photographing them – in my garden, I am actually surprised to find how many I have noted! Comparing this month with last March, I am aware that both the Black Cuckoo and Klaas’s Cuckoo were around later this year. On some of the warmer nights we could hear the calls of a Fierynecked Nightjar – which we didn’t last March. Also, the Redwinged Starlings have arrived en masse earlier: there are plenty of berries around, fruiting earlier, which must be attracting them.

Here are some of the birds I photographed:

It has been fun watching the Bronze Mannikins ‘swarm’ around the feeders. This shows two of the youngsters:

I enjoy watching the Sacred Ibises flying over the garden in the late afternoon as they head for their roosting spots in the CBD. This one was seen earlier in the day:

Hadeda Ibises roost both in our large fig tree in the front garden and the Erythrina trees in the back garden. These ones came n shortly after sunset and had momentarily settled on a branch before finding their perches for the night:

Yellow-fronted Canaries have been very welcome visitors:

African Green Pigeons are being attracted to the garden by the young fruits of the fig tree:

My bird list for this month:

African Green Pigeon
African Hoopoe
African Sacred Ibis
Barthroated Apalis
Black-collared Barbet
Black Cuckoo
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bronze Manikin
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Common Fiscal
Fierynecked Nightjar
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Grey-headed Bush Shrike
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Klaas’ Cuckoo
Knysna Turaco
Laughing Dove
Lesser-striped Swallow
Olive Thrush
Pied Crow
Red-eyed Dove
Redwinged Starling
Southern Boubou
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Village Weaver
White-rumped Swift
Yellow-fronted Canary

 

JANUARY 2025 GARDEN BIRDS

It is interesting to compare last January with this one: I noted exactly 46 different bird species visiting our garden both times! I think, then, that it will be interesting to compare my lists for the two months to note any differences: eight birds did not appear while eight new ones took their place. These include some beautiful views of an African Marsh Harrier flying very low over the garden; the Black Cuckoo making itself heard earlier in the month; a Cuckoo-shrike early in the month; Common Starlings have popped in throughout the month along with their youngsters – their beaks are no longer yellow; a Grey-headed Bush Shrike is so beautiful yet almost impossible to photograph! I am delighted to have spotted several Pearl-breasted Swallows swooping overhead and later several of them perched on the wires along the street behind our house. Only one Pin-tailed Whydah has visited us at a time and I am pleased to note that a pair of Southern Boubous have become regular visitors this month.

I love hearing the Green Woodhoopoes in our garden as they cackle their way through the bark of the trees as well the dry leaves of the aloes looking for food:

The Olive Thrushes have a wise look about them, I think, and have been successful rearing at least two youngsters that I have seen:

Don’t you like this back-head view of this pair of Streaky-headed Seedeaters?

The Yellow-fronted Canaries tend to visit the feeders late in the afternoons once the main rush of birds is over:

The last of my pictures shows a smart looking Black-eyed (dark-capped) Bulbul tucking into an apple:

My bird list for this month:

African Green Pigeon
African Hoopoe
African Marsh Harrier
Amethyst Sunbird
Barthroated Apalis
Black-collared Barbet
Black Cuckoo
Black Cuckoo-shrike
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bronze Manikin
Cape Crow
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Common Fiscal
Common Starling
Diederik Cuckoo
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Bush Shrike
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Knysna Turaco
Laughing Dove
Lesser-striped Swallow
Olive Thrush
Paradise Flycatcher
Pearlbreasted Swallow
Pied Crow
Pintailed Whydah
Red-eyed Dove
Red-winged Starling
Sacred Ibis
Southern Boubou
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Village Weaver
White-rumped Swift
Yellow-fronted Canary
Yellow Weaver