FEBRUARY 2024 GARDEN BIRDS

I have at last unearthed my bird lists from February – it can be problematic when a change of notebook coincides with leaving home! The weather has been too hot to spend much time sitting outside, even in the shade, and so I have rather neglected watching the avian visitors to my garden. It has nonetheless been very pleasing to see Red-necked Spurfowl visiting the garden with chicks in tow. They are shy birds though and make a dash for cover at the slightest sign of what they perceive as danger.

Equally pleasing are the frequent visits by a pair of African Hoopoes that probe the lawn for something to eat. My eldest granddaughter embroidered this for me.

African Green Pigeons chuckle intermittently most days from within the leafy protection of the Natal fig tree.

Of course, the many Laughing Doves cheer the garden daily with their calls. A pair of Black-headed Orioles call from the tree tops and visit the feeders during the early mornings and again late in the evenings.

Very sadly, the Lesser-striped Swallows had no success breeding in our garden: their beautifully shaped mud nest fell down at the stage when the birds were beginning to line it with feathers. They just seemed to give up after that.

Cattle egrets are attracted by the presence of the Urban Herd. They are occasionally actually seen in the garden or perch in the fig tree. Mostly though I enjoy watching them flying overhead at the end of each day.

While most of the cuckoos have either left or fallen silent, I have been hearing the distinctive calls of a black cuckoo – not an easy bird to spot in our forest-like garden. One of the other two new visitors this month is an African Harrier Hawk (still fondly known by its previous name, Gymnogene) that has twice perched in the Erythrina trees in our back garden and once in the Natal fig tree. The very attractive Grey-headed Bush Shrike has made a brief appearance several times – only perching out in the open when I don’t have my camera at hand! In fact, it has not been a good month for taking photographs at all, so I have illustrated this post with pictures from my archives.

My bird list for this month:
African Darter
African Green Pigeon
African Harrier Hawk
African Hoopoe
Barthroated Apalis
Black Cuckoo
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bronze Manikin
Burchell’s Coucal
Cape Crow
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Turtle Dove
Cardinal Woodpecker
Cattle Egret
Common Fiscal
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Bush Shrike
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Knysna Turaco
Lanner Falcon
Laughing Dove
Lesser-striped Swallow
Olive Thrush
Paradise Flycatcher
Pied Crow
Red-eyed Dove
Red-necked Spurfowl
Red-winged Starling
Sacred Ibis
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Village Weaver
White-rumped Swift
Yellow-fronted Canary

OCTOBER 2023 GARDEN BIRDS

Note that as I spent the first two weeks of October in Hout Bay, the list below reflects only half of the month’s potential bird viewing.

We are woken ever earlier by the Hadeda Ibises ruffing their feathers and calling to their companions perched in trees all around the neighbourhood: half an hour before sunrise is when the first of their loud greetings can be heard!

Welcome newcomers to the garden this month are the Pin-tailed Whydahs. This is what the female looks like:

The male is showier and dances around above or near the female – or chases other birds away – before swooping down to eat seeds on the ground. I have never seen them eating from the hanging feeders. Note the long tail feathers of the male:

Even though there are no figs for feasting on, the African Green Pigeons obviously feel comfortable perching in the large tree both during the hottest part of the day and at night; their chuckling noises are comforting sounds. Much shriller calls come from the Fork-tailed Drongos, which call to each other or fly across the garden – often catching insects in mid-flight. Then, of course, I must mention the ever-present Laughing Doves. There is a lot of wooing going on among them and their gentle laughing noises are a pleasure to hear on these warm afternoons.

The Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbuls increased in number and frequency during the course of the month. They mostly aim for the fruit I put out, yet are not above tasting anything else that might be on offer:

A pair of Black-headed Orioles are also delightful visitors – and beg for photographs to be taken of their handsome livery! Although they mostly eat fruit, I often see them eating tiny bits of meat as well:

I cannot resist photographing the Bronze Manikins that flutter down from the branches like falling leaves or cluster around the hanging feeder until there literally is not space for another body:

A most welcome new visitor has been the Cape Wagtail bobbing around the edge of the swimming pool or picking its way through the blades of grass on the lawn. Some Common Starlings have inspected the feeding trays, paying very fleeting visits each time. Also staying for a short time are small flocks of Green Woodhoopoes that chuckle their way from the back garden around to the front as they inspect loose bark on the trees for food. There was an even briefer visit from a Red-chested Cuckoo (Piet-my-Vrou) which perched in one of the tall trees very early one morning, called out gustily – and left. A lone Jackal Buzzard swooped over the garden a few times one day – you could have heard a feather fall as all of the birds hid in the foliage as soon as it appeared overhead and made not a sound.

It feels good to have the Streakyheaded Seedeaters back once more. They appear to be bolder than before and are not above chasing weavers away when they wish to partake of the seeds on offer.

My bird list for this month:

African Green Pigeon
African Hoopoe
Barthroated Apalis
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bronze Manikin
Cape Crow
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Turtle Dove
Cape Wagtail
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Common Fiscal
Common Starling
Diederik Cuckoo
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Jackal Buzzard
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Laughing Dove
Lesser-striped Swallow
Olive Thrush
Pin-tailed Whydah
Red-chested Cuckoo
Red-eyed Dove
Red-throated Wryneck
Red-winged Starling
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Village Weaver
White-rumped Swift

MAY 2023 GARDEN BIRDS

This is probably the shortest bird list I have published here before: I have been away a lot this month and even while at home have been buried in the red tape of applying for visas for our forthcoming trip to visit our children living abroad …

Red-winged Starlings have continued to dominate the garden as the crop of Natal figs have kept them busy. I love watching the sun catching the russet parts of their wings when they fly over the garden. This one is perched on the top of the Erythrina caffra, which has now lost most of its leaves and will soon be covered with scarlet flowers.

Every bird report includes the Laughing Doves because they always seem to be around. On our return from spending nearly a week in the Western Cape though – and no food provided for them in the interim – they took a day or two to return to being their gutsy selves.

The African Green Pigeons have also enjoyed the figs and as these came to an end, so has their presence. They have doubtless found another source of food somewhere within the town.

I hear Black-collared Barbets often, but have seen little of them this month. I suspect they are still wary of the cats next door. Having said that, I am thrilled to see a pair of Cape Robin-chats gradually becoming bolder. The other day I put out a block of cheese and spent several joyful minutes enjoying watching them coming out of the shrubbery to feast on it.

Two Black-headed Orioles also took turns to feast on the cheese.

Olive Thrushes muscled their way in too and frequently chased the other birds away.

A pair of Fork-tailed Drongos mainly swoop around the back garden, favouring a different Erythrina caffra to perch in.

Advance warning: I will be away for most of June and July, so those bird lists will be both very late and very short and I will be very quiet until my return.

My bird list for this month:

Red-winged Starling
African Green Pigeon
Black-collared Barbet
Blackeyed Bulbul
Blackheaded Oriole
Bokmakierie
Bronze Manikin
Cape Robin-chat
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Common Starling
Common Fiscal
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Greyheaded Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Knysna Turaco
Laughing Dove
Olive Thrush
Pied Crow
Redeyed Dove
Rednecked Spurfowl
Sombre Bulbul
Speckled Pigeon
Village Weaver

FEBRUARY 2023 GARDEN BIRDS

Another month has flown by in a flurry of activity, leaving little time for photographing avian visitors to our garden – never mind being able to enjoy watching them without the nagging thought that I ought to be doing something else. The real problem – and partly why this post is late – lies with the long bouts sans power that we endure every day. This means one rushes around doing what needs electricity to be done when there is power and catching up with all sorts of other things when there is not. Thank goodness for the birds though: they are always there – seen or heard – to provide some respite from this mad rush.

There have not been as many weavers around as we usually see at this time of the year and of these, Southern Masked Weavers have been dominant. Red-eyed Doves too have been heard –usually early in the morning and during the late afternoon – more than seen. Redwinged Starlings are gathering in ever larger groups now and make various flypasts during the day – one hears them before seeing them whizz by. There will always be an abundance of Laughing Doves attracted by the seeds I put out daily and I am very pleased to note the return of Fork-tailed Drongos. Other welcome returnees this month include the Barthroated Apalis – its cheerful chirps can be heard throughout the day, Fierynecked Nightjars – lovely to hear them at night, and a few fleeting visits from a pair of Yellow-fronted Canaries.

It is always pleasing to actually spot an African Green Pigeon. This one was perched on the branch of the Tipuana tree early one morning:

The presence of Rednecked Spurfowls make me feel as though I have woken up in a game reserve! This small family makes regular forays onto our front lawn and from there to the seed that has fallen under the feeders next to the swimming pool. I have seen them in the back garden too and so have taken to scattering crushed mealies there every now and then. This one is looking up at me in surprise:

Bronze Manikins never fail to amuse the way they huddle close together on the feeders – there always seems to room for one more – and yet, they too, sometimes peck each other or biff one out of the way in order to get to the food:

Most gratifying this month has been the fairly regular sightings of a young Cape Robin-chat. It was very shy at first, but has become bolder in its search for food. Here it is perched on the edge of the bird bath:

A significant problem we have to deal with during these long periods sans power is that perishables, such as cheese, do not last as long as they ought to – even in the fridge. Here Spotty, the Common Fiscal, looks as though he is biting off more than he can chew:

Even though I featured a Blackheaded Oriole last month too, I cannot resist including this view of one perched on the trunk of a Cussonia (cabbage tree) next to the swimming pool:

My bird list for this month:
African Green Pigeon
Barthroated Apalis
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bokmakierie
Bronze Manikin
Cape Crow
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Common Fiscal
Fiery-necked Nightjar
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Knysna Turaco
Laughing Dove
Lesser-striped Swallow
Olive Thrush
Paradise Flycatcher
Pied Crow
Red-eyed Dove
Rednecked Spurfowl
Red-winged Starling
Sacred Ibis
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Village Weaver
White-rumped Swift
Yellow-fronted Canary

WHAT CAMERA ARE YOU USING?

I have always wanted a camera. From a very young age I have conjured up the photographs I would have liked to take by framing them with my fingers. My eldest brother had a Brownie Box Camera and developed the black and white photographs (we didn’t think of them being monochrome then) himself. What magic it was to see the pictures emerging and then being hung up to dry!

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic. It was compact enough to fit into my rucksack when we hiked in the Natal Drakensberg and it was robust enough to survive a number of falls. During the 1970s we mostly used slide film – what an expensive business. One could reduce the cost by mounting one’s own slides if one could cut straight and had sufficient patience.

I recall wonderful evenings at university when members of the Mountain Club would gather in a lecture theatre to share their slides of the various outings we had been on. It was great fun seeing these on a large screen. Some years later, we would hold family slideshows, which were also fun for everyone.

I was sans a camera for years until I received a Konica SLR as a gift. By then slides were no longer an option and so, with a growing young family, taking colour prints made sense. I have filled albums with the antics of our children. This was also an expensive undertaking, however, as one paid for the duds too (oh, so many of them!).

Along came the wonder of digital photography. The magic of this made my fingers itch to record so many aspects of nature. My children had grown up and were leading their own lives away from home when I became the proud owner of a Sony DSLR. Still stuck in the mode of having to pay for developing and so on, my first forays into digital photography were very conservative: I would take perhaps twenty photographs on an outing – now I take hundreds!

One afternoon I was sitting on a bench at the Berg-en-Dal rest camp in the Kruger National Park when a bearded man stalked past me without making eye contact. I was still cradling my camera in my lap on his return along the path. This time he paused to ask me to identify a particular bird call. “It’s a Black-headed Oriole” I replied with a smile for I had been watching it flit from tree to tree. He took this as a cue to tell me about his camera, a Pentax with the same range as my Sony. He told me he had taken some lovely photographs of birds.

“They must be good,” he informed me because his brother-in-law “who is a ‘real birder’ often admires them.” He gave me a rundown of the specs of his camera and told me proudly that it ‘only cost’ what he regarded as a reasonable sum. “It is probably more versatile than the long lenses I see poking out of windows everywhere”, he assured me.

On that note, I must relate my experience with long lenses. If you want to see a collection of enormous lenses in the wild, visit the bird hide at Lake Panic near Skukuza – also in the Kruger National Park. On one of the earliest times I entered there I almost felt like hiding away the camera I was so proud of: it was minute in comparison with the canon balanced on the ledge by the camouflage-kitted photographer sitting next to me.

I sat quietly for some time, observing the birds and the terrapins, while listening to the whirrs and clicks all around me. My camera was way outclassed! Nonetheless, it was inevitable that I would also want to photograph the Grey Herons feeding their chicks. Then the terrapins sunning themselves on a rock drew my attention. A Giant Kingfisher perched on a branch well above my head … I extended my telephoto lens and clicked self-consciously. At some stage I murmured something self-deprecating to my canon-wielding neighbour. He turned to me with a twinkle in his eye.

“I am focused on the herons and that is all I can photograph at the moment. I cannot move this lens in a flash to catch the kingfisher as you have just done.” He explained that he had moved ‘up the ranks’ of cameras and lenses until he had reached a point of specialisation. “I have thousands of photographs,” he smiled. “Now that I can afford a lens like this I want ‘special’ photographs – something out of the ordinary; something ‘different’.”

In due course I became dissatisfied with the quality of the bird photographs I was taking. My Sony retired when I did and I now have a Canon 200D with a Tamron lens. It is still a ‘smallish’ camera that has a little better ‘reach’ and provides me with enormous pleasure – as does the camera on my cell phone!