APRIL 2023 GARDEN BIRDS

I have been late before, but never this late with my monthly report on the birds visiting our garden. Blame it on the hours spent sourcing the necessary information and having to travel all the way to Cape Town to lodge visa applications – no, we don’t have our passports back yet. Keep calm, breathe deeply … that is the only way to deal with bureaucracy. April was a month in which I welcomed several new visitors: Sombre Bulbul, Grey-headed Bush Shrike, Common Starling, Amethyst Sunbird, Black Sparrowhawk, Crowned Hornbill, African Hoopoe, Spectacled Weaver and Yellow Weaver.

Strangely enough, the Common Starlings have mainly visited the Natal fig tree and have found something to eat in the Erythrina caffra instead of coming down to ground level – which they have often done in the past.

It is the African Green Pigeons that have provided great delight with their coughing, deep-throated laughing sounds and occasional views of them peeping through the leaves of the fig tree. With the mornings becoming ever colder and the sun taking longer to rise, I have sometimes seen them sunning themselves in the higher branches of the Erythrina caffra.

Once, when a particularly noisy truck passed along the road below our home, over sixty of these beautiful birds took to the air with a collectively loud beating of their wings.

Laughing Doves still take at least twenty minutes of perching in branches before feeling comfortable enough to flutter down to eat the maize seeds on the ground. There are still a number that insist on clinging onto the hanging feeders to get at the fine seed there. Pied Crows fly overhead regularly and occasionally perch in the upper branches of the fig tree or on the top of the cypress in the next door garden.

The Black-headed Orioles have not enjoyed me moving the feeders to the other side of the garden and have taken a while to visit the nectar feeder and the fruit tray. The Cape Robin-chats are also wary, even though there is plenty of cover for them to hide. They tend to come out when few other birds are about and are quick to fly off at the slightest sound. They must be on the constant lookout for the cats next door.

Huge flocks of Red-winged Starlings have been feasting on the figs. The air is filled with their mellifluous calls and their fig-fuelled droppings are all over the garden. They too are sometimes startled by unexpectedly loud sounds from passing vehicles and take to the skies.

I often remark that the Knysna Turacos are more easily heard than seen in our garden. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to see one flying across the garden, but this month I was able to photograph one perched in the back garden.

My bird list for this month:

African Green Pigeon

African Hoopoe

Amethyst Sunbird

Barthroated Apalis

Black-collared Barbet

Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul

Black-headed Oriole

Black Sparrowhawk

Bokmakierie

Bronze Manikin

Cape Crow

Cape Robin-Chat

Cape Weaver

Cape White-eye

Cattle Egret

Common Fiscal

Common Starling

Crowned Hornbill

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Fork-tailed Drongo

Greater Double-collared Sunbird

Grey-headed Bush Shrike

Grey-headed Sparrow

Hadeda Ibis

Knysna Turaco

Laughing Dove

Olive Thrush

Pied Crow

Red-eyed Dove

Rednecked Spurfowl

Red-winged Starling

Sacred Ibis

Sombre Bulbul

Southern Masked Weaver

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Pigeon

Spectacled Weaver

Streakyheaded Seedeater

Village Weaver

Yellow Weaver

 

 

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DONKEYS AGAIN

Several years ago it was unusual to see donkeys in town, let alone in the suburbs. Then it was more common to see them pulling a cart of firewood or, as in this case, collecting garden refuse to take to the town dump.

Times change and donkeys appear all over town these days. We frequently see them walking along our street.

Unlike the Urban Herd of cattle, donkeys are more difficult to identify as individuals. If you observe them closely though, you will see that they do indeed look different from each other. Like most residents, I have become resigned to their presence and now actually enjoy seeing them about – like these ones seeking shade on a very hot day. They are a stone’s throw from our house.

They are generally very dear animals and many of them enjoy a pat or a gentle rub. One has to approach them very carefully though because some shy away from contact. They can sometimes be seen sharing the grassy park nearby with members of the Urban Herd.

This one is nibbling grass opposite a primary school.

These ones are waiting expectantly outside my back gate!

My main concern is that these animals pose a danger to traffic, especially at night for they sometimes choose to sleep or stand in the middle of a street. This means that we all have to be particularly wary when travelling at night – especially as not all the street lights work and, of course the town is plunged into complete darkness during the periods of Eskom load-shedding!

 

MARCH 2023 GARDEN BIRDS

“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” So said the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Well, watching the birds in our garden has been an activity snatched between others during what has proved to be a very busy month indeed. Whiterumped Swifts and Lesserstriped Swallows have bid us farewell to wing their way northwards. Here are two of hundreds of the latter gathered on the ground nearby prior to their departure.

Laughing Doves tend to dominate the feeding area, especially if I put the seeds out early, so I have successfully experimented with changing the feeding times slightly and have been more irregular about it. Cape White-eyes are finding lots of berries and insects to eat in our autumn garden at the moment, while a number of Cape Crows have made raucous fly-pasts throughout the month – sometimes landing briefly in the Natal fig tree.

This is a changeable month with some birds leaving and others arriving. A newcomer is the African Harrier Hawk, which has flown low over the garden several times and occasionally lands in the Erythrina caffra. Even watching it flying above me, I can hear no sound – of course the birds hide immediately and they too make no sound!

Speaking of sounds: I love the sound of Cape Turtle Doves early in the morning and during the late afternoons so I am delighted they have made their presence felt once more. Their sound reminds me of growing up in the Transvaal Lowveld and the many adventures I had there.

Another delightful bird call is that of the Bokmakierie.

Forktailed Drongos flit about the back garden and deftly catch insects on the wing.

I am very pleased to see that the Streakyheaded Seedeaters are back this month.

My bird list for this month:
African Green Pigeon
African Harrier Hawk
Barthroated Apalis
Black-collared Barbet
Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbul
Black-headed Oriole
Bokmakierie
Bronze Manikin
Cape Crow
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Turtle Dove
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
Red-eyed Dove
Rednecked Spurfowl
Red-winged Starling
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streakyheaded Seedeater
Village Weaver
White-rumped Swift

OPEN SPACES

I have said that dirt roads often lead towards an adventure of sorts. Open spaces also provide similar opportunities for finding interesting things to look at or experience. I will start with the clanking noise heard across the road from my home, where I spent a while watching the ineffectual ‘clearing’ of invasive prickly pears growing in-between indigenous Cape honeysuckle and Plumbago bushes.

Just up the hill from where I live I occasionally see horses drinking from a seasonal pond.

Looking down from the top of Mountain Drive one can see an aerial view of our town.

Driving through the countryside, one might come across a scene like this: open veld with an antelope staring quizzically at one.

Blooming purple bougainvillea is the only sign of a former farm dwelling in this section of the Addo Elephant National Park as it has expanded. Note the sand dunes and the Indian Ocean in the background.

Sometimes open spaces seem just that: open – apparently with nothing of interest to attract attention. When these are in a game park many impatient tourists rev their engines and move on in the hope of spotting game further on. Patience can be rewarded though – as it was this time for us when a pair of lions appeared out of nowhere and walked along the edge of Ghwarrie Dam in the Addo Elephant National Park.

NOW WE HAVE GOATS!

We are used to members of the ever-increasing Urban Herd making themselves at home in our suburbs. These ones are chewing the cud on a pavement next to an outside garden shed.

A cow and her newborn calf take advantage of an unmown grass verge.

These cows are in the street behind our home.

There are an increasing number of donkeys roaming the town too. This donkey and her foal can be seen next to a school sports field.

Now we have goats added to the mix. This is only part of a herd of large, sleek goats seen roaming the suburbs a few days ago.

They look very at home!