Hadeda Ibis

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SIX CELLPHONE BIRDS

We all know that cellphone cameras are not the best for photographing birds – so do not expect wonderful pictures here. Nonetheless, sometimes a cellphone is all we have at hand at the time. This first bird was easy for it posed beautifully without moving a muscle … it is an African Hoopoe embroidered by my eldest granddaughter and gifted to us on the occasion of our Golden Wedding Anniversary last year.

This is more like the reality – an African Hoopoe about to land outside my back gate.

Here is a Hadeda Ibis chick that landed precariously on the ledge seen from my study window. It walked up and down this ledge in a rather wobbly manner whilst contemplating the next move it ought to make.

Some of the potholes in the streets of our town are so large and deep that the Urban Herd and donkeys drink from them. On one of our recently very hot days I came across this small flock of Common Starlings drinking from a pothole as well as bathing in it.

Swimming in much more water and not having to worry about traffic, is this pair of ducks at the Nanaga Farm Stall we stop at either to or from our trips to Port Elizabeth.

A few weeks ago I had cause to visit the St George’s Life Hospital in Port Elizabeth and managed to photograph one of several peacocks that wander around the car park there.

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SOUTH AFRICAN CHRISTMASES PAST

Not exactly Christmas Day, but events around this time of the year from 2015 to 2021. Christmas 2020 was Covid-19 time and we couldn’t get out and about, so there is no pictorial record.

Let us begin with Santa’s Workshop in 2015, when my eldest son made a wooden truck for his nephew:

During December 2016,  we encountered a herd of goats crossing the road. They held up traffic for a little while.

We reaped a wonderful harvest of plums from an ancient tree in our garden in 2017 – the best we had been able to enjoy and perfect for this very hot time of the year. Sadly, it was the last harvest for the tree died during the next few months.

We have endured so many drought years that I lose count. In 2018, however, I decided to use a potted spekboom plant to decorate in place of a more traditional Christmas tree. My youngest grandchild did not approve!

Then, in 2019, we decided to spend Christmas Day in the Addo Elephant National Park. These elephants are at the Rooidam waterhole.

Skip over the pandemic in 2020 – we had fun in a subdued way – and see this family of Hadeda Ibises that hung around our swimming pool in 2021.

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MY GARDEN TODAY

Today felt warm even before the sunrise began colouring the horizon shortly before five o’clock. The air has felt thick and unmoving all day. At first the sky was a brilliant blue that gave way to a steely grey before lunch … then there were raindrops! Fat drops of rain that made large wet patches on the hot cement outside the kitchen door – not even 30 seconds of joy before the rain disappeared and the sky became an uncompromising white with hardly a breath of wind to lift the leaves of the trees. At least the drought-stricken nasturtiums growing in pots near our front steps provide some bright colour.

So do the red poppies (Papaver rhoeas) in the bed near our swimming pool. This is the first time I have successfully grown them from seed, so I feel very proud of them.

In the back garden are mostly the seed heads only of the unexpected opium poppies (Papaver somniferm) which miraculously appeared after a six year absence.

More colour is provided by the yellow blooms of what used to be called Aloe tenuoir but is now known as Aloiampelos tenuior – commonly called a fence aloe, or climbing aloes, among other names. These are growing in a very dry spot below the window of our lounge.

The early spring rains (perhaps more accurately described as sprinkles) have provided the impetus for a plethora of wild flowers to bloom and greened the wild grasses – a condition known here as the ‘green drought’ – even though our dams remain dry. To give you an idea of the severity of this drought, look at my front lawn.

Then, to end on a cheery note, here is a photograph of the very patient Hadeda Ibis still diligently sitting on her nest. More news on that score when I see either broken eggshells on the ground or catch sight of a chick or two.

 

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SEPTEMBER 2022 GARDEN BIRDS

Despite having been away for a while, this has proved to be a satisfying month of birdwatching in my garden. At night and during the early hours of most mornings we are serenaded by a Fiery-necked Nightjar. An African Darter has flown over ‘my’ airspace a few times in order to make my list and Black-eyed (Dark-capped) Bulbuls have made cheerful forays to the feeding table. The sounds of cuckoos can be heard – the Piet-my-Vrou (Red-chested Cuckoo) is another clear sign that spring is here to stay.

On that note, while the sun rises ever earlier, the mornings remain fairly chilly and so it is not surprising to find a flock of Bronze Mannikins gathered in the branches of a Dais cotonifolia to warm up for a while before their breakfast:

I feature the Common Fiscals a lot in these posts, largely because they are such characters and are photogenic to boot. Spotty has even brought a chick along to the feeding area to see what the offerings are. The biggest surprise for me though was the sighting of the only female Common Fiscal I have ever seen in our garden. She did not appear to be connected to either Spotty or Meneer and I have not seen her since. Note the chestnut flanks that characterise the females:

As you can see, I have purchased a new feeder – I’m not sure how well this configuration is being received, but the other one requires a thorough cleaning (when we get a reasonable supply of water again!). Here a Southern Masked Weaver is trying it out accompanied by Bronze Mannikins:

A Grey-headed Sparrow is enjoying a solo feeding session:

Also catching the morning sun whilst keeping an eye out for the neighbouring cats are these Laughing Doves:

I mentioned the Hadeda Ibis nest last month. So far there is no sign of either eggshells at the base or chicks on the nest, so the eggs are still being incubated:

My bird list for this month:
African Darter
African Green Pigeon
African Hoopoe
Black-collared Barbet
Black Cuckoo
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
Common Starling
Fierynecked Nightjar
Fork-tailed Drongo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey-headed Bush Shrike
Grey-headed Sparrow
Hadeda Ibis
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Laughing Dove
Olive Thrush
Pied Crow
Red-chested Cuckoo
Red-eyed Dove
Red-necked Spurfowl
Red-throated Wryneck
Red-winged Starling
Southern Boubou
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Village Weaver
Yellow Weaver