Africa's 12 Days of Christmas

Hope you are all having a wonderful festive season!

Images from Africa, this is why I live here.

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Oh wow! My Swallows are back!

Just as I was giving up hope, yesterday, 15th October 2015, I heard the musical call and chuckling of my Swallows as they flew over the house! And I'm dancing with joy! The night before last we had some rain, a bit, but it left the garden with enough to start the Marigolds sprouting, and then,  there were the Swallows! I guess they really are an indication that the rain is on it's way!

It amazes me that these little birds travel all the way from Central Africa (their non-breeding grounds during our winter in Angola, Tanzania and southern Zaire) and I'm wondering whether they travelled through the night and arrived early-morning or stopped over for the night not far away and then left at first dawn, to arrive here at about lunch time. They have been recorded to travel a distance of 3154km’s. I'm also wondering if they are going to be using one of last year's nests or find a new place to build one. Time will tell.

 My swallows viewing the area from my old peach tree - Greater-striped Swallow (Cecropis/Hirundo cucullata)

The greater striped swallow has a call that is a soft twitter and gargle, and one that is well suited to this gentle bird. While most swallows have a quick, darting style of flight, this member of the family has a slower, more sedate flight and I stood for more than 15 minutes watching them glide and swoop over our smallholding.

Research by National Geographic reveals that up to 4.5 billion birds, representing around 185 species, fly from Europe and Asia in the north to southern Africa and back every year. Interestingly, although they follow the same migration routes every year without fail, the route to their summer destination in the south may differ from the trip back home. Birds that migrate to South Africa include the colourful Greater Striped Swallow, Amur Falcon, White-rumped Swift, White Stork, Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kite, Lesser Kestrel, Honey Buzzard, Woodland Kingfisher, Red-chested Cuckoo, and European Bee-eater.

And now I'm waiting for the Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius) to arrive, usually mid- to end-October. This bird is a brood parasite, meaning that it lays its eggs in other bird nests. The host, thinking that the egg is its own, incubates the egg and cares for the chick. On our previous smallholding, I watched as the poor Karoo Thrush reared a nestling twice it's size, struggling to keep up with its voracious appetite.

Red-chested cuckoo juvenile being fed by a Karoo thrush host, Modimolle, South Africa. [photo Warwick Tarboton ©]

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Where are my swallows...?

It’s already the first week in October and I haven’t seen my Swallows yet. Usually they are here middle-September. Could it be that they’re waiting for the rain or could it be that something has happened to them and they won’t be returning at all? For the past 10 years I’ve been greeting them every September and watching them leave every April. I will be very sad if they do not return as I have built up quite a relationship with them, listening to their twittering on the TV aerial, chatting to them while they're sitting on my bathroom court-yard wall and just generally enjoying their flight over our smallholding.

The Greater-striped Swallow (Cecropis/Hirundo cucullata) - Grootstreepswael in Afrikaans - is endemic to Africa south of the equator, occurring from southern DRC, Angola and Zambia to southern Africa. Here it occurs across much of South Africa excluding the arid north-western Karoo and the extremities of Limpopo Province. It also occupies central Namibia, central and eastern Zimbabwe and small areas of Botswana. It generally prefers open habitats such as grassland, fynbos, karoo, open savanna, suburban areas, cultivated land and farmyards.

It is an intra-African breeding migrant, arriving from its central African non-breeding grounds around July-August in the Limpopo Province, Western and Eastern Cape. It reaches Swaziland, Botswana, and Gauteng during September-October, eventually leaving the region around April-May.

Last year's nest in the pumphouse

The greater striped swallow builds a bowl-shaped mud nest with a tubular entrance on the underside of a suitable structure. The nest has a soft lining, and is often reused in later years. The nest may be built in a cave or under a rock overhang or fallen tree. This species has benefited from its willingness to use buildings, bridges, culverts and similar man-made structures. Given the choice, it will select a high nest site.

 Nest-building process

One of the swallows adding some mud to the construction

A previous year's completed nest

They are monogamous, solitary nesters and one breeding pair usually produces 2-3 broods per breeding season. My Swallows have managed to raise at least one pair of babies each season for the past 10 years, taking the babies with them when they leave in April. And last year the parents returned with two extra travellers, their fully-grown youngsters, I presumed.

One of last year's fledglings patiently waiting to be fed

Thankfully this species is not threatened, in fact, its numbers have increased due to the abundance of man-made nest sites, but I will be extremely sad if my Swallows don’t ever return again….

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The Robin babies are gone...

05:30 Empty nest of my Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra)

The inevitable has happened - The Robin's babies are gone...

Early this morning I heard the Robins chattering and rushed out, but obviously I was too late. The Fiscal Shrikes were close-by and the nest was empty.

Now I know why Robins go inside houses to find nesting places. They are safe from all their predators like the Fiscal Shrike, the Karoo Thrush, Mynahs and a couple of others. I think the Robin is one of the few species that is NOT threatened by Man, and the Robin knows it. I mean, what can be more wonderful than a Robin nesting in your lounge or bedroom? We feel honoured and blessed should such an incident happen.

After the Karoo Thrush scared the Robin out of my house, I'm going to make an effort to coax and lure my Robbie to come inside again and find a safe place to nest.

And, of course, the Fiscal Shrike is no longer a welcome visitor in my garden. Neither is the Karoo Thrush or the Mynahs. But there is not much I can do about it. Nature is Nature and the rule is that the strongest and fittest survive.

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Robin babies up-date

The Robin babies as at 9am 4th October 2015

Ever since my Robin's babies hatched a couple of days ago, I've been on tenterhooks, keeping an eye open and listening for trouble. And this morning it seemed like the unthinkable had happened!

I heard both Robins making their alarm call - a sort of gutteral 'chir-chir-chir chir-chir-chir' and immediately I knew there was trouble. I flew outside and there, right next to the Robin's nest on the paving, was the Fiscal Shrike busy killing a baby bird. My heart fairly bounced with fear and I rushed up to her, throwing my arms in the air and screaming at her. I immediately presumed it was the Robin's baby and picked it up, but on closer inspection, I realised it was a Masked Weaver baby (sort of sigh of relief!). There are some Weaver nests just above Robbie's nest and Mrs. Fiscal must have plucked the baby out of it, or else it must've fallen out and she, opportunist that she is, could just have found it. Which is the more likely scenario, because I've been supplying her with enough food for her three fledglings to prevent just this sort of thing happening.

After my initial fright had subsided, I peered into Robbie's nest to make sure his babies were OK and they both responded by opening their mouths wide for me and this time I was ready with the camera!

I think I'll be getting my deck chair and settle in with some coffee and a good book near Robbie's nest ...

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My Robin has babies!

Since I photographed my Robin's eggs (Cape Robin-chat - Cossypha caffra), on the 24th September 2015, I've been keeping track of Mrs. Robin as she sits on the eggs, and early this morning I noticed her carrying titbits of minced meat that I put on the feeding table and small insects to the nest and what do I find? Two TINY little babies! I only managed these two not-so-good shots, I don't want to interfere too much, but as she was away for a couple of moments, I took the chance.I am utterly and totally thrilled because, although they have already reared a few broods in my garden, this is the first time I've caught sight of the tiny babies!

As I moved some of the foliage to get a better view, one of the babies felt movement and opened its mouth wide, expecting some food, but I wasn't quick enough to capture that.

A cropped version of the pic just above

Egg-laying season is from about June-January, peaking around October-November. It lays 2-3 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 14-19 days. The female broods the chicks throughout the night and intermittently through the day, for the first 5-11 days of their lives. They are fed by both parents, eventually leaving the nest at about 14-18 days old, remaining dependent on their parents for about 5-7 weeks more.

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Fiscal Shrike fledglings (Lanius collaris)

After my Fiscal Shrikes reared two babies in July this year, I'm absolutely thrilled that she is rearing four more (late Sept. 2015)! A couple of weeks ago, as I put out minced meat on the feeding table early in the mornings, I watched as the female took pieces to the nest up in one of my Acacias, so I knew there were babies, but four is a surprise! In the picture above, the third baby is just to the left out of the camera’s zoom view and the fourth to the right. I just could not capture all four of them together, the one, which I think is the eldest of the four, is very independent and always off somewhere else.

Quite unperturbed at my presence, this little one, the third, independent one, was contentedly relaxing after a nice fat grasshopper.

The Fiscal Shrike is also sometimes named jackie hangman, or butcher bird, due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption, therefore the Afrikaans name of ‘Fiskaallaksman’. Endemic to Southern Africa, it occurs almost everywhere in South Africa, extending into much of Namibia, Zimbabwe and southern Botswana. It occupies a wide variety of habitats but generally prefers open habitats with scattered trees, such as savanna, open woodland, shrubland and grassland. It is also extremely common in man-made habitats such as gardens, parks, farmland and roadsides.

With a full tummy, this little one is taking a snooze in the Butterfly bush at my wildlife pond

These mini raptors have a hooked beak that enables them to catch small animals and insects. They often impale their meals on thorns which explains the derivation of their name from the Latin word for butcher. They sit upright on the tops of shrubs and other conspicuous perches to spot their prey and also to advertise their presence to competitors. They are endemic to Southern Africa.

Afrikaans : Fiskaallaksman

Ever since the Karoo Thrush evicted Robbie (my Cape Robin-chat) from my house, I've been putting mince for him on one of the feeding tables in the garden. Now Mrs. Fiscal has recognised my whistle for Robbie and comes to join the feast, carrying titbits of minced meat to her little ones. This is a valuable source of protein and fat for them, but in between I've watched her catching nice fat grasshoppers and worms, also valuable roughage for them.

Mrs. Fiscal heading back to the feeding table for another round of snacks

The Fiscal's nest in my Acacia karroo (Vachellia karoo), a rather large and messy arrangement of twigs, leaves and all sorts of other things, but lined with softer grasses in the centre.

The Fiscal Shrike is a monogamous, highly territorial solitary nester. Males defend their territory ferociously against other males, often grabbing their opponent with their claws and then pecking them repeatedly. The female handles most of the nest construction, a process which lasts 2-5 days. It is a thickly walled cup made of twigs, flower heads, bark, grass, leafy herbs and moss, sometimes also including paper, rags, spider web, feathers and cocoons. It is usually placed in the fork of a thorny bush or small tree, building a new nest each breeding season.

Typically 2-3 broods are produced within the breeding season each consisting of a 1-5, usually 3-4 eggs clutch. These are incubated mainly by the female for 12-16 days.

The chicks are fed mainly by the mostly the female in the first week, after which the male gradually takes more responsibility. They stay in the nest for about 14-21 days and can feed for themselves about 3 weeks later. However, they only become independent after a few more weeks, leaving their parents territory at about 4 months old.

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Southern masked-weaver - Ploceus velatus

This time of the year (winter) it is very difficult to distinguish between who is male and who is female with these abundant Southern Masked Weavers in my garden. In summer the male's bright yellow and black plumage is quite unmistakable, but now only their demeanour can give me a clue as to who's who.

The upright stance of these two birds clearly indicates they are males. Just moments before, another male tried to join the group at the feeding station and after a short scuffle, these two made it quite clear that he is not welcome!

Above is a Black-throated Canary (Crithagra atrogularis) having a hard time finding space on the bird feeder. These sometimes inconspicuous canaries have a wonderful "tweet-sweet" call which always draws me out to the garden to see if I can get a pic, but they are very skittish.

A group discussion about what's available for breakfast!

Now, is that edible or not...?

 A female (I presume!) Southern Masked Weaver inspecting what's on offer.

These weavers occur across southern Africa even in arid areas, extending into Angola, Zambia and Malawi. It generally favours semi-arid scrub, open Savannah, woodland edges, riverine thicket, farmland with scattered trees, alien tree plantations and gardens.

These birds are greatly preyed upon by the Ovambo sparrowhawk, Little sparrowhawk, Peregrine falcon and Lanner falcon. The eggs and chicks are in danger from the Boomslang, Common fiscal shrike, African grey hornbill and Vervet monkeys. Yet these gregarious birds continue to thrive and their conservation status is LC (least concern).

It mainly eats seeds, fruit (yet I've never seen them show any interest in the fruit I put out, maybe they prefer only certain berries), insects and nectar, doing most of its foraging in small flocks, gleaning prey from leaves and branches, taking seeds from the ground and grass stems. They love Cosmos flower seeds and are also partial to seeds of elms. Recorded fruits are from
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• Rhus pyroides (Common currant)
• Prunus (Satsuma plum)
• Viscum rotundifolium (mistletoe)
• Ehretia rigida (Puzzle-bush)

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They also eat the flower parts of Prunus (peaches and apricots), Rhigozum trichotomum (Driedoring) and Tagetes erecta (African marigold). They love the nectar from
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• Aloe marlothii (Mountain aloe)
• Tecoma capensis (Cape honeysuckle)
• Schotia brachypetala (Weeping boer-bean)
• Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Red ironbark)
• Hibiscus rose-sinensis (hibiscus)

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They love insects such as Coleoptera (beetles and their larvae), termites, Ephemeroptera (mayflies) and caterpillars (larval stage of Lepidoptera). They are also partial to human food like bread and porridge.

However, distinguishing between the sexes can be made as follows : The adult male in breeding plumage has a black face, throat and beak, red eye, bright yellow head and underparts, and a plain yellowish-green back. The female has a pinkish-brown bill, brown or red-brown eye and is dull greenish-yellow, streaked darker on the upper back. The throat is yellowish, fading to off-white on the belly. The non-breeding male resembles the female but retains the red eye. The juvenile of this species is like the female.

These birds are polygynous, as males may mate with up to about 12 females in a single breeding season, living in colonies with 1-9 males in total, while each female may often rear multiple broods per breeding season. It is much less aggressive in comparison to most other weavers, although it viciously attacks Diederick cuckoos if they enter its territory. 

Now, in winter, the nests are all empty and abandoned.

The nest  is built solely by the male, consisting of a kidney-shaped structure with a large entrance on the bottom, made of woven grass, palm leaves or reeds with a ceiling of leaves, such as Acacia and Eucalyptus. If the female accepts the nest she lines the interior with leaves, grass inflorescences and feathers.

Egg-laying season is from July-March, peaking from September-February. She lays 1-6, usually 2-4 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 12-14 days. The chicks are fed by the female only on a diet of soft insect larvae and grasshoppers, leaving the nest after about 16-17 days.
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Every summer I stand watching the African Masked Weavers building their nests in my garden and it’s a hive of activity! Usually there are at least ten of them, with great squabbling going on in between building sessions. This guy seems to be saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know!” I stand amazed at the symmetry and perfection of their work.

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The home-wreckers!

Common mynahs are tame, bold, and noisy birds; usually seen in pairs or small flocks. They build bulky nests in tree cavities, pockets in buildings, in heavy vegetation and in thatch roofing! A pair moved into my garden a couple of years ago and took to nesting in the little thatch roof over my front entrance gate. Despite numerous attempts at evicting them and repairing the roof, they have been very persistent and this is the current state of my little thatch entrance!

The male keeping a beady eye on me after the female entered the nest with a tit-bit for the babies.

A fledgling sitting in my peach tree

Females lay four to five glossy, pale blue eggs. The incubation period is thirteen to eighteen days. Both parents incubate the eggs. The nestlings may leave the nest at around twenty-two days or longer, but may still not be able to fly for another seven days or so. And this happens several times a year! Mynahs are very territorial and every time nestlings have fledged, I've watched the parents lead them away from our property as soon as they could fly, returning empty-handed and the cycle starts all over again. 

The Myna has been introduced in many other parts of the world and its distribution range is on the increase to an extent that, in 2000, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN) declared it among the World's 100 worst invasive species. The Myna is one of only three birds in this list of invasive species. It is a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia and South Africa.

However, the intelligence and loving spirit of these amazing birds is beyond description. When I rescued a fledgling a couple of years ago, I called her Mai and she grew up in my studio and had free range of the house and garden, and one of her favourite past-times was her early-morning bath in the bird bath in the garden, after which she would fly into my studio, roosting on top of the computer screen, preening herself until she was all sparkling and shiny.

 Mai on the back of my office chair, watching as I re-pack the chaos she has caused

They are also extremely playful and inquisitive. She would investigate every item in my studio, picking up the gemclip holder, fishing out a few and then hiding them in all sorts of nooks and crannies, often returning to find and play with her treasures. 

Mai sitting on my knee, intently watching as I eat my sandwich, desperately hoping for a tit-bit!

She was extremely fond of people and one day, after approaching somebody in our driveway, she disappeared mysteriously and I'm convinced that she landed on their shoulder and that the person climbed into their car and drove off with her. I was totally devastated, and I just prayed that they did not cage her, as she was a wonderful free spirit.

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