An amazing morning with the House Sparrows

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Huismossie [Afrikaans]

This morning I was fascinated by one of our most common little brown jobbies - two House Sparrows. There were a lot of birds busy in the garden - the Laughing Doves, the Weavers, the Bulbuls, two Glossy Starlings and lots and lots of sparrows.

But what caught my eye was a pair that stuck together wherever they went in the garden. I first noticed them on the bird feeder, standing their ground against the Robin who was feeding on an apple. Then the male darted up on a branch, followed by the female. He flitted to another tree and she followed. Then he flew down to a sign-board I have in the garden and where I had thrown some seeds on the ground. He uttered a few words and the female stayed put up in the tree. He glanced from side to side, like we do when wanting to cross the road, first right, then left, then right again. He uttered another few chirps and the female joined him on the sign-board. Together they surveyed the scenery for a while before flitting down to the ground and feeding on the seeds. I couldn't get any pictures of that, they were hidden behind the foliage.

 Looking right

Looking at me

Looking left

Looking right again

The female joins the male after he calls her
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After a while they both flew to a bird bath where some Laughing Doves were thinking about having a bath and without further ado they hijacked the bowl, had a good splash around and then flew up into a tree and sat together, preening, in contented silence. 

Laughing Doves contemplating a bath

The female sparrow on the left hijacking the Laughing Dove's bath while he looks on in astonishment

The female sparrow drying off

The male sparrow taking his turn with the Laughing Dove still looking on

The female is back in the water again! And the Laughing Dove is wondering what’s happening …

Finally she's had enough and she flew onto a branch just above the male.

Next the Bulbuls arrived and once again the timid Laughing Doves had to wait their turn.

Then at last the Laughing Doves had the bath all to themselves.

We so often over-look these Sparrows, one of the most widespread birds in the world, who originated from Eurasia and was introduced to Australasia, the Americas and Africa, specifically along the Nile River and separately from southern DRC through Zambia and Angola to southern Africa. It is often considered an invasive species, ironically, however, its population is experiencing serious decline in many of its native regions. Despite its abundance here in South Africa, it seems to have a minor impact on indigenous birds, although it may have displaced Cape wagtails from urban areas, as they are both adept at scavenging in these environments.

It generally prefers urban, rural and suburban areas and are very rarely absent from human habitation. Being so used to humans has made house sparrows resourceful in finding unique food supplies. They have been seen inspecting car grills for insects, and will feed on farms searching for spilled seed and grain.

It eats a variety of different food, including seeds, nectar, fruit and invertebrates, using a wide range of foraging techniques. It most commonly plucks food items from the ground, but it may glean insects from foliage or hawk small prey aerially. The following food items have been recorded in its diet:

    •    Plants
    ◦    seeds
    ◦    nectar of Aloe marlothii (Mountain aloe)
    ◦    flowers of Sideroxylon inerme (White milkwood)

    •    Invertebrates
    ◦    katydids and grasshoppers (Orthoptera)
    ◦    aphids
    ◦    termite alates
    ◦    eggs of Helix adspersa (Garden snail)

House sparrows are monogamous with a life-long pair bond and will build bulky nests in roof crevices, nesting boxes and natural tree cavities, or they may chase other birds out of nests. The female will incubate a brood of 4-6 eggs for 14-18 days, then both parents will regurgitate food for the nestlings for 14-18 days until they leave the nest. Depending on the climate, pairs may raise 2-3 broods per year.

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African Joy and Sorrow

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

"The triumph of life is the joy experienced thereafter."
- Maree

A couple of years ago, one of my guinea fowl sitting on eggs was killed by a dog, leaving 10 eggs, on the point of hatching, without a mother. I gathered all the eggs and put them in a basket with a hot water bottle, trying to keep them warm to see if any of them would hatch. Two days later still nothing, but on the third day I heard a weak peep-peep from one of the eggs. None of the others showed any sign of life, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and open the one that was peeping. I gently peeled away the shell and lifted out a perfectly formed little guinea fowl, and placed him on the warm towel, drying his little body with a soft cloth until he lifted his little head and stared me straight in the eye.

That was the beginning of a beautiful, long relationship with "Guinea", who spent five years following me everywhere and providing us with endless hours of pleasure with his surprising antics. He even lured a wild guinea fowl female from the wild (they used to pass through our property in large flocks, travelling from one field to another) and together they reared 5 clutches of beautiful little guinea fowl, all of whom stayed on our property for many years.

When Guinea's wife disappeared one day, he was inconsolable, standing on the wall and calling for hours in that haunting 'phe-twee, phe-twee, phe-twee' that is so typical of the South African bush. After that, he would often disappear for a day or two until, one day, he didn't come home at all. I hoped and presumed that he had found another family and was happily roaming the fields surrounding our property.



Guinea and one of his babies

“This life as you live it now and have lived it, you will have to live again and again, times without number, and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and all the unspeakably small and great in your life must return to you and everything in the same series and sequence -- and in the same way this spider and this moonlight among the trees, and this same way this moment and I myself. The eternal hour glass of existence will be turned again and again -- and you with it, you dust of dust!”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

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Hadeda Ibis - Bostrychia hagedash

The Hadeda is famous for being South Africa’s natural alarm clock. I'm sure everybody will agree with that. When we lived in Gauteng on our smallholding, we rarely saw any Hadedas, so the excitement was great when they did appear. Here in Ballito, KwaZulu Natal, it's a totally different story - their numbers seem to be on a par (to me at least) to that of the Indian Mynah and the Red-winged Starling. 

And I am utterly thrilled to be seeing them in such abundance! And I just absolutely LOVE their call, but must admit that I prefer to be woken up by the Burchell's Cuckoo soothing call and not the hart-stopping call of the Hadeda at 4am in the morning!

Usually at 4.30am !!

 

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Pest, charming oddity or just background noise, the Hadeda ibis is a feathered phenomenon in suburban South Africa. Its feathers are a drab gray or brown, so it's not on a bird lover bucket list. But the bird now has a small niche in popular culture. Somelodges and restaurants carry its name, a website offers a ringtone download of its cry and a pair of South African musicians produced a song called: "Harry the hungry Hadeda." Some call it a "flying vuvuzela," recalling the din of the plastic horn used by stadium fans during the World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa in 2010.

 

The Hadeda or Hadeda Ibis,is an ibis found in Sub-Saharan Africa. . It is named for its loud three to four note calls uttered in flight especially in the mornings and evenings when they fly out or return to their roost trees. While Hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) is not a conservation listed species, it is protected under provincial regs. Hadeda Ibis is protected in all but one province, namely KZN. The species is threatened, though, by extended droughts which reduce food availability by causing damp soil to harden, making it more difficult to probe for insects. The population in South Africa also declined markedly at the turn of the century due to hunting during the colonial expansion.

The Hadeda Ibis is monogamous and breeds in solitary pairs, unlike other ibis species. They breed from July to January in South Africa. They lay 1 to 5 eggs which are incubated by both parents. Incubation lasts up to 28 days. Young are independent at about 40 days.
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  Males display before choosing a mate. The pair then engages in mutual bowing and display preening.  

The Hadeda Ibis is a social bird usually seen in pairs or in small groups of between 5 and 30 birds, and seldom as a single individual. Occasionally it can form flocks of some 50-200 individuals. They feeds on insects, millipedes and earthworms, using their long scimitar-like bill to probe soft soil. It also eats larger insects, such as the Parktown prawn, as well as spiders and small lizards. Sometimes it swipes dog food meant for pets, splatters parked cars and driveways with droppings and yanks residents from sleep with jarring squawks at first light.

Some ornithologists credit the Hadeda's dietary preferences with curbing the population of the "Parktown Prawn," a king cricket (Libanasidus vittatus) named after a Johannesburg suburb that can creep or leap into homes at night, horrifying residents. The Hadeda, in turn, has few natural predators in cities, facing instead the lesser peril of flying into windows or getting hit by a car.  Although totally harmless, the insects can jump actively and often eject offensive black fecal liquids when threatened. Accordingly, they frighten nervous persons and they may chew carpets and fabrics. 

You may love 'em or hate 'em, but this striking African bird is surrounded by many ancient legends and myths. One myth tells of how the northern bald ibis, Geronticus eremita, a symbol of fertility in some regions of Turkey, was one of the first birds that Noah released from the Ark.

As a lexophile (logophile?), I was pleased to learn that the plural of ibis is not "ibises" as most people would guess it to be, but instead, the plural is either ibes or even more interesting; ibides. 

Christmas in Africa 2018

A bit of festive fun with one of my sketches - The CAPE GLOSSY STARLING (Lamprotornis nitens) having a wonderful festive season with his friend Tweetie in my garden!

Starling to Tweetie : Have you heard Tweetie? Maree has already bought all our presents! Suet, peanuts, minced meat, mealworms, wild birdseed, mixed birdseed, apples, bananas, paw paw and peanut butter!

• A Merry African Christmas and a stunning 2018 to all my blogging friends!

Spotted in my garden

A few things spotted in my garden in the months just before the sale of our smallholding.

 AfricanSkink

Black Headed Heron 

Black Headed Heron taking flight

Red Toad (Schismaderma carens) at my wildlife pond (Rooiskurwepadda)

Speckled Pigeon (RockDove)

White Browed Sparrow Weaver

A fitting farewell to my Gauteng garden, which I am sorely missing, but new explorations are beckoning here in KwaZulu Natal (South Africa).

My artwork available as an App for iPhone and iPad

Do you ever wish you had MORE icons/emojis on your iPhone or iPad to use when messaging? Sick and tired of all the same old icons on your phone?

Well, finally, a dream come true! Some of my artwork is now available as an App of stickers for iPhone and iPad, to use with iMessage, available on the Apple iStore, developed by Donovan Crewe from Ballito, South Africa. Both my Apps have already been featured in the iStore, with one being considered for PROMOTION.

App for iPhone or iPad - Maree Clarkson Fine Art - Birds

App for iPhone or iPad - Maree Clarkson Fine Art - African Animals

All these images are also available as stickers from my RedBubble store. Individual slices of personality, totally unique and 400% awesome! Turn a boring laptop / notebook / otherwise plain surface into your own personal game farm with a selection of animal stickers. Finally you can have lions, giraffe, buffalo and wild dogs all hanging out together being bros!

"Don't deem my spirit fled" sticker

If you take time to notice throughout your day, you will find that stickers are used for a tremendous number of reasons. Almost everywhere you look you’ll see stickers employed to decorate, advertise or communicate important information. Anyone trying to promote a business or organization should understand the usefulness of stickers in achieving their goals. Those who enjoy crafting and decorating will also love using stickers to brighten up and enhance any project, be it a photo album, a diary or journal or storage boxes, even Christmas gifts!

"Three Little Birds 2" Christmas sticker

Stickers and labels will never go out of fashion -  When you want longevity but you haven’t got a blockbuster budget, stickers are the perfect vehicle to make sure your message really sticks around!  So if you're looking for that special sticker for a gift or to convey a special message, please feel free to visit my portfolio, where you will find a wide range to suit all tastes.

 Keepers of the Sacred Law Sticker

(Crow sketch done from "Midmarsh Jottings" beautiful photograph) 

Pippin, the Bush baby sticker

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A wildlife pond and Bullrushes

“Never cut a tree down in the winter time. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.” 

- Robert H. Schuller 
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 A watercolour sketch of the Bullrushes at my pond a couple of winters ago.
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I absolutely LOVE Bullrushes (Typha typhaceae) and used to have them growing at my pond until I discovered how quickly they take over an area, killing everything in their path. I also used to cut the velvety flowering spikes to arrange in a vase, absolutely gorgeous!, also only until I discovered that, when they're ripe and ready to disperse their seeds, the velvety spike would burst open, covering the house with bundles of dense, cottony fluff! Only the female flower does this, the male withers and dies once it has dispersed its pollen. (Some interesting information : the dense cottony fluff was used for stuffing Futons in Japan before the advent of cotton.)
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Image credit 

 

My wildlife pond is looking extremely dull after this winter, even though it was very mild. All the water lilies are gone, the Pontederia has died down and all the Red Hot Pokers have finished flowering. The Buddleia salvifolia (butterfly bushes) at the back of the pond are sparse and leafless and the only green around is the Kei Apple, which has also finished fruiting.

The Wild Olive (Olea africana) behind the waterfall provides some greenery throughout winter

 
 

 My Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia) with their last flowers. I transplanted these from a shady corner last summer and because they get enough water when the pond over-flows, they have grown extremely well.

The fountain at my pond

The waterfall in the back-ground
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Having a pond in your garden has quite a few benefits. It attracts lots of wildlife and many water-loving birds are nesting in the trees surrounding my pond - Red-headed Finches, Wydah's, Weavers and Bronze Mannekins are but a few. When I built the pond, I created quite a few shallow bathing areas for the birds, which is constantly in use. And there is nothing more soothing than the sound of running water and frogs croaking at night!

Bronze Mannekins will make use of any available water!I have these little fellas nesting in the Butterfly bushes and in the Wild Olive (Olea Africana) behind my pond and what a racket they can make! Music to my ears! Unfortunately I don't have my own photograph of them as they are busy, busy, busy little bodies and much too fast for my photographic skills!

The Redheaded Finches, on the other hand, are a different matter. They will calmly sit and watch me as I take photographs or do some sketches. This is a Journal sketch I did when the Red-headed Finches started moving into the pond area in 2009.

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Spring is nigh - Help your garden birds in their nest-building efforts

Southern Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) building his nest in my garden

Winter (and what a winter it has been! With snow, hail, floods and tornadoes, not our usual winter weather!) is slowly coming to an end here in South Africa and soon the birds in your garden will be thinking of nesting, and a top priority for them will be nesting materials. One of the best parts of providing habitat for birds in your yard is the possibility of your garden being chosen as a nesting site.

Upon searching "nesting materials for birds", I came upon a wonderful article on Habitat Network, which I'm placing here for ease of reference.

Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra) nest and babies in my garden

The initial excitement of discovering a new nest tucked away in a shrub you planted, or one perched up on a ledge, is rivalled only by the joy of finding that precious clutch of eggs gently nestled within. The fledglings’ eventual success or failure depends on several environmental factors, some of which you can influence, and some of which are in the hands of the parents and chance.

Birds use a variety of materials to build a strong nest and hold it in place. You can help by putting out supportive materials like:

• Piles of rigid and flexible sticks of different sizes
• Pieces of native grape vine or Virginia Creeper
• A collection of coconut fibres or horse hair
• Mud in a bowl or create a small puddle nearby

Insulation is another very important feature in a well built nest. Heat loss due to wind and wet conditions will cool eggs in a nest during incubation recesses and the parent has to regenerate that heat upon return. You can put out a wide range of insulating materials that birds like to use:

• Wool from sheep, goat, or alpaca, cotton batting, and animal fur
• Grass, hay or straw, and leaf mulch can also be easily offered
• Non-dyed Crafting Feathers are excellent and can be a favourite among Tree Swallows

For hiding the nest, deterring predators and for decoration to help attract a mate, offer:

• Pieces of lichen and moss
• Snake skins and spider webs
• Green Material such as pine needles or sprigs of herbs or shrubs

There are numerous ways to offer building materials. We do, however, encourage the use of natural materials to lessen the risk of entanglement in synthetic fibres like netting, twine, or fishing line. Avoid using animal fur that has been exposed to flea or tick treatments or dryer lint because it may contain harmful residues. Keeping all of this in mind when offering building materials will help the birds in your yard produce high-quality, safe, and secure nests.

And, finally, some birds nest in trees and shrubs and are called “open cup” nesters, while others require use of a “cavity” to nest. Historically, these cavities were in dead trees, called snags, but people also provide nest boxes that meet this need as well.

So give the birds in your garden a fighting chance this year by planting indigenous, providing food, water, cover and nesting materials and your joy will be unparalleled!

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