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.

.

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.

::

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
.

• Rhus pyroides (Common currant)
• Prunus (Satsuma plum)
• Viscum rotundifolium (mistletoe)
• Ehretia rigida (Puzzle-bush)

.
They also eat the flower parts of Prunus (peaches and apricots), Rhigozum trichotomum (Driedoring) and Tagetes erecta (African marigold). They love the nectar from
.

• Aloe marlothii (Mountain aloe)
• Tecoma capensis (Cape honeysuckle)
• Schotia brachypetala (Weeping boer-bean)
• Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Red ironbark)
• Hibiscus rose-sinensis (hibiscus)

.
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.
.

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.

.

The Robin is the one

THE ROBIN is the one
That interrupts the morn
With hurried, few, express reports
When March is scarcely on.
 
The robin is the one

That overflows the noon
With her cherubic quantity,
An April but begun.

The robin is the one
That speechless from her nest

Submits that home and certainty
And sanctity are best.

I am rather sad writing this post - just as my "OC Robin" (obsessive compulsive!) got so very tame that I could actually capture pictures of him in my house, he was attacked in my lounge a couple of weeks ago by the Karoo Thrush, who also took to coming into the house, and Robbie hasn't set foot inside the house since. Luckily he is unscathed by this territorial dispute and even though the Robin is very cheeky and normally does not back off, the much larger Thrush got the upper-hand this time.

Karoo Thrush (Turdus smithi) - mean-looking, right?

Here are some pics of Robbie in my house :

Robbie making himself at home on one of the chairs in the kitchen. the up-lifted tail is a sign that he is aware of me and not at all pleased!

The Cape Robin Chat (Cossypha caffra) is renowned for its strange behaviour. There are many reports of Robins finding strange nesting places inside homes - a potted plant in a lounge, on top of window sills in the house, even a woman's handbag in her closet! It has even been recorded to have placed the nest in a dried flower arrangement in the lounge of the Grahamstown Golf Club! And they are not adverse to following one around the garden and Robbie seems to know some snacks are going to appear - as soon as he sees me with my spade or garden trowel, he gets close, nabbing cutworms and other insects I up-earth. He also loves it when I water the garden with the hose pipe, trudging around in the water like a seasoned water fowl, snapping up floating insects disturbed by the water.

Robbie following me around the garden

The Robin mainly eats insects and other invertebrates, supplemented with fruit and seeds plucked from bushes, trees or the ground. It does a lot of its foraging in leaf litter, flicking through plant debris in search of food and occasionally aerially hawking an insect; it may also glean invertebrates from leaves, branches and rocks. It readily visits bird feeders and will eat most snacks offered to it. My Robbie is extremely fond of minced meat, which he used to come and snack on in my kitchen (before the Thrush incident!). Now I put it on one of the nails on the bird feeder above, but he's very wary to approach it, as the Thrush is also a mince lover! Oh my, I have a real territorial dispute problem in my garden now!

The Cape Robin Chat is monogamous and a highly territorial solitary nester, as the male aggressively defends his territory against other males as well as other species, such as white-eyes, sunbirds and doves. The nest is usually built solely by the female in about 1-14 days, gathering a clump of material together before shuffling its body into it to form a cup. It is usually made out of bark fragments, twigs, dry grass, fern fronds, rootlets, dead leaves, moss and seed pods and lined with finer fibres, such as hair, rootlets and plant inflorescences. It is most commonly placed in a hollow in an earthen bank, cavity in a tree trunk, densely foliaged shrub, dry flood debris along a stream bank, or in pots or boxes overgrown with vegetation.

Egg-laying season is from about June-January, peaking around October-November. She 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. During this period the adults are particularly viglant about protecting their young, sometimes even attacking snakes such as the Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) and Cape cobra (Naja nivea).
.

He has blue eyes!

Over the weeks, since my last report on the Indian Ringneck that has moved into my garden, we have progressed in bounds and leaps in our friendship. He has become quite at home, coming when we call him for food and calmly staying put on his perch or the bird feeder when we approach. Here are just a few more photographs of this beautiful chap. (And to my utter amazement, he has the most beautiful blue eyes!)

.

The bliss of birds

Nobody else knows your reason for being. You do. Your bliss guides you to it. When you follow your bliss, when you follow your path to joy, your conversation is of joy, your feelings are of joy — you're right on the path of that which you intended when you came forth into this physical body. 

 --- Abraham-Hicks 

Birds... those lovely little creatures that just brighten up any day, no matter how cold. Without any complaints they just go about their business, finding food for the family, basking in the sun on a bare branch, singing soft melodies that gladden the heart.

Having the birds in my garden visiting my various bird feeders makes me feel so special. Makes me feel alive with purpose. Brings a smile to my face and makes me feel grateful to be part of Mother Nature who surrounds us and takes care of all her siblings, me and you included.

A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind   

and floats downstream   

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and   

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings   

with a fearful trill   

of things unknown   

but longed for still   

and his tune is heard   

on the distant hill   

for the caged bird   

sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams   

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream   

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied   

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings   

with a fearful trill   

of things unknown   

but longed for still   

and his tune is heard   

on the distant hill   

for the caged bird   

sings of freedom.

~ Maya Angelou, “Caged Bird”

.

Birds of Africa Calendar

:: Another beautiful day in Africa! ::
.

The song of birds echoing across the endless savannah, 

the sound of crickets under a star studded sky – 

this is the Africa you will experience!

.

Front cover of the "Birds of Africa" calendar

There's still enough time if you haven't got any 2015 calendars yet! Each month contains a bird painting, big enough that they can be framed individually at year's end. My 2015 Calendars are available for purchase now and you can find them on RedBubble.

RedBubble calendars are printed using marvellous futuristic technologies, so complex I can’t go into them here, but I can tell you they are lovingly printed on a luscious 200gsm satin art paper at the striking size of A3 (that’s 297×420mm, or 11.69×16.54″).
.

They also have very handy wire binding so you can hang them from things like ‘hooks’ on exciting places like ‘walls’! I ordered two for myself, one for the kitchen and one for my Studio.

You can select your own start month, and order right into the future. Everything about them is brilliant, except you’ll have no excuse for missing the dates of your up-coming birding expeditions!

Features

• Tough wire binding and hanger
• Stunningly sharp digital printing
• Start the year with the month of your choice
• 200gsm satin art paper with a tougher cover

The Back cover shows all 12 months' images, which could all be framed individually.

All paintings are done by myself in watercolour and each individual painting is also available from RedBubble as Greeting Cards, Postcards, Framed prints and posters.
.

::