My Robin is nesting!

Since My Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra) moved into my garden a couple of years ago, I've watched him and his wife rear many a brood, but never managed to get a shot of the nest and eggs. Last month (August) I watched as they made their nest in my bathroom court-yard amongst the ferns and managed to get a nice pic of this perfect little home!

But before they could occupy this neat little space, the Karoo Thrush started snooping around, obviously having seen the activity of nest-building, and Robbie and his wife gave up the idea of laying eggs here.

At the moment there's a war raging in my garden. It started when the Karoo thrush decided to evict Robbie from inside my house and claim the space as her own and for months Robbie never came near the house. Luckily he has returned, often spending time in my lounge and dining room and for a moment there I thought they might choose the thatch roof over my plasma TV to make a nest, but that hasn't happened yet. But out in the garden, the minute the Thrush sees the Robbie, the chase is on, and when Robbie spots the Thrush, his tail stands straight up in the air!

Then, over the past two days, I watched as the female Robin kept on going in and out of one of the Restio plants in my garden, so this morning I decided to investigate and see if they were making a new nest.

And 'lo and behold, there was the fruits of their labour, two beautiful spotted eggs! When I approached, Mrs. Robbie hurriedly left the nest, giving me a couple of minutes to get this one photograph and she was back the minute I turned my back. Hopefully the Thrush is not aware of their little hiding place. It's only about 12 inches off the ground and very private and obscured, but it always amazes me the funny places the Robin chooses to nest.

When I looked back, Robbie was sitting close-by, keeping an eye on me and making sure his wife could return in safety. I managed to get in a quick capture.

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. 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. During this period the adults are particularly viglant about protecting their young, sometimes attacking snake such as the boomslang (Dispholidus typus) and Cape cobra (Naja nivea) - luckily none of those around here.

So over the next few weeks I'll be keeping a close eye and hope to catch a glimpse of the babies when they leave the nest.

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The Cape Robin in my house

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my kitchen yesterday morning 5.23am

I have this Obsessive Compulsive Cape Robin (Cossypha caffra) that has decided that my kitchen is the best place here in Tarlton (South Africa). He also wanders through the house as if he’s been doing it his whole life. And no, he’s not a pet, but I have named him Robbie.

He arrived in my garden early in 2012 and little did I know that he’s a totally peculiar character – he actually seems to prefer the indoors to the out-doors. Entering through the front door which is always open, he’ll spend hours wandering from room to room, sometimes walking, sometimes flying. His favourite spot, however, is standing in front of my stainless steel dustbin in the kitchen, flying up at his reflection, as one sees birds doing to motor car mirrors, coming back frequently from his other trips through the house to once again challenge himself in the shiny dustbin.

He has learnt what my whistle means when I fill the bird feeders and I can now actually whistle from anywhere inside the house and he will actually come in and have a look if anything is on offer. I specially put minced meat on a plate for him in the kitchen and he visits throughout the day, having his fill and finishing the lot. And for months now I’ve been trying to get a picture of him in the house and finally, yesterday morning, he posed for me in the kitchen!

 I feel absolutely blessed that he has chosen my home to be peculiar in and last year he acquired a wife, both who often visit my kitchen now.

The Cape Robin is resident breeder in southern and eastern Africa from Kenya south to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. It is a common species at forest edges and in scrub, fynbos, karoo, plantations, gardens and parks.

Robbie sitting on one of the rafters in the lounge. It was pretty dark and as I was trying to focus, my zoom lens was chattering and whirring and pulling in and out, trying to focus, and by the time I had captured this, he had flown into the kitchen.

Robbie sitting on my Victorian Balloon-back chair

 Robbie merrily singing his song while I'm taking photos!

By the way, although Blogger says, "You may upload multiple files at once" and I have never been successful with that and it is now taken me longer than if I had just done it one-by-one! Aaaargh!

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Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra)

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Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Cape Robin-chat in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)
Afrikaans : Gewone janfrederik

My Robin, who comes into my house for snacks of minced meat, has been getting much tamer. Previously he wouldn’t let me photograph him in the garden, taking to the trees every time he sees me, but yesterday he was actually following me as I walked through the garden with my camera and even seemed to be taunting me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cape Robin is a resident breeder in southern and eastern Africa from Kenya south to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. It is a common species at forest edges and in scrub, fynbos, karoo, plantations, gardens and parks.

Until their recent name change, robin-chats were known as Robins, in southern African circles at least. But they are not really Robins at all, being closely related to chats and flycatchers.The name ‘robin’ stems from colonial times when, it seems, the British were obsessed with naming any red- or orange-breasted bird in a new country they settled in after their own beloved robin redbreast. In India and Africa the ‘robin’ is actually a chat, in North America it’s a thrush, and Australian and New Zealand ‘robins’ are members of the flycatcher family

They seem to like human company and have been known to nest in the most peculiar sites - one woman reported a Robin nesting in her handbag in her walk-in cupboard and another reports a Robin nesting in a pot plant in their lounge. My Robbie has been investigating my whole house, walking or flying from room to room, and I've been hoping to one day find a nest somewhere in the house!

(You can read HERE all about my Robin taking up residence in my home)

SOMMIGE noem hom dagbreker, ander weer janfrederik en ander Cape robin of Cossypha caffra. Maak egter nie saak wat hy genoem word nie, want hierdie nimlike voël het al in menige tuinier se hart gaan nesskop. 


Met sy wit wenkbroustreep en sy oranje ``borslappie'' is dit 'n gunsteling onder baie mense wat hou van voëls in en om hul huis.

Die naam dagbreker is sekerlik afgelei van die voël se gewoonte om amper eerste te begin sing in die oggend. Lank voordat die son sy kop uitsteek, basuin hierdie voël sy melodieuse frases luidkeels uit. Die sang begin dikwels met die kenmerkende "jan-fre-de-rik"-frase, waarvandaan die vroeë Nederlandse kolonialiste sy naam afgelei het. Die eerste Britse kolonialiste het terstond die voël Cape Robin gedoop omdat hy hulle seer sekerlik laat dink het aan hul eie robin met sy oranje bors.

Hierdie voël is grootliks insekvretend en sal geduldig sit en wag vir 'n besige tuinier om klaar te skoffel sodat hy by die erd- en ander sappige wurms, ongewerweldes en slakke kan uitkom. Hulle sal ook miere, spinnekoppe en plantluise met groot genot verorber en sodoende jou tuin gesond hou. Die voël sal ook vrugte van inheemse en eksotiese struike en bome eet. Daar is egter iets wat sal maak dat die voël 'n gereelde ``bedelaar'' by jou huis raak: 'n Stukkie gerasperde kaas en meelwurms of maalvleis behoort net die regte manier te wees om dié mooi voël tuis te laat voel en as dit nog op spesifieke tye neergesit word op spesifieke plekke, kan dit selfs vinniger gebeur.

Hulle word baie mak en sal sommer in jou huis instap en opvlieg na die kombuistafel om te kyk of daar nie iets is om te aas nie. Dit laat 'n mens tog onwillekeurig dink aan die gesegde van iemand wat "aasvoël" speel - moes dit nie eerder janfrederik gewees het nie? Solank jy net nie katte het wat daar rondloop nie, kan die voël sommer maklik intrek.

Enige tuin kan 'n paartjie huisves en dit slegs deur toe te sien dat daar genoeg digte struike en bome is waarin hulle kan nes maak. Daar word gewoonlik tussen twee en vier eiers per seisoen gelê en tussen 14 en 18 dae later sal die kleingoed begin smeek om kos. Wanneer hul kuikens uitgebroei het, kan hulle ook gekookte rys gevoer word.

Die jong voël is bruinerig, dofgeel-en-swart gespikkel met die kenmerkende oranjerooi stert met 'n swart gedeelte in die middel.

Maak nie saak wat jy hom noem nie, hierdie mooi voël is 'n uitstekende sanger en kan maklik etlike jare in jou tuin woon en ongekende plesier verskaf, aangesien die voëls tot 17 jaar oud kan word.

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Thank goodness it's Thursday

(Equally thankful for Monday or Friday or Sunday...) 

I am just a bird. Not even a rare one, just a robin on a rock looking up at that big sky. 

And yet, I can fly. 

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This week I have been saying blessings and thank you's to the ordinary everydays. Nothing spectacular, yet everything is amazing. The sun is shining and I have friends in my garden. Watching me. Following me. And allowing me to photograph them.

Life is good.

 

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Grey-headed Bush Shrike - a new visitor!

 

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Ground-scraper Thrush

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The Masked Weaver was hard at work and not taking any notice of me! And just look at the acrobatics!

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The OC Robin

I have this Obsessive Compulsive Cape Robin that has decided that my kitchen is the best place in the world!. He also wanders through the house as if he's been doing it his whole life. And no, he's not a pet! 

A couple of months ago I sat and watched as the Cape Robin, a total new-comer to my garden, was testing out one of the bird baths. He sat on the edge, dipping his beak and shaking his head, testing the temperature and getting a good splattering at the same time. This carried on for about 3 or 4 minutes before he summoned up the courage to hop in and actually bath. 

Then he flew up onto a nearby rock, preening and cleaning his feathers from head to toe before flying up into the trees and disappearing from sight. Little did I know that he's a totally peculiar character - he actually seems to prefer the indoors to the out-doors. 

Entering through the front door which is always open, he'll spend hours wandering from room to room, sometimes walking, sometimes flying. His favourite spot, however, is standing in front of my stainless steel dustbin in the kitchen, flying up at his reflection, as one sees birds doing to motor car mirrors, coming back frequently from his other trips through the house to once again challenge himself in the shiny dustbin. 

I have wondered if he could possibly have been someone's pet at one stage, he's so totally at ease in the house. I also believe that he is lonely and that the obsessive flying up at his image is possibly because he thinks it might be a potential mate. 

He has learnt what my whistle means when I fill the bird feeders and I can now actually whistle from anywhere inside the house and he will actually come in and have a look if anything is on offer. I especially put minced meat on one feeding table for him, and am now considering leaving a snack for him in the kitchen! 

I feel absolutely blessed that he has chosen my home to be peculiar in, but I do SO wish for another Robin to join him here in my garden....

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Photographs taken in my garden in Tarlton, South Africa 

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