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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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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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 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).
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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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