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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A thought for this Sunday

Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.

Dale Carnegie

A Grey Lourie (Corythaixoides concolor) waiting for the rest of the flock to join him in the Acacia karroo

Camera: Canon EOS 550D

Have you ever seen a bird that didn’t look happy?

I haven’t.

Simply happy to be alive.

To watch the sun rise.

To fly.

Getting on with the business of life.

Never stopping, never whining, never giving up.

Never expecting anything more.

There’s a lesson in there, somewhere.

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Masked Weaver's nest-building skills

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Location : In my garden. Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa)

Since the beginning of summer I've been watching the Southern Masked Weavers (Ploceus velatus) busy building their nests in my garden and it’s been a hive of activity! There were at least ten of them with nests in various stages of construction, 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.

Unfortunately they choose the very top of the trees, so a closer shot was not possible.

Swartkeelgeelvink [Afrikaans]

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I think I'll leave a window on this side...

Camera :Canon EOS 550D 

Taken in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

A male African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) in the process of building his nest to attract a female. It was thrilling to watch as he flew to and from the nest, carrying weaving material, inspecting and adjusting with every visit. And in between he would hang from the nest, fluttering his wings to attract the attention of the ladies.

The Southern Masked-Weaver or African Masked-Weaver is an inhabitant of sub-Saharan Africa with a short, conical bill. Adult males in breeding plumage have a black face and throat, red eyes, a bright yellow head and underparts, and yellowish-green upper-parts, whereas females (and non-breeding males) are dull greenish yellow, streaked darker on the upper back, and the throat is yellowish, becoming off-white on the belly, with duller irides. It nests in colonies, like other weavers, and the nests, again like those of other weavers, are woven of reeds, palms or grasses. The Southern Masked-Weaver appears to have established itself locally in parts of northern Venezuela.

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I've lost my Chi-Chi!

Day 1

Seven and a half months ago I found Chi-Chi outside, virtually abandoned by her mother and very weak, couldn't keep up with the family. So of course she was brought inside, put in a basket with a hot water bottle and lovingly pampered over the next few weeks.

Chi-Chi at 2 weeks old

Chi-Chi at 5 weeks old

Chi-Chi at 8 weeks and just starting to sport her little hat 

Chi-Chi at 6 months old and getting the nesting urge

Chi-Chi fully independent

After spending six months with me, following me everywhere and often having sojourns outside to the garden and mixing with all the other girls, Chi-Chi has finally left home. She's independent. She's left me. She's fully integrated into the flock now. Her pecking order has been established - she's not right at the bottom of the ladder, that is reserved for ChickyBoo and Micky, but at least she's somewhere in the middle, with the older girls like Kiep, Hettie and Megs still ruling the roost.

She's still very loving and lets met pick her up, carry her around and have some cuddles, but other than that, she's a flock member now. Even laid her second egg in one of the nest boxes in the coop (the one that seems to be favoured by EVERYBODY - they'll stand in queue for hours cackling and fighting about that one nest box and there are nine!), the first egg was laid in the nest I have in my studio (pic above).

And she takes her duty as a flock member very seriously. She dutifully runs up to Artemis when he calls with a tit-bit, stays well out of Meg, Kiep and Hettie's way and also partakes in pecking and chasing ChickyBoo and Micky every chance she gets. It's hard work being a flock member, you have to constantly be aware of what coop politics are taking place currently and keep up with all the latest news. Like the fact that Micky is broody and even though she's the flock's scape-goat, broody time is no time to be messing with someone wanting to sit on eggs.

Micky, the little black hen on the left, keeping an eye on Chi-Chi at supper-time.

I miss having my little Chi-Chi around but I am also extremely happy that her integration into the flock was so effortless and that she's finally no longer an outsider.

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Thankful for the rain - and there's more to come

Image from "Die Beeld" Newspaper

After suffering a drought most of last summer, this January has brought (almost) more rain than we can handle. While the farmers and us gardeners are ecstatic about the rain, some suburban areas in Krugersdorp (Gauteng, South Africa) and other areas have been hard hit with lots of destruction. At the Walter Sisulu Botanical gardens in Roodepoort the normally placid waterfall turned into a raging torrent, washing away bridges and sending the newly fledged young Black Eagle seeking the safety of his nest high up on the cliffs. You can see the video of the waterfall HERE.  

I think it is a symptom of all the development in the catchment area. With all the new housing estates going up in the area, more hard surfaces means less water penetration into the soil and larger, more spectacular flash floods. According to the SA Weather Service, this storm is in a band coming from the north, through Botswana and North West. Water flowing through water courses caused the Monument Dam at Key West Shopping Mall to overflow, spilling millions of litres into a nearby school, which had to be closed, while the water rushed through various parts of the town.

Watch this short video.


For the past three weeks, we've been having afternoon thunderstorms with 30mm on most days, but the whopper was on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, when my rain gauge over-flowed, meaning more than 100mm in just over 18 hours. I didn't write it down, but my estimate is 450mm for the month. My chickens sought the safety of the coop, not venturing out until it had all subsided after lunch-time.

I've always wanted to live either at the beach or the banks of a river, but Mother Nature is so unpredictable these days, I think for the moment I will settle for the high, flat plains of Gauteng.


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Confused Weaver

It seems this Weaver is wondering, “Now why would she not like this one…?”

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

A male African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) fluttering at his nest trying to attract the attention of a female.

The male builds a nest for a female. If the female does not like the nest, it might not be green enough even though it is newly built, he will tear it down and start over. If she does like the nest, she will line it with grass and feathers, and start raising a family. The male will then try to build a new nest for another female.

The Southern Masked-Weaver or African Masked-Weaver is an inhabitant of sub-Saharan Africa with a short, conical bill. Adult males in breeding plumage have a black face and throat, red eyes, a bright yellow head and underparts, and yellowish-green upper-parts, whereas females (and non-breeding males) are dull greenish yellow, streaked darker on the upper back, and the throat is yellowish, becoming off-white on the belly, with duller irides. It nests in colonies, like other weavers, and the nests, again like those of other weavers, are woven of reeds, palms or grasses. The Southern Masked-Weaver appears to have established itself locally in parts of northern Venezuela.

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The first Guineas on the last day of the year

Camera : Canon EOS 550D Taken in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) 31 Dec 2013

Whoot whoot! What a wonderful way to say goodbye to 2013! On the 31st December 2013 and for the first time in 10 years, some Helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) visited my garden again! We used to have huge flocks of these delightful birds pass through our smallholding, but for the past ten years their sightings have become less and less as progress takes it toll in the area. I am absolutely thrilled that they honoured me with a visit!

There were only two in the garden while the rest of the flock grazed just outside the fence and they were constantly chattering to one another, keeping in touch.

Upon spotting me with the camera, this one stopped grazing and gave me the beady eye, as if to say, "Now what do you want?" but didn't seem particularly worried about my presence. I tried to move closer to get a better shot, but that sent both of them scurrying along the fence, finally taking flight and joining the rest of the flock on the other side.

I'm really hoping this would not be the last time that they come and visit.

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Juvenile African Mole snake (Pseudaspis cana)

Walking in the garden yesterday morning, I noticed all the chickens gathered in one spot on the lawn, necks outstretched and a general look of alarm and consternation on all their faces. Upon closer inspection, I found this little juvenile African Mole snake (Pseudaspis cana), equally alarmed at being surrounded by such a curious audience.

I didn't have my camera with me, and besides which I feared the chickens might attack and hurt him, so I had to pick him up and go inside to get the camera. I apologise for the pics not being better, but it's rather difficult working a camera with a zoom lens with one hand! After these couple of photos, I carried him to outside the garden wall and released him in the long grass on our smallholding. It's no guarantee he'll be safe there either, the closest trees where he might find some birds' eggs is either our blue gum bush further down the plot or the neighbour's garden.

Before I had chickens, I always used to leave them in the garden where I was sure they would be quite safe until they decided to move on. This little chap is about 30cm long and they reach a length of up to 2m.

The Mole snake can be identified by its uniform brown, grey or black colour (juveniles have zigzag or mottled markings), its preference for burrowing, a round pupil and highly aggressive self-defence display. (Read HERE about Mollie, my resident mole snake). It grows to an average length of 1.4 meters but may reach 2 meters in length. The Mole snake eats rodents (particularly rats, mice and gerbils), moles and birds. Juveniles however are largely restricted to lizards, probably why this juvenile was attracted to my garden, I have a lot of lizards (African striped skink).

Mole snakes give birth to live young), gives birth to between 25 and 50 young (or up to 95 in rare cases) in late summer. They have been known to live for 20 years in captivity.

PS: Never pick up any snakes, even small ones, if you're not 100% sure of what it is!

Molslang [Afrikaans]; Inkwakhwa [Xhosa]; uBhulube, umJungendlu [Zulu]

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Craving greenery

 Green is one of my favourite colours - green in nature signifies health and growth, the colour of spring, of renewal and rebirth. For the longest while now I've been craving green, leafy food - green vegetables have always been my favourite above carrots, pumpkin, beetroot and most of the 'red' vegetables (the only thing I DON'T eat is green peppers!), so I'm always on the look-out for tasty ways to prepare the greenery. I love preparing simple and easy meals, nothing too elaborate for me, and I found this steamed green beans recipe at the Woolworths TasteMag site. As it also has broccoli in it, it has turned out to be one of my favourites.

I know that cravings are a way of your body letting you know where to get some vitamin or mineral that it is lacking and leafy green veggies are full of vital nutrients like Beta Carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, B complex, Folic Acid, Iron, and Calcium. Seems like my body is missing a lot of vitamins... Time to make a veggie garden...

STEAMED GREEN BEANS WITH CRISPY SAGE BUTTER

Recipe by: Abigail Donnelly
Serves: 6 - 8
Dietary considerations: Low carb
Category: Vegetarian / Easy / Great value / Quick
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
700 g green beans, trimmed
460 g tender broccoli stems
150 g salted butter
1 bunch sage, leaves picked
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cooking instructions:
Cook the beans and broccoli in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, or until tender. Drain and refresh under running cold water. Set aside. Place the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and stir until melted. Add the sage leaves and gently cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until crispy. Add the beans, broccoli, sea salt and pepper, and toss to heat through.

Arrange on a plate and spoon over the sage butter to serve.

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