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.

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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White-browed Sparrow Weaver (Plocepasser mahali)

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

While working in the garden, I was absolutely thrilled to see a pair of White-browed Sparrow Weavers (Plocepasser mahali – Koringvoël in Afrikaans) visiting one of my bird feeders. These large, plump, short-tailed weavers are not shy at all and don’t fly off easily, even when walking quite close past them. Their boldness is utterly charming and besides a harsh ‘chik-chik’ call which they use to let one another know they’re still around, they have a beautiful, loud, liquid ‘cheeoop-preeoo-chop’ whistle which I haven’t been able to figure out yet.

This Weaver is often confused with the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), but lacks the black mask surrounding the eye and black throat typical of the House Sparrow.

The White-browed Sparrow-Weaver is found in greatest numbers in north-central southern Africa, so seeing them in my garden has been the highlight of the season and I’m hoping they will either move in or at least become regular visitors.

Found throughout central and north-central Southern Africa, it mainly eats insects, seeds, fruit and fleshy leaves, doing most of its foraging in flocks of 4-10 birds (sometimes along with other species), plucking food items from the ground and will even visit bird-feeders.

These birds are monogamous and colonial cooperative breeders, living in groups within which each bird has their own nest. However there can only be one active breeding pair per group who are usually the largest in size, remaining dominant until their death, at which point another pair steps up to the plate. The group is highly territorial, vigorously defending their 50 meter long foraging territory, often chasing intruders out of the territory.

The nest is built by both breeders in about 5-30 days but maintained throughout the year, consisting of an untidy, retort-shaped structure made of dry grass, with two entrances one of which is closed by the breeding pair. It is typically wedged into the branches of a thorny tree, but it may also use telephone wires, power lines and fences.

 

 

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♫♫♫♫ Oh, what a beautiful morning!

Camera : Canon EOS 550D 

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

An African Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) proclaiming his territory, singing to everybody that he has cleared the leaves off these branches for HIS nest. This is HIS spot. Shortly after taking the pick, he flew off in the direction of my bathroom court-yard garden, quickly returning with a long sliver of the Windmill Palm’s leaf and he started construction of his nest.

It wasn’t long before he had the foundations of a brand new home and some ladies were sitting in the sidelines, keeping a keen eye on him. Once the nest is complete, a female will inspect it and if she doesn’t like it, she’ll start tearing it apart, letting him know no uncertain terms that it’s not up to standard! However, should she accept the nest, she will start carrying in feathers, lining it for her eggs.

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One loop to the left...

“O yes, that’s how it goes – one loop to the left and two to the right…” 

Camera : Canon EOS 550D

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

This African Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) seemed to be having a hard time getting his knitting in order. Every time he pulled a thread through, one on the other side would jump out and he seemed to be getting extremely irritated by the whole procedure! Eventually, he abandoned this effort and moved to another branch, starting anew. I think this is a youngster and I don’t think he’s going to manage finding a female this late in the season!

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Praying Mantis in my garden

Camera : Fuji FinePix 2800Zoom 

Taken in my garden, Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa

Over the year the visitors to the garden vary according to the season, the weather, the heat, rain, food, shelter, breeding cycle and probably other conditions we can’t know or measure – we don’t know it all, that’s for sure.

This Praying Mantis (Mantidae Stagomantis) was so well camouflaged that I almost missed her. If it wasn’t for a slight movement of one of her front legs, I would never have seen her. This gardener’s friend is a voracious little predator and feeds on harmful insects like aphids and fruit flies, with the adults graduating to flies, butterflies and crickets. Some species even eat small hummingbirds, frogs, lizards, and mice.

The “leaf” on her back is actually her wing! I photographed her in one of our blue Gum trees (Eucalyptus) on our smallholding in Tarlton, South Africa.

By and large many people regard insects with horror as either pests or revolting creepy-crawly creatures to be avoided or worse still, squashed without mercy. Infamous as they may be, insects play such a vital role in the food chain and the global eco-system of the planet that without them, life as we know it, would cease to exist.

The Praying Mantis (Mantidae Stagomantis – Afrikaans “Hottentotsgod”, (literally meaning the god of the Khoi) is named for its prominent front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of prayer.

Generally, mantises are good for the garden. They’re part of a solution to a pest problem, but they eat beneficials, too. And if nothing else is available, they’ll eat each other! So if you plan having one as a pet, have separate housing for each praying mantis you intend to keep! ... The praying mantis is the only insect capable of rotating its head by 180 degrees, and this, combined with very keen eyesight, is used to observe both predators and prey. Incredibly the mantis’ powerful vision extends over 50 feet. And as if this wasn’t enough they also have hearing abilities that exceed the upper limit of human hearing.

Organic gardeners who avoid pesticides may encourage mantises as a form of biological pest control. Did you know that tens of thousands of mantis egg cases are sold each year in some garden stores for this purpose! During fall, praying mantis females deposit a sticky egg case on the underside of a leaf or on a twig. If the egg case survives winter, the offspring, called nymphs, emerge in late spring or early summer. The nymphs have voracious appetites and typically cannibalize each other if they don’t have an adequate supply of aphids and other small insects. Egg cases are commercially available for placement in landscaping.

She was following my every move as I moved around the tree to get the best shot. Her little head turned with every movement I made, seemingly staring me right in the eye all the while, yet not making the slightest move in case she might give away her position, perfectly camouflaged amongst the leaves. She chose a good spot, as her wings looked exactly like the leaves of the blue gum tree (Eucalyptus) she was resting in.

 I really am always thrilled when I find a Praying Mantis in my garden – these insects are real characters and are not intimidated easily! When I tried to move the leaves to get a better shot, my finger was summarily grabbed and I got a quick nip for my efforts. That didn’t hurt, but the front legs holding onto my finger certainly would have crushed and fatally injured any insect unlucky enough to venture close. I had quite a time convincing her to let go so I could carry on photographing!

Uittreksel uit Siel van Hottentotsgod
Haar koppie draai al in die rondte opsoek na iets sappigs om die honger pyne te stil. Def is ‘n hottentotsgod wat al ‘n paar winters oorleef het hier in die bos geweste. Sy verlang ook nou al baie na haar mannnetjie wat sy al lank terug opgeëet het. Hy sal mos ook nou al trots gewees het op die kleingoed van so by die hele ses. Met haar voorpoot veeg sy ‘n insek traan uit die oë wat altyd waaksaam moet bly. 

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