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The Sunday Bird Show

Starling on my Terrace

Well its been hot, hot, hot here and I’ve really not had much inclination to dig in the dirt. All I can motivate myself to do as far as gardening goes is to lounge around, enjoy the garden and appreciate the birds who took over the back garden this afternoon. At one stage there were so many flitting around that I had to put the camera down just to appreciate the very sight of all these different birds who now find some reason to visit my little space in the world. It was really quite something to have all these visitors in such a short space of time.

Most of the birds today were regulars (Yay! I now have “regulars”!) but we also had new birds in the back garden. The Cape Bulbul was new to me and the Redwing Starlings are usually in the front garden, but today they joined us at the back. Every bit of “birdy equipment” was in use this afternoon and the birds showed me what else they’ve been drinking from …here the Redwing Starling is drinking from one of the pots on the Terrace.

Starling on the Terrace

[one_half]Starling on the Terrace[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Starling on the Terrace[/one_half_last]

The Starlings are really not shy at all. They’ve been making my garden their home ever since we’ve lived here but usually confine themselves to the front garden where they have plenty of water features and bird baths which is what they seem to want from me. Water! They also enjoy the Frangipani tree in the front.

Starling on my Terrace

[one_half]Starling on my Terrace[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Starling on my Terrace[/one_half_last]

According to my notes, these with the grey heads are females. They came really close to me and seemed very unfussed by my presence. Then is the “new” kid in town, the Cape Bulbul (Pycnonotus capensis). Cape Bulbul eat fruit, seeds, nectar and insects. They’ve been making short work of the goodies on the new bird feeder.

Cape Bulbul

[one_half]Cape Bulbul[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cape Bulbul[/one_half_last]

This next bird is new to my garden (I haven’t seen it here before). I’ve looked through my “bird” books and can’t find a match for this one. I thought it looked a lot like the Rooibeksysie which is now a very regular visitor, but … I really don’t know what this is. Does anybody recognise it? It has also been eating off the new bird table, but seems a bit shy.

Unknown Birdie

[one_half]Unknown Birdie[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Unknown Birdie[/one_half_last]

Here is the Rooibeksysie (aka Common Red Waxbill) again – they enjoy the hanging bird feeder and are regular everyday visitors now. They seem to prefer the apple pieces to all the other things we’ve tried. Apple and seeds. They are very cute, have become quite forward and are not shy to let the other birds know when they are around.

Red Waxbill

[one_half]Red Waxbill[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Red Waxbill[/one_half_last]

The sweet little sunbird that visits every day between at around five in the afternoon is growing up. (I first wrote about him here when he was a juvenile). I’ve watched him mature over the last three weeks and enjoy seeing him. Amazing that the same birds seem to come back every day or actually live somewhere in my garden …

The Sunbird

[one_half]"My" Sunbird[/one_half]

[one_half_last]"My" Sunbird[/one_half_last]

And then the last bird of the day, the Hadeda – Just as the sun was starting to go down I looked out of my bedroom window and saw this female Hadeda perched on the neighbours roof, looking into my garden. The light was not great so my photos are not good, but here she is – she gave us quite a show when I went outside to photograph her. Lots of preening and posturing.

Hadeda

[one_half]Hadeda Ibis[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Hadeda Ibis[/one_half_last]

Here are a few other random shots of the birds using their old and new birdy things. I’m thrilled to see they are actually using everything I’ve put out for them and are eating all the fruit and seeds. Having all these birds visit is a wonderful side-effect of gardening.

[one_half]More than one bird type …More than one bird type ...[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Glad to see they do use theseGlad to see they do use these[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Can you see them peeping from behind?Can you see them peeping from behind?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The Birds main Meeting PointThe main area it all happens[/one_half_last]

Thanks for joining me and “my” birds for our Sunday Bird Show 🙂
Happy Gardening
xxx

By Christine

Dominated by large trees on a medium sized property, my garden is very shaded. With no “full sun” areas I have to plant shade and partial shade loving plants. I love shrubs and flowers including camellias and azaleas but Roses and Irises are my favourite and getting these to thrive is a challenge …

25 replies on “The Sunday Bird Show”

Great to see the different types of birds they have in other parts of the world. The Hadeda bird is so pretty! It looks like she’s wearing a necklace. I’ve loved watching the birds here since I put up feeders. I really need more areas with water – I only have one little tray that collects water. That sure seems to bring them to your yard!

Love your birds!! 🙂 I think the unknown birdie is a Common Cape Sparrow – the male, I think. I would image that Diana will know! She is so good at this!

Hi Mary – I haven’t quite reached that stage yet of recognising the birds by their call. I’m still trying to identify the actual birds 🙂

By Post Author

What beautiful pictures! I love that you have regular visitors, and I think it’s great that you’ve watched the sunbird grow up. How sweet! No need to feel bad about not digging. Gardens are for relaxing too, no?

Hi Alan – 38 degrees centigrade here in my garden yesterday afternoon – Whatever the temperatures are here where I am, you can add 2 or 3 degrees to get the temperatures for where Barbie is (and Diana who is in Porterville, just a bit past Barbie’s). It was hot yesterday but not the hottest, and our summer has so far been quite mild other than a few very hot days.

Oh, something to bear in mind – Unlike in the USA, here in SA do not have air-cons or central heating as standard in our homes. I don’t have either – we just don’t need it. But then when it is very hot, we like to complain about the heat because we don’t have air-conditioned indoors to escape to 🙂

By Post Author

Where are you seeing this Alan? From what I’ve always understood, those readings are taken at cape town international airport which is not at the coast, so should be the same more or less as where I am. I’d be interested to see those numbers.

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Hi Diana – Yes I think you are 100% right, it does look like the female Cape Sparrow! I hope I catch her again, side on next time so we can see her wings! Thanks 🙂

By Post Author

I love your bird show. It should be like a TV show and happen like clockwork. I always look forward to bloggers’ bird posts, especially when they show birds I have only seen in zoos.

Donna, I realised today just why it is the “Sunday Bird Show”. During the week its a lot noisier here in Suburbia – kids walking to and from school, occasional cars, workers, a bit of traffic … but on Sundays it’s quiet … you could hear a pin drop, so I guess the birds feel really safe about dropping in on all the gardens. Hence it’s the “Sunday Bird Show”. 🙂

By Post Author

We had our annual Garden Birdwatch this weekend when people record the birds they see in one hour in their gardens. It would have been nice to have had your sunbirds. Even your starlings are more colourful than ours. Glad to see your birds are using all your feeders.

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