Thick-billed Weaver

I've blogged about the Southern Masked Weavers that are very common visitors to the garden before. Today i was privileged to have a much scarcer visitor, a female Thick-billed Weaver:


Thick-billed weavers are immediately identifiable from their large head and somewhat massive bill and, although they are not uncommon, it is the first time I have seen one in the garden! I'm always very excited to add a new addition to the garden list and hopefully this means the male, a more striking bird is also around!

Speckled Mousebird

On the subject of Mice, i often have mousebird's in the garden. They are super cute and really do look very much like mice, even down to the long scruffy tails - mousebirds do tend to creep around in dense foliage and so are quite difficult to see most of the time. This one is a Speckled Mousebird, we also sometimes get Red Faced Mousebirds ... although i have not seen one since being back in Johannesburg.

House Mouse

Not all garden visitors are welcome. I often see this family of mice foraging outback ... I'm leaving them be in the hope that they will attract some owls! The Spotted Eagle Owls have been very active lately and i hear or see them most evenings.

Cape White-eye - Take 2

Lately i'm obsessed with getting a decent pic of these little guys, so far my efforts have been unspectacular, but improving.

Feeding on my canna:



Perched on the wild rose (big crop):

Cape White-eye

These tiny little birds are super cute and I love watching them flit around the bushes. They are pretty tricky to photograph because they are so small. This is a 50% crop so I have lost a bit of detail. Hopefully I will be able to post a better picture soon.

Spotted Eagle Owl

I am absolutely carzy about owls, so I have been very excited to have spotted two Eagle Owls over the last few days. On Monday one flew directly overhead me when I was out in the garden quite late, and this evening there was a male calling on the roof of the building accross the road. Unfortunately the light was too bad for a decent photograph as you can see below! However I am very excited that they are present and will hopefully have some luck finding their roost over the next few weeks. A little bird has also wispered in my ear that they are aware of a nesting site in the area :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Morning Glory

Fiscal Shrike Vs Fiscal Flycatcher

Since I was blogging about Fiscal Shrikes this morning, I thought i would add a post about another common visitor to the garden I spotted this afternoon, the almost identical Fiscal Flycatcher. These birds can be very difficult to tel apart from a distance, but if you look closely the shrike (on the left) is sligtly more robust and has a pronounced hook in its bill. The white chevrons on its back are also up towards the shoulders. In contrast the fly catcher has a straight bill and chevrons that a lower down on its wings. I especially love the way the fly catchers perch on my fence and catch flying ants in mid air. As my photography skills improve i will hopefully capture them in action!

Dikkop & Fiscal Shrike

I popped up the road to a vacant lot to try and get a quick snap of the Dikkop's (Spotted Thick-knee's) that hang out there. Dikkops are nocturnal and I often see them flash across my headlights when coming home late a night, but they huddle inconspicuously under a shady tree during the day - so they tend to go unnoticed. This guy was still half asleep judging by his drooping eyelids and was not too pleased to be woken:



On the way to the lot I also managed to get a snap of a pair of Fiscal Shrike's. Although these ferocious predators (for their size) are extremely common i have always had a soft spot for them because i raised one from a chick as a child, so always happy to see them doing well in the area. Unfortunately they do not often visit my garden because the resident pair of Indian Myna's hound them mercilessly if they intrude:

Cape Robin

Another of my garden favourites. These little guys normally only come out in the evening when the light is not that great for photographs, so i was lucky to get a usable pic today!

Wordless Wednesday - Cape Dwarf Gecko

Crested Barbet

I'm very lucky to have a pair of Crested Barbet's nesting in a large pine tree accross the road. Unfortunately they are just out of effective range for my 300mm lens (420mm with a 1.4 extender), as you can see the resolution on this large crop is not great, but you can still make out the nest hole in the photo below:



I love the afrikaans name for the Crested Barbet birds, Kuifkophoutkapper, which is fantastically descriptive. These birds are extreemly noisy and their shrill trrrrrrrrr call can be heard throughout the day. They are also extreemly frustrating to photograph, never sitting still for more than a few seconds and rarely comming into range. So far this is about the best snap i have got:



I think i may have to build a bird feeder to lure them closer, watch this space!

Wordless Wednesday - Heron