Armchair Birding

31 July 2021 - Kyalami Estates

Earlier in the month, I put up some bird feeders in my garden kindly supplied by Westerman's Bird Products and it certainly didn't take long for the resident birds to discover this bounty of food in the colder winter months.

Once they were relaxed feeding, we could watch the entertainment from our chairs in the garden and it really is quite relaxing watching the interaction between the different species.

The Suet Ball's took longer to discover than the Wild Bird Seed and Seed Bell, but proved to be popular with a number of species; Black-collared Barbet

Black-collared Barbet (Lybius torquatus)

Common Myna, unwanted - but still present

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

I used two feeders for the wild bird seed that attracted the usual garden bird mix;

Red-headed Finch (Amadina erythrocephala)

Southern Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) and Red-headed Finch

Winter plumage Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

But the most exciting were the Cut-throat Finch, a really good garden bird for this pentad. I noticed that one or two were also ringed

Female Cut-throat Finch (Amadina fasciata) on the left with Cape Sparrow and Red-headed Finch

Female Cut-throat Finch (Amadina fasciata)

Male Cut-throat Finch (Amadina fasciata)

I complimented the seeds with fruit on the end of the perches I set-up and both the Barbet's and Go-away Birds scrapped over the rights to feed on these

Black-collared Barbet (Lybius torquatus)

Cape White-Eye (Zosterops virens)

Dark-capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor)

Grey Go-away-bird (Corythaixoides concolor)

However the Green Wood-hoopoe's were welcome, as they seldom stop over as the forage around the estate

Green Wood-hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus)

Looking forward to spring when some species transition into their breeding plumage.