Antics of the late Night Spotted Eagle Owls and Plenty of Drama

By Ian Groat

Last year you may remember we wrote a small piece on the drama a pair of nesting owls brought to our placid lifestyle.  As parents this pair of feathered delinquents let the baby owls seemingly fall out of the nest at first chance but were actually ousted from the security of their owl box by a swarm of invading African bees.

We found the first male baby Spotted Eagle Owl, which we named Orville, which I spent two days knocking him up a wooden nest to shelter him from the rain at the time.  Two days later, my over active Boxer pups discovered his next mate Orvette sitting on a branch soaked to the skin.  I placed her in the new nest only to witness a giant fledgling scrap where they both flew away.

Orville’s next piece of misguided flight saw him having to be rescued from the swimming pool, after an extended period of floating around, he was almost dead and was only revived by a hair dryer where he made a slow recovery.

The two owls were to be seen standing out on a branch in all kinds of weather.  Homeless because of the invading bees they endured two full weeks of constant thunder, rain and showers and finally Orville, who came down for something to eat, ended up in the jaws of my prize Boxer.  I could of killed her then and there for he was a fully formed owl with the most amazing feathers and almost ready to fly properly as well.

This led me to the local beekeeper who removed the offending African bees and we left it for while.  Then I worked to re-house the Spotted Eagle Owls in a nest box and once again it ended in failure as the old triple extension ladder broke into two parts and left me a circus type of fall of some five meters while trying to put it back up in the tree.  I was left with quite some bruising, days before an international business trip.

That was about ten months ago and guess what?  The owls are back and have selected an open top box where bees won’t bother them.  I am dreading the visitor’s ability to last as the male owl has now taken to dive bombing the Boxer dogs at dusk as they jump metres into the air to catch him.  The game would appear to be on in owl reproduction terms– and garden outdoor life is in full motion.

Who knows who will survive in the upcoming months?  That said, Orvette, the smaller female chick made it through the stormy start last year and maybe they will be luckier this time around in the new burst of procreation in owl life.

Birds of the Area

Aren't we just the most gorgeous, garrulous, chirpy chicks you've ever seen? And don't we just brighten up all your gardens with our presence – and see how we're calling our feathered friends to come to Walkerville too. Many years ago a friend claimed to have seen a Grey Lourie in his garden – we all said "Ja, Koos, next time a little less Klippies in your coke...." But shortly afterwards someone else made the same claim, and then someone else - and they actually heard the distinctive call. Now they are so common that we use their new name saying "Go away, yourself, you great, grey noisy bird."

Of course, we had to go, hat in hand, and apologise to Kosie for doubting him…..!

There has been a marked increase in the number of bird species in the area over the past few years. This is probably largely due to more people planting indigenous trees and shrubs and the ready availability of water in most gardens, and putting out food. Many gardeners have a bird table for seed or fruit and the birds also love stale bread that has been soaked. Then there are those daft 'twitchers' who go to great lengths to attract birds into their particular garden: suet and bone meal are much sought after by the insect eaters, particularly in winter when there is a shortage of "goggas." We have also found that nearly all birds love a bit of Pronutro.

So who comes to dinner? Usually the first to arrive at the seed table in the morning are the little red headed finches and the weavers – the males now quite resplendent in their yellow plumage. The bright blue Glossy Starlings get their fare on the upper tier of the feeding table and so do the barbets before going off to find their fruit. The finches wait patiently in the tree whenever the Fiscal Shrike eats – they must be aware of his common name of "Jackie hanger!" One bird that all the others give way to on any feeding table is the Burchell's Coucal – no wonder, this large ungainly fellow eats fledglings. Their soft, melodious call is said to herald the rain – keep calling coucals!!!

Ground feeders hop along scratching for insects and the lively Olive Thrushes will also eat dog food. The Cape Robins are most active in the early morning and late evening when their beautiful singing can be heard. (A pair of robins has trained me so well that they get fed outside the study window on demand.) The African Hoopoe, with it's easily recognisable "hoop-hoop" call, usually feeds alone. It's said to give off a foul smell when harassed by predators so is left to probe the ground in peace. Their noisier cousins, the Green Wood-Hoopoes, go about in small flocks, cackling like witches as they fly from tree to tree. Probably the most unwelcome birds are the ubiquitous Indian Mynahs – unwelcome because they chase other birds away. Some folk go to great lengths to discourage them from their gardens but they are extremely intelligent and fly off at the first sight of a catapult. Serious fruit growers don't like the attentions of the Mousebirds and Bulbuls that nibble everything just as it ripens.

The more open places in the garden are the preferred habitat of the Lapwings – those "kiewietjies" who are so vociferous when anyone approaches their patch. We have two types in Walkerville – the common Crowned Lapwing and the more attractive black and grey Blacksmith Lapwing - but most of us still refer to them as plovers! (All these name changes were made for scientific reasons - not political….) fairly new visitors are the Black-headed Herons – at about a meter tall they are often mistakenly identified as Blue Cranes. These herons roost in trees over water but seldom feed in water and can often be seen picking off dead insects and rodents after a veld fire. There are still fairly large flocks of Guineafowl about and their raucous calls are heard at dusk and dawn. Another sound that startles many from their sleep is the strident call of the Hadeda Ibis. The 'Piet-my-vrou' is a noisy summer visitor that can even call all night when looking for a mate but, despite all the noise it makes, the Red-chested Cuckoo is often hard to spot. The pleasant late afternoon duet of the colourful Bokmakieries is another familiar sound.

Our most common raptors are the Black shouldered Kites, one can see them on the roadsides hawking from the telephone lines. They're one of a few species that have the ability to hover motionless before swooping down to pick up prey. And then there are owls, the yellow-eyed Spotted Eagle Owl's "hu-hooo" is a contrast to the eerie screech emitted by the Barn Owl. Sadly, many owls are killed on the roads at night and the superstitious still attribute bad luck to them! Another other nocturnal caller, often heard at full moon, is the Spotted Thick Knee. Yes, Dikkop was a better name …..….

Although the bird books list them as 'fairly common residents' some birds are relative newcomers to this area. Among them is the African Oriole, with it's bright yellow plumage and black head, it may be mistaken for a weaver at first but the liquid whistling call and bright red bill distinguish the two. The little Brubru Shrike has also been seen in some gardens and so too the Shikra, a small goshawk. Even the pigeon population has a new addition – the large Rameron which is unique in being the only dove or pigeon to have a yellow bill and legs. And if you see an ungainly bird with a large curved bill flapping about - you are not dreaming, there have been a few sightings of the Grey Hornbill recently!

Of course the birds can't read the books, but they can fly and are attracted to new habitats by the food and foliage available to them. Hopefully this means that we can look forward to seeing a greater variety of birds in our gardens soon, common or rare, the birds add something special to Walkerville. But there is one visitor that we have yet to confirm, the Pennant-winged Nightjar that "Oompie" Gert claims to have seen on his farm ……..

Residents in Drumblade have spotted the following birds between September 2008 and March 2009.  The Greater Honeyguide (1) and Levaillant's Cuckoo (2) are resident on plot 133.  The Long Crested Eagle (3) has been sighted on the dirt road between Walkerville and Kliprivier, and on the tar road from Kliprivier to the Randvaal Road.  The Eastern Red Footed Kestrell (4) or Amurs Falcon have also been active in the Drumblade area.  But the most exciting find is the Black Stork, an uncommon to rare resident!

     
(1)                              (2)                            (3)                             (4)



Black Stork (photo by Cheryl van Kerkhof - March 2009)

For more about the birds in Drumblade click on Drumblade Conservancy

The SA Bird Atlas Project is a project that any keen bird watcher can get involved in, its not difficult, and it can be done as a small project in the area where you live.  The aim is to produce a document showing the distribution and abundance of all the birds in Southern Africa. The country has been divided into over 17,000 squares of approximately 8 x 7 kilometers in area and each one will hopefully be visited on at least one or more occasions to record all the bird species found in that square.  As you can see its a big undertaking and the more people we can get involved in the project the better.  If you would like to be involved, please visit the Bird Atlas Project’s website at www.sabap2.adu.org.za or e-mail Sapab2

Attract owls to your garden by building an owl nesting box. Don't place it too close to the house as they can be rather noisy and messy and they are inclined to be aggresive when it is their breeding season. Visit the EWT website for easy to follow plans and other useful information.

Visit www.birdlife.org.za for more information on birds and birding