Klaas's cuckoo (Sunbird update)

I found a picture of the Klaas's cuckoo I mentioned in my Sunbirds post - here it is!

such a pretty parasite

The Sunbirds return

We have a very busy (euphemism for cluttered!) veranda as you can see from the picture, but what you can’t see are the numerous dangly bits that hang from the rafters! We have shells, wooden fish, fishing corks, lanterns (we can’t use them as the wind blows the candles out!), a beautiful warthog wind catcher, a wooden bird that flaps its wings, a small green watering can, rope, various old kitchen utensils collected from Hospice shops, and a star-shaped wire ornament. We also have two half barrels that contain ficus trees (one thriving and one a little wind-swept), plus the usual table and chairs. Last winter we noticed that a pair of Malachite Sunbirds were showing an interest in the star-shaped ornament and before too long they had started to build an intricate nest with spider web and dried grass. These beautiful birds are supposed to be shy, our bird book says that they ‘do not frequent suburban gardens.’ Well, obviously the birds haven’t read the book. Not only were they in the garden, they were nesting a metre from our door! Once the nest was completed, the female sat herself down and only left occasionally to sip nectar from the aloes and to bath in the watering can that spurts into a half barrel fish pond! She didn’t mind us at all as we came and went past her door, but she was not happy with strangers on the veranda. She tolerated Alfie, but not the cats!! We always knew when a cat was outside by the volume of the call and the male would actually dive-bomb them!

veranda

Saldanha Bay

Rob and I often go for a drive to the nearby port town of Saldanha. We love to sit and watch the birds for one thing, and for another we enjoy watching the huge ore carriers arriving (or leaving).

hungry birds waiting for their lunch

The best place to do both of these things is from the narrow, man-made causeway that joins the mainland to what was once an island, Marcus Island (17 ha). (Rumour has it that there is a wreck buried beneath the causeway, but I still need to find some information on this*). This island is one of five that are near to the port entrance, and although they are small, rugged islands, they are home to some 250 000 coastal seabirds. The 2 kilometre causeway was built in 1976, and between it and the huge ore loading quay there are man made mussel beds that quietly allow the delicious mussels to grow until they are harvested for the table! But I digress!

Wind and washing

Yesterday we woke to wind.

We usually do here on the coast, but there is wind and there is WIND. I think it gusted to about 50 kph just at walk time, so, because it was Sunday and no Eastenders music to excite Alfie, we battened down the hatches, lit the fire and hoped that the roof was nailed on tightly!!

old advert for Hills Hoist Clotheslines (1955) / thanks to Wendy in Tasmania