Hi everyone I am new to this site :) I live near Padthaway in the SE of SA. I have lived here for nearly 11 years and when I arrived I noticed an old cane hanging basket with a dilapidated succulent of some sort hanging under the veranda by the front door. We live on a farm and the front of the house is rarely used. I went to remove it and noticed a old used nest which was dug into the surface of the dirt. ie the top rim on the nest is level with the dirt in the pot. Anyhow I decided to leave it there and see what happened. I continued to water the plant sparingly probably only 3 or 4 times a year and have left it hanging in place. No birds have been near it in all that time. Imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago I notice the shrike thrushes poking about in the pot. Last week I put my head around the corner of the house and noticed a bird sitting on the nest. Yesterday there were no birds around and my curiosity got the better of me. I sneaked up to take a look. WOW .... 3 beautiful babies popped their heads up to say hello. Man.....did I high tail it outta there fast. The front of the house has now been put OFF LIMITS to everyone until the little "feather-kids" have grown up and flown the nest! It was interesting to note that they have black plumage. Is this normal? Does it turn grey at a later stage? If so when?
On occasions (not often) I have fed the fairy wrens in my garden with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese which they seem to enjoy. I have noticed that the thrushes come down and have some too. Can I put something out for the thrushes and their babies that is safe for them?
Love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for putting up with my introductory marathon post.
Cheers
Kathy
I dont really know what thrushes would feed on, possibly meal worms.
We have had Yellow Rumped Thornbills nesting in a tree near our fence for 2 of the last 3 yrs. For some reason they didnt use it last year.
This year we noticed Splendid Wrens frequenting the same tree and found they had nested in the false nest the thornbills had made in the top. Unfortunately we didnt find it in time to actually see them on eggs or feeding nestlings.
Welcome to the site al-be-it a bit late........
Hi again everyone. News about the thrushes. They raised 4 beautiful babies!! The weird thing is they are back on the nest again and sitting AGAIN!! Is this normal? Do they normally rear more than 1 setting of eggs a year. To my knowledge I only have one pair of thrushes in my garden. They are very quiet and stay sitting on the nest when I open the door. I found it amazing after 11 years to find the old nest being used. To find it being used again in a couple of months is fantastic. I have to say they are one of my favorite birds.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Kathy