Tinkie is Free

Little Tinkie (who turned out indeed to be a African Yellow White-eye) was set free on Thursday morning. We released him in our back-yard and he flew straight into the big tree where I always see the other White-eyes so we're sure he'll be fine. It was such a pleasure to raise him - he was truly my little baby. Tinkie used to love it when Pierre scratched his head and neck (see photo below). When Tinkie arrived, he could not even fly yet and now he's out and about, doing what birds do. We wish you all the best little Tinkie - we will miss you very much.

Penny

Penny is a female Pennant-winged Nightjar. She arrived on Saturday morning with a badly broken wing. She has survived her first two nights with us which is a good sign. Feeding Penny is a bit difficult as she is an aerial feeder (ie catch food in flight). She has a very large mouth to accommodate this. We therefore (unfortunately) have to force feed her as she cannot feed on something that you place in her cage. She eats flying insects so we're catching moths, flying ants, etc for her. She is beautiful with the softest beak imaginable. Pierre and Henk strapped the broken wing and now we can only pray that she'll heal well enough to return to the wild.

Frog Time

The little Painted Reed Frogs are back again - they're usually around during the rainy season. Henk and Rachelle found this little fellow in their garden a few days ago. They are so cute! Thanks for the great photo Henk!

In My Garden This Morning

How blessed am I? I took this photo in my garden this morning. I first noticed her a few days ago and then was amazed to see that she’s feeding two babies – the one a little bit older than the other – right here under my nose! Unfortunately I haven’t yet managed to get a photo of them. They are beautiful birds. They sit still for long periods of time (which gives me ample time to watch them) and sometimes I only notice them by accident as you don’t see them come and go. By the way, it is a Grey-headed Kingfisher. We've also noticed the last two evenings that they are active around the garden after dark. We're not sure if that is normal behaviour for them or maybe because we have the lights and they are just attracted to that and all the moths - obviously a clever time to feed as all the other birds are asleep so there's no competition for food.

Perky the Parrot

Perky the Parrot (so named by young Matt Fuhri) arrived on 19 September (same day as Cherpy). He had a broken leg with damaged tendons and ligaments. Strapping (as we did with Chomp) would therefore not have assisted him in his recovery. Perky stayed with the Fuhri’s for a while but he is now in Chomp’s old cage which is more suitable for him. Perky still has difficulty using the damaged foot which means that he cannot take care of himself in the wild. Piérre built Perky a “jungle gym” inside the cage to make it easier for him to move around. I feed him some of the indigenous berries/fruit that is naturally growing in my garden and a commercial parrot food blend that I mix with extra nuts, dates, etc. I also string fruit/veg/peanuts onto wire and hang it up for him to find and eat. It encourages him to exercise the foot and also practice a bit of flying around the cage while it keeps him busy and entertained. He seems in great spirits and has started eating from my hand. He is a Meyer’s Parrot and absolutely gorgeous!