You remember Cherpy? He was the little baby bird that I wrote about in NEW BABIES in October. At that stage we still thought that Cherpy might be a Black-headed Oriole. However, Jez Simms came to visit us one day and was delighted to find Cherpy here. He immediately identified him as a Bar-winged Weaver. For more info on these interesting birds, refer to my notes on my Lumwana Wildlife Blog at http://lumwanawildlife.blogspot.com.
I also made contact with John Caddick of the African Bird Club and Pete Leonard in the UK to find out some more info on Bar-winged Weavers. Unfortunately it seems that not much is known about them at all so all my observations on Cherpy will be forwarded to them. Follow this link to http://birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=1&af_bs_id=2258 for Cherpy's inclusion on the African Bird Club website. We were hoping for some feedback from other birders via this link but unfortunately we have not yet received anything.
Well, during the 3 months that Cherpy stayed with us, he matured into a pretty interesting bird who offered us loads of entertainment every day - more on this on the Wildlife Blog. On Sunday morning, we took him out into our back yard (inside his cage) and opened the cage for him to come out. It took him a few minutes before he realised that the door was open. He hopped out and sat on the edge of the cage for a few moments and then jumped back inside. We were amazed! I used to let him out of the cage every day on the verandah to give him some time to fly around and exercise and also to chase around some moths that I would catch for him every morning. I wanted him to get used to finding food on his own and not rely only on what I give him. Getting him back into the cage every night was a mission as he would obviously not want to return when it was time. So now, here he was given his freedom and he decided to go back into the cage! He came out again a few moments later and sat on Pierre's finger for a while checking out the garden. Then, at last, he flew into a tree close to us. We watched him move from tree to tree, exploring, and we then lost track of him. A while later we were out again watching some other birds when Cherpy came back and sat on the verandah roof above our heads. That was so great for us - almost like returning to say goodbye properly! We saw him again a few times that day - once we watched him challenging a Greyheaded Bush Shrike - trying to snatch a moth from him. In case you don't know - a Bush Shrike is at least twice Cherpy's size! A while later we saw him being chased by another bird so we're sure he's going around making trouble wherever he goes. But, we're not worried about him. He's so innovative and gutsy ("windgat" would be the appropriate Afrikaans word) that we're convinced that he would be able to fight his own battles and hopefully not get into too much trouble in the process. Cherpy, I think of all the amazing "patients" we've had over the past year, you must have been the most interesting and entertaining of all. We miss you very much! The photo above is of big boy Cherpy in the tree after his release.
December 19, 2007
Cherpy's Release
You remember Cherpy? He was the little baby bird that I wrote about in NEW BABIES in October. At that stage we still thought that Cherpy might be a Black-headed Oriole. However, Jez Simms came to visit us one day and was delighted to find Cherpy here. He immediately identified him as a Bar-winged Weaver. For more info on these interesting birds, refer to my notes on my Lumwana Wildlife Blog at http://lumwanawildlife.blogspot.com.
I also made contact with John Caddick of the African Bird Club and Pete Leonard in the UK to find out some more info on Bar-winged Weavers. Unfortunately it seems that not much is known about them at all so all my observations on Cherpy will be forwarded to them. Follow this link to http://birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=1&af_bs_id=2258 for Cherpy's inclusion on the African Bird Club website. We were hoping for some feedback from other birders via this link but unfortunately we have not yet received anything.
Well, during the 3 months that Cherpy stayed with us, he matured into a pretty interesting bird who offered us loads of entertainment every day - more on this on the Wildlife Blog. On Sunday morning, we took him out into our back yard (inside his cage) and opened the cage for him to come out. It took him a few minutes before he realised that the door was open. He hopped out and sat on the edge of the cage for a few moments and then jumped back inside. We were amazed! I used to let him out of the cage every day on the verandah to give him some time to fly around and exercise and also to chase around some moths that I would catch for him every morning. I wanted him to get used to finding food on his own and not rely only on what I give him. Getting him back into the cage every night was a mission as he would obviously not want to return when it was time. So now, here he was given his freedom and he decided to go back into the cage! He came out again a few moments later and sat on Pierre's finger for a while checking out the garden. Then, at last, he flew into a tree close to us. We watched him move from tree to tree, exploring, and we then lost track of him. A while later we were out again watching some other birds when Cherpy came back and sat on the verandah roof above our heads. That was so great for us - almost like returning to say goodbye properly! We saw him again a few times that day - once we watched him challenging a Greyheaded Bush Shrike - trying to snatch a moth from him. In case you don't know - a Bush Shrike is at least twice Cherpy's size! A while later we saw him being chased by another bird so we're sure he's going around making trouble wherever he goes. But, we're not worried about him. He's so innovative and gutsy ("windgat" would be the appropriate Afrikaans word) that we're convinced that he would be able to fight his own battles and hopefully not get into too much trouble in the process. Cherpy, I think of all the amazing "patients" we've had over the past year, you must have been the most interesting and entertaining of all. We miss you very much! The photo above is of big boy Cherpy in the tree after his release.
December 03, 2007
R.I.P. Penny
Beautiful, gentle Penny is no longer with us. Unfortunately we had to bury her on 22 November. Her injuries were just too severe to try and keep her alive any longer. Pierre found her a special resting place under a tree in our back garden. Rest in peace Penny - you touched our hearts immensely and we will always remember you for that.
November 25, 2007
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.
November 19, 2007
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.
November 14, 2007
Frog Time
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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!
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