Here follows a post I wrote for the 'garden birds' thread in our team noticeboard "The great outdoors"
Delighted to say "our" sunbirds (orange-tufted, Nectarinia osea) definitely bred this year:) We saw the whole family busy foraging in the cape honeysuckle between our entrance steps and passageway and the neighbour's garden. They are not very afraid of human beings and I was standing about two feet from one of the juveniles though it might have felt safe since there were quite a lot of tangled twigs between! Cape honeysuckle is a pretty orange flowered honeysuckle from South Africa. It doesn't have much of a scent but provides good cover, nectar and insects for the sunbirds and they love it. It grows as a woody vine and can easily become quite a tall hedge. The neighbours have already cut it back at least three times this summer.
The sunbirds also use our Bauhinia and I noticed two male sunbirds having a little 'duel'/duet in it earlier, alternating singing and calling. It didn't get to fight level, calls not frantic enough. Could be two young males or a young and adult male.
Valley before sunset. Well grown hornless gazelle walking through the orchard toward the eucalyptus grove and pines. Went into a light canter a few paces, returned to a walk.
Four hobbies again today, calling and flying over east end of north valley, gazelle valley, and that general area.
Collared doves.. some about, flight call heard. Blackbird alarm call heard. Hoopoe noticed. Syrian woodpeckers calls and seen in various places in the pines.
Feral pigeons, house sparrows, senegal doves, hooded crows activity as usual though flocks of hoodies not seen in some days. Acting singly or in twos and threes. No jackdaws
noticed near look-out corner back toward the pines. noticed in the valley though husband did find some in the upper part of the neighbourhood
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