After an absence it’s good to be back on home turf. A check around the garden brought some surprises, our furry friends, the dassies have done a fairly radical prune on all the succulents. Darn!!! They took a liking to my pink desert roses which are all but decimated. To compensate though, the sunbirds have taken to roosting in the bay tree in the backyard and I was delighted to discover a small, but beautifully constructed nest. I’m guessing that the Orange-breasted sunbirds raised a brood of chicks as there are a number of juveniles among the flock thronging through the various flowers in bloom. It’s also good to see that the resident wagtails happily return in the afternoons to preen in their patch of sunshine. They successfully raised five chicks through summer in a nest hidden in the pelargoniums. While in the front garden, which is partitioned from the back, mainly to keep the dassies and predators out – the mongooses and genet scurry along their foraging routes. Much of the vegetation has taken a battering from the summer wind, but with Autumn the first rain of the season should bring much relief and soon the plants will green up again. Oh! What joy it is to be a part of this thriving suburban patch.
Nature on the Edge 
Lovely photos of the birds, collecting nectar. And the mongoose is really cute!
Thanks for the comments, Lena. Lots of activity here on the home range 🙂
Great!!
The sunbird is so stunning, and I can almost smell that lavender. 🙂
Thanks Sylvia, yes… a most heavenly scent in the garden wafts on the air…
Seems you can trust the dassies in your garden about as much as we can trust our pet rabbit in ours!
The little blighters just such huge appetites, right?
Absolutely! And people talk about elephants changing their habitats through their “destructive” feeding habits!
😉
Hehe, and there they are both species related 🙂
Your bird photos are magical!
Thanks Gilly, there’s lots of activity now – so have a good chance of getting the shots.
Gorgeous shots of nature and animals as always, Liz. What a cute Mongoose and an awesome Double-collared Sunbird, so exotic! 🙂
Sorry about the damage in your garden. So Frustrating. We got back the other day, only to discover the damage in the garden after the visiting muntjaks. They are a real nuisance and so are the rabbits. On the other hand I love the pheasants and the partridges visiting and I feed them twice a day. Then the grey squirrel comes and pinches it all … So what, it takes all kinds …
Lovely to read your comments, Dina. Are there a lot of the muntjaks around? Bet those rabbits have a healthy appetite for the choicest greens? Pheasants and partridges – almost sounds like you must have the pear tree?
There are far too many muntjaks around, the are especially greedy when it’s dark. 🙂 We visited some great gardens from National Trust around Cambridge and their biggest enemy was definitely the rabbit. It takes all sorts. I suppose they are like weed; they are flowers on the wrong spot. If they are on the right spot, they look beautiful. 😉
I’m curious; what does the pear trees have to do with the peasants and the partridges? 🙂 Is there any tale I missed?
Beautiful photos as usual. I love your sunbirds and the wagtail is so cute, as are the mongoose/geese. I hope you get some rain soon…
How I miss the sunbirds! I came to love them in Africa, but we don’t have them in Alberta.
They sure bring joy to the watcher. Any hummingbirds there in Alberta to entertain you instead?
Lovely captures!
Thanks, E…
Love the Sunbirds! Great to see Urban wildlife from a different part of the world!
It amazes me how well some species adapt to living alongside the urban edge – am an avid observer :). Have planted a variety of nectar shrubs which flower at different times throughout the year to keep up the sunbirds’ presence in the garden.