We’ve been putting out nectar feeders for the sunbirds and Cape sugarbirds while the fynbos vegetation recovers from the mountain fires in November. This mob of chattering sugarbirds rushes in as the sun dips in the late afternoon just in time for a dinnertime feed. We expect to see less of them as their nesting season approaches and other duties call. Soon the females will be building nests while the males protect their respective territories.
A pair of Cape Sugarbirds swoop into a “pas de deux” pirouetting through the sky in a graceful aerobatic display.
This week’s WPC theme is “Dance”.
Some of our best days come at the back end of summer. This morning’s dawn crept in with a silvery sheen; a light gossamer veil. 
The sheerest whisper from the sea set a gentle tone, a backdrop for the dawn chorus. The feathered fraternity set to with great gusto from the raucous call of the Egyptian geese to the sweetest of tweets from the little White-eyes. Out too were swarms of bugs (the miggie brigade), butterflies, bumble bees, flies. Right in front of our patio we were treated to aerobatic displays as sunbirds, sugarbirds, chats swooped in diving and chasing after a protein breakfast on the wing. The Cape Sugarbirds stole the show with their elegant long tails. The choreography was as complex as a gymnast’s engaging in a floor routine with a long set of ribbons.
By mid-morning the clouds rolled in, unfurling a meteorological text – forecasting a low front for tomorrow….. rain’s coming.
At this time of the year we see quite a lot of the Cape Sugarbirds. During the breeding and nesting season, from March to August they’re otherwise engaged, but now they’re out in number, dining at the finest Protea Repens stands, and other delectable nectar flowers. The female’s tail is shorter, and she’s generally less showy than the male who vigorously holds territorial dominance over his air space. Their flight is dainty, almost dance-like as they must accommodate the long streaming tail feathers which flow behind like hair extensions.
