One of nature's treasures, as this is the nest of the king of the sunbird species. It is said, that once the eggs hatch, the babies become independent young adults in only 4 weeks. So, imagine if a human baby could do this:)
Not easy to find, but patience and perseverance always deliver the reward.
I think that some of you have guessed that this is a nest of the Malachite Sunbirds and you will be correct. Once I found the nest, I spent a long time there with my camera to show you the sequence of the mom's nesting habits. The timing of the nest is excellent, as the eggs will hatch soon, before our spring season and the babies will have a full summer season to mature before the next winter when they will be ready to breed the new generation of malachite sunbirds.
Nature is certainly wonderful.
It was a lovely sunny day.
The dad Malachite (Nectarinia famosa) and the mom were hanging around in the same area, and my instincts told me that they were nesting. This is the dad.
And here below was the mom.
The secret is to wait and to watch the mother's flight over the bushes. Where she suddenly dips down and disappears, it is there that one has to search for the nest.
So she took a dip and I hurried to see where she landed.
Yep! There she was, peeping out of her front door.
After about 20 minutes, I could see that she was tiring in the heat of her small apartment.
Yep! She was starting to gasp for oxygen, and its amazing what the mother has to endure to sit on the eggs.
Shame, you can see that it was very hot inside there.
But then, on cue, the father checked me out while he called her.
And she popped out of the nest for a drink.
As the mom landed back near the nest she continued to look up at the sky for the danger of predators. The hawks and falcons patrol the skies, and if they see the nest, then when the babies are born they will strike to grab the babies.
But she needn't have worried as the crows were around to escort a predator out of the area.
So, this is how nature works, with split timing, and the sad thing is that the predators also have babies that need to eat meat, normally meat raided from the nests of the smaller birds. As I was taking the photos there, a young conservation officer approached me to see what I was taking photos of, and he was mightily surprised when I showed him the nest. Then he said that they will place one of those special cameras near the nest to run a 24-hour sequence of the movements of the nest. He promised to show me the film when it's done after the babies are born.
I am looking forward to that and will see if I can get it to share.
I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
