The birds nest

 

African Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis)

 

We are lucky enough to be set in a relatively wild environment and one thing we love is the birdlife. Birdwatching is a really fun hobby and one that I wish I would have taken up earlier in life but I'm happy to be in a place where I can "birdwatch" every day. Each morning we wake up to the chorus of bird calls and over breakfast we like to watch the various species of bird drink and bathe in our birdbath. Over the years we've gotten familiar with all the birds in our area and we particularly enjoy watching the families grow during breeding season. Every year our camp is littered with nests and we usually get one close to our banda. This year we had an African Paradise Flycatcher, one of my favorite camp birds and one that is not a resident. They only show up during the rainy season from November to May before moving on to other parts of Africa. 

This year one couple made a nest very close to our banda. In fact it was within perfect viewing range (see below) which was highly entertaining for our camp life. We watched the birds slowly build the nest which was truly a team effort. They build very compact small nests from twigs, feathers and whatever else they can get their beaks on. After they lay their eggs they take turns incubating and this was also a delight to watch as the defended their nest from other larger birds and smaller mammals like mongooses. After the eggs hatched they were then constantly feeding their chicks. Watching the African Paradise Flycatcher in flight is always a treat with its long streaming tail and wavy dolphin-like oscillations. With chicks to feed it is constantly hunting and in turn a constant distraction when I am working outside. 

Unfortunately this story does not have a happy ending. One morning I saw the nest was hanging loosely from the branch. I went to investigate and saw the nest was loose with no chicks in sight. I do not think they were quite ready to leave the nest and thus I think a mongoose, genet, civet or some other critter got them in the night. Mother nature can be ruthless!

You can see the table on our porch, the red circle is where the nest was.

First the eggs

Then the chicks