THE idea for this column came the other morning as we watched our favourite garden bird, the Natal robin (aka the red-capped robin chat), having a bath in the red enamel plate we keep full of water in the Hide for that very purpose.
Usually it’s the olive sunbird who is the regular bather, along with a pair of collared sunbirds who have taken to bathing as well, the occasional bulbul and just lately a pair of LBJs (Little Brown Jobs – we can’t quite make out what they are from inside the lounge, where we drink our early tea on chilly mornings).
Anyway, there was Robbie luxuriating in a bath, giving us just as much pleasure as he himself was quite clearly experiencing.
And that event happened to come on the same day as the news from our friends in the UK that weeks of speculation is finally over, the robin has been formally declared the English National Bird.
The dear old robin red-breast has emerged as the national favourite of the English, with the barn owl and the blackbird as runners-up.
By the way, before you all reach for your telephones or emails to ask testily, ‘Which robin?’, please be aware that Britain only has one robin.
We, on the other hand, have no fewer than 13 – sorry, but it has to be said. (I can remember walking along a stream somewhere in Buckinghamshire just outside London with my cousin some years ago when he cried, ‘Look, there’s a swallow!’ and I said, ‘Yes, but which one?’ to which he replied, ‘There is only one’.
Again, I must point out that we have 14 swallows, including the European or English one).
Which of course reminds me that it was just earlier this year that the Cape robin (aka, the Cape robin chat), was voted as South Africa’s favourite bird, closely followed by the Cape parrot and the African fish eagle. So, you see what I mean, robins, robins everywhere.
Staying with birds, with the sardines upon us and the whales back in town, there are more and more seabirds out there following the fun (and the food source).
This means that more seabirds are getting into trouble and ending up at the Second Chance Avian Rescue facility, SCAR, in Shelly Beach, where Michelle Pearson will rehabilitate them (if at all possible), and re-release them at sea.
Michelle tells me that she has already had a number of Cape gannets brought in and that what she really needs is sardines, bait or otherwise, and anything else she can feed seabirds or any of her other birds for that matter.
You can get hold of Michelle at 083 246 6765 if you can help her in any way or if you come across a bird with a problem.
We’re always pleased to see the sardines, we have our own way of enjoying them – crumbed and fried with Portuguese potatoes (tossed with olive oil and parsley) and Portuguese fried vegetables (onion, green peppers and garlic) – a special treat. Bom proveito! Cheers!
