AFTON GROVE GUEST HOUSE
BIRDING NEWS UPDATE
We have some exciting news at Afton Grove guest house, Cape Town!
Having lived here since 1976, for the first time we have our "own" raptors breeding in the large 2 acre garden on the lodge premises.
It started about the end of August when owner Chris Spengler first observed a pair of African Goshawks in courtship. Chris writes ………
“What drew my attention was the constant (slightly two toned) chip....chipping in the tall Eucalyptus trees behind cottages 11 & 12. On closer observation I noticed a female African Goshawk on a thick horizontal branch eating a rat. The smaller male bird sat in a nearby tree and about 5 metres above her. When she had finished eating the rat, he flew down to where she was perched and copulated with her”.
“Approximately an hour later he brought her another offering, this time a Striped Field mouse. When she had consumed the 2nd offering, he again covered her. (What must a guy do for sex!)”.
“A week later on the 6th September, I observed one of the pair (not sure if it was male or female as it was too quick) carrying a twig which was approximately 1 metre long. I knew there must be a nest under construction somewhere nearby. I did some closer examination from below the trees but backed off as I could see that the female was becoming a little agitated. I decided to leave them alone for a while longer before trying to locate the nest”.
“Then on the 15th September, as a group of botanists & birders from the UK were preparing to leave Afton Grove guest house, I noticed the female flying into the top of a tall Eucalyptus tree with more nesting material. She gave it away this time and the tour leader (John Buckingham from the UK) actually picked up the location of the nest site from where he was standing at the time”.
“They spent the next week completing the nest and then it seemed for a while simply abandoned it!” A few days later, around the end of September (and much to my relief I must add!) they returned and were again very busy around the nest. I believe the first egg was laid somewhere towards the end of the month, whilst the male was very busy bringing finer twigs & leaves”.
“During the entire period I only ever observed the mammalian diet of rats, mice & Golden Moles being taken. Once the first egg hatched around the 5th November however, they changed diet and took their first dove. This was brought to the plucking post by the male and the female left the nest to receive the quarry and completed plucking before returning to the nest to feed the young”.
“If my calculations are correct the nestlings should fledge some time between Christmas and New Year.”
Saturday 21 November 2009
"For the first time we were able to establish this morning that there are at least 2 chicks present on the nest with a possible 3rd. This photo was taken with a cheap digital held in front of an expensive Leica telescope. The little downy white head of a chick can be seen quite clearly even though the picture quality is not that great".
Tuesday 22 December 2009
“Where have the Goshawks gone? It seems the remaining chick may have been blown out of the nest during the recent South Easterly gale & mysteriously disappeared. No sign of the parent birds or even any calls (we miss the mewing & chip….chipping), we just hope & pray that the youngster is still OK.”
Thursday 24 December 2009
“Adult Male Goshawk seen perched in a large Eucalyptus tree +/- 80 metres from nest site for about 15 minutes. Still no sign of the female or the fledgling ”
Saturday 02 January 2010
“Good news! - The fledgling African Goshawk re-appears at the chicken coop after +/- 2 weeks. He can take all the chickens as far as I am concerned, I am so relieved to see that this one has survived against all the odds. Lets hope it makes it to maturity.”
Please follow Chris’ (aftonbirders) regular bird & natural history postings on twitter at http://twitter.com/aftonbirders
ROBERTS BIRDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA states under African Goshawk;-
Food: Mainly birds (66%) up to size of Grey Lourie, and mammals (30%); also nestlings, lizards, snakes, frogs, crabs, insects, earthworms; bats caught after sunset.
Breeding: Season: September to November (mainly October). Nest: Platform of stout sticks; about 45-60 cm diameter, up to 45 cm thick; bowl about 20 cm diameter, lined with finer sticks, lichens and green leaves; in fork or on horizontal branch of tree, (9 nests) 4-9-12 m above ground (sometimes up to 20 m), usually well concealed in foliage. Clutch: (37) 2-2,5-3 eggs (rarely only 1). Eggs: Plain white, becoming nest-stained; measure (56) 44,6 x 36,1 (41,8-48,7 x 33,8-39,5); weigh about 34 g. Incubation: About 35 days by female only. Nestling: 32-35 days, fed by female; food brought by male; young dependent on parents for up to 2 months after first flight.
Next up …. A walk in the Silvermine Valley rewards with a rare sighting of Caracal!
|
African Goshawk female feeding
Goshawk "twitch" - Afton Grove
African Goshawk male in nest
African Goshawk female in nest
African Goshawk feeding
African Goshawk male
African Goshawk female feeding
|
