WHAT'S THAT NOISE?

This very enterprising guinea fowl flew over from the neighbourg's side of the fence. This bird made a terrible noise and it was very lucky not to be caught by the dogs. We managed to rescue it and return it to the other side of the fence.

One day I heard a sudden BANG! on the glass window of the main door and went out to investigate what might have caused such a noise. To my utter amazement, a beautiful woodland kingfisher had flown into the glass, getting quite a knock on the head. It was standing only half a meter from me, stunned, unable to fly away. This was the perfect opportunity to observe its red and black bill, turquoise-black wings and white underbelly. I was too concerned to leave the bird unobserved, since our cats would have easily had it for a tasty afternoon snack, so I could not reach for the camera (that was a real shame!). It took at least 10 minutes before the bird recovered and flew away. Since then at least one woodland kingfisher has become a frequent visitor in our the garden - quite recently it was competing for insects with a Hamercop: both birds were targeting the same insects in the pool, just after it had rained heavily.

Walking around the garden with binoculars is one of the most relaxing things to do. I am not very knowledgeable about birds, but would love to know more. The best time to look out for birds is very early in the morning, around sunrise, and late in the afternoon, just before sunset. The other good time is after a heavy rain or even during the rain (if it is just a light shower).

This year I have seen 2 Meyer's parrots - new to our garden. Other usual visitors include Heuglin's robins, glossy starlings, hoopoes, drongos, red bishops, blackeyed bulbuls, sunbirds and mousebirds. There are also a number of different types of owls in the area. Once I saw one sitting on top of the flagpole, looking down very majestically. In Malawi owls are not universally loved, they are thought to bring bad luck to the occupants of the house.

There are many more bird species in the garden than mentioned above and it is somewhat frustrating trying to find out what they are - but I am making progress. The birdbook and binoculars are now always close by: I am living in hope that one day I will be able to name them all...