SANParks.org Forums

Have a couple of african firefinches visiting my garden the last few weeks.

There is some awesum birds visiting your gardens
Here are the birds in my garden and for living in the city I think it is grand to see some unique birds every now and again...


Barbet, Creasted (Resident)
Barbet, Black collard (Common)
Bishop, Red (Fly over)
BulBul, Black Capped (Common)
Darter (Fly over)
Dove, Cape Turtle (Common)
Dove, Laughing (Common)
Coucal, Burchell's (Occasionally)
Cuckoo, Diedriek (Common)
Cuckoo, Redcheasted (Common)
Egret, Cattle (Fly over)
Finch, Red Headed (Occasionally)
Flycatcher, Paradise (First time today, managed a not so good pic)
Go away Bird (Common)
Goose, Egyptian (Fly over)
Gull, Grey headed (Fly over)
Heron, Grey (Fly over)
Hoopoe, African (common)
Ibis, Hadeda (Common)
Ibis, Sacred (Fly over)
Mousebird, Red Faced (Common)
Mousebird, Speckled (Occasionally)
Myna, Indian (Common)
Pigeon, Green (Only last year before the neighbour cut down the fig tree )
Pigeon, Rameron (Occasionally)
Pigeon, Rock (Occasionally)
Robin, Cape (Common)
Shrike, Fiscal (Common)
Sparrow, Cape (Common)
Sparrow, House (Common)
Sunbird, Black (Occasionally)
Starling, Cape Glossy (Resident)
Thrush, Olive (Common)
Wagtail, Cape (Resident)
Waxbill, Common (Once)
White-eye, Cape (Common)
Weaver, Masked (Resident)
Weaver, Thick billed (Occasionally)
Woodhoopoe, Redbilled (Occasionally)
Woodpecker, unidentified (Thought to be Cardinal) (Once)

I have quite a long birdlist, not sure what is 'special' but some of my favourites are:

Speckled and Red-Faced Mousebirds

Burchell's Coucal - such a beautiful call! I have been known to run outside with a mouthful of toothbrush to look for them!

Southern Boubou
Bokmakierie
Grey-headed Bush-Shrike
Olive Bush-Shrike (Ruddy form)

Sombre Greenbul - for a while I had more sightings of this bird than I had heard it's calls!

Green-backed Camaroptera

Fiscal Flycatcher

Amethyst, Collared, Greater & Lesser Double-collared Sunbirds

Spectacled Weaver (Including a special male who's leg was broken, probably by a cat. It's now healed but is paralysed. Was fascinating to watch him loose his breeding plumage as all the other males got more and more brightly coloured. He's still around, affectionately known as Gimpy)

Cape, Southern Masked, and Village Weavers

Swee Waxbill

Pin-tailed Whydah

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

Streaky-headed, Yellow-Fronted and Brimstone Canaries

White-rumped and Horus Swifts overhead

Our best birds in Johannesburg, Parktown are:
Gymnogene- African Harrier Hawk
Grey Hornbill
Lesser Honeyguide
Wattled plover
Black cuckoo
Bar-Throated Apalis
Fairy flycatcher winter 2006
Paradise flycatcher
Sparrow hawk (unsure of species)
European Bee-eaters

JenB, that is such an amazing sighting!! Lucky fish! I don't have many birds in my garden.
Masked Weaver
Dark-capped Bulbul
Saw a red Bishop the other day
Egyptian Goose on the top of our huge tree
Mourning Dove

Well, not much but at least we have a few. Before we moved we had Green Wood-hoopoes in our garden

new at this birding thing so will watch out and keep my books with me and let you know what birds visit my garden. I dont know if there will be many as Noodles (my cat) is always on guard and allows no other birds other than myself in the yard - just kidding. But seriously i will be on the watch out and make a list and cross check everyday and will update my list on this thread.

Could we compare those lucky buggers' lists who stay in Skukuza and other natural areas to us who have to live in cities?
My birdlist for our garden is as follows:(highlighted the specials!)
AFRICAN HOEPOE
ARROWMARKED BABBLER
BARN OWL
BLACK SUNBIRD
BLACKCOLLARD BARBET
BLACKEYED BULBUL
BLACKHEADED ORIOLE
BLUE WAXBILL
BRONZE MANNEKIN
BURCHELL’S COUCAL
CAPE SPARROW
CAPE TURTLE DOVE
CAPE WHITE EYE
CRESTED BARBET
CUT-THROAT FINCH
DIEDERICK CUCKOO
FISCAL SHRIKE
GREATER STRIPED SWALLOW (nested)
GREYHEADED BUSHSHRIKE (SPOOK VOËL)
HADIDA
HOUSE SPARROW
KLAASES CUCKOO
LAUGHING DOVE
MARICO SUNBIRD
MASKED WEAVER
OLIVE THRUSH
ORANGE BREASTED BUSHSHRIKE
PARADISE FLYCATCHER
PINTAILED WIDAH
PUFFBACK
RED BISHOP
REDBILLED FIREFINCH
REDBILLLED WOODHOEPOE
REDFACED MOUSEBIRD
REDHEADED FINCH
REDWINGED STARLING
NATAL ROBIN
SCALEY FINCH
SOUTHERN BOUBOU
SPECKLED MOUSEBIRD
SPECTACLED WEAVER
STEELBLUE WIDOWFINCH (VILLAGE INDIGOBIRD)
THICKBILLED WEAVER
WHITEBELLIED SUNBIRD (made a nest in my garden this year)
SCARLET CHESTED SUNBIRD
CARDINAL WOODPECKER
SPOTTED EAGLE OWL
GOLDENTAIL WOODPECKER
GUINEA FOWL

Hi Kingfisha,
That is some list!

Visiting my brother in Atlasville. Have 20 so far. will detail when I get home.

Had a single Cape Canary feeding in my garden in Pretoria.

Gymnogene this morning. Was looking around to see what all the fuss was about and it came soaring overhead, mobbed by two FTD's. Perched briefly in the palm tree and then was off again.

Had to go up to the Big Smoke lat week. Thanks all you Gauties who posted what you have seen. I made a checklist from all your sightings and came up with 25 in my brother's garden in Atlasville and immediate surrounds. My favourites are marked with *

Barbet Black collared *
Barbet Crested *
Cormorant Reed
Darter
Dove Cape Turtle
Dove Laughing
Egret Cattle
Go Away bird *
Goose Egyptian
Guineafowl Helmeted
Hoopoe African
Ibis Hadeda
Ibis Sacred
Mousebird red faced *
Mynah Indian
Plover Blacksmith
Sparrow Cape
Sparrow House
Starling Cape glossy
Thrush Groundscraper *
Thrush Karoo *
Thick-knee spotted
Wagtail Cape
Weaver Southern masked
Woodhoopoe Green *

BB, thanks for your list.

Two comments.

The two barbets and the Ground scraper thrush are my most favorite birds of anything.

But that mousebird what ever its colour face???

Maybe its because we have so many of them here, probably one of my most unfavorite birds, but gosh is it not great that we are all different?

Like I said elsewhere Jazie, I am excited to see some of your common birds in Gauties, whereas other people's wishlists include birds I see often in the Cape.

BTW, I counted 92 birds on my trip, 11 lifers, thanks to JvR.

No need to thank me, sir. It was an absolute pleasure...