breathing space: backyard

Showing posts with label backyard. Show all posts

Sunday, September 16

Birthday Bathing Bulbuls

A few weekends ago I celebrated my nth year in this world with lunch with my family at home. Our dining room faces the backyard and we noticed a commotion in the backyard bird bath. The heat and humidity was almost unbearable and several bulbuls were lining up to take a quick dip!

Of course they were their usually orderly selves and lined up to take turns at the bird bath. Even if the bath was quite spacious for a bulbul, they only went in one at a time!

As soon as one bird stepped up to the rim of the bath, another quickly stepped into the water and splashed around.

From the rim they would fly up to perch on the nearby branches to continue flapping and shaking dry. All around the other bulbuls would patiently wait their turn.

At most there were maybe 16 bulbuls lined up!

The most we could get in one frame was 10 bulbuls though. Can you count them in the photo below?

Several years after having installed the first of many bird baths in the yard, I still get a thrill when I see a bird splashing in the water. Always glad to provide some refreshment to my feathered neighbors. And I was happy they dropped by during my birthday lunch as well!

Monday, May 1

The nesting neighbors, Part 2

While the barbets were busy with their family, the Yellow-vented Bulbuls were also off to a prolific start. As I was seated on a garden bench, a pair of bulbuls kept circling around me, busy catching moths in flight and looking around, under and over each and every bush. That they were too busy to pay me much mind was a sure sign that they had only one goal: to feed a growing nestling! I watched them closely and sure enough both of them headed straight for a low branch of the rambutan tree, to be met with the eager chirping of two fledglings!

A very hungry baby

I am always amazed at the amount of energy invested in raising a family. I doubt any small insect or moth has much of a chance surviving when there is a bulbul pair agressively hunting them down to feed a hungry chick.

An adult scouring every nook and cranny for food

In this case, there were 2 chicks - little balls of feathers with hardly any tails and huge mouths agape. They were big and strong enough to jump around nearby branches, getting uber excited when one of the adults lands nearby.

Two balls of feathers patiently waiting for mom and dad...

... and they go crazy when mom/dad come with food!

I was quite afraid they would miss their mark as they tried to out jump/ out fly each other in order to get to the parent before its sibling.

Knowing there was a pair of fledglings in the yard, it was easy to keep track of them over the days. The eager chirping would easily give away which tree they were in. They stayed around the garden for a couple of weeks, and began to stray from back to front yard as they grew more confident in their flight.

Growing older and getting bigger

But no less demanding!

Sadly, only one of the fledglings apparently made it to adulthood from what I could tell. While watering the plants in the garden, Kuya Ramil found a young dead bulbul in the leaf litter, being consumed by ants.

Over before it really began for this little one.

"I think it was one of the ones we were keeping track off," he told me.

Sure enough, an adult flew past us followed by a single noisy, nagging young bird. I remember WBCP-er Des telling us that only one in ten tropical nests are successful, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to find the young dead bird.

I wonder what caused its death though? It was quite strong and developed already. Did the parents not have enough energy to raise 2 birds to full adulthood? Did it meet an untimely death with an encounter with a predator? Was it an accident?

I suppose we will never know.

I've seen at least two new bulbul nests in the yard, most probably from different pairs, but maybe a second nest for the season for the parents.

Hopefully, this one made it.

And life goes on for the garden bulbuls.

Sunday, April 2

The nesting neighbors, Part 1

Nesting season seems to have come early this year in the garden!

Adri and I were thrilled that the neighborhood Coppersmith Barbets decided to nest on a dead branch of a Flamboyant Tree (aka Fire Tree) right above our garage! Last year, the nest was in the corner across from us.

We had already noticed a pair inspecting a nest hole from its perfectly circular entrance as early as January, and we could here them calling: pok-pok-pok-ing loudly even before the sun as up. Although the nesting hole was just outside our bedroom window, a dry anahaw leaf conveniently hid the entrance from our view. From the garden at ground level though, the nest hole was in full view.

Through February and March, I would see them coming in and out of the nest hole quite regularly. I would make it a habit to glance at it right before I entered my car to leave for work in the morning (at least in March there was already enough light for me to see).

Most times one of the barbets would have its head out of the hole, looking around (and sometimes looking down at me - one inquisitive gaze at another!)

Mid-March, the pair would take turns at the nest, one calling out loudly upon arrival while the other would unobtrusively fly out as the newcomer flew in.

I lost track of them for a few weeks though, as I was busy at work and was out of town for a weekend.

This week, I was happy to see the nestling, in almost full adult plumage! It was still hanging out at the nest (literally!), and would fly to a nearby branch on the arrival of one of its parents.

The parents would come in with mouthfuls of fruit (looked like ficus fruit or lemoncito fruit) and call out (yes, with its mouth full!) to the young one.

The parent then would fly to where the young one was and the young one would quite violently grab all the food from mom/dad!

This weekend, the young one seems to have gotten the courage to fly further and further form the nest as it followed when one of the parents took off in search for more food.

So happy to see that the nesting looks like a success!

I'll probably get to see less and less of this family. It's still early in the season though, and I'm hoping there will be a second nesting soon.

How great is it to have nesting neighbors? I love sharing our yard with them!

IMPORTANT NOTE: NEVER harass nesting birds, expose the nest or stay within the nest area for extended periods of time. It may seem like common sense to keep away from nests, but sometimes curiosity can get the better of us.

Sunday, January 15

A bat in the backyard

While puttering about the garden, I saw a small pile of talisay (Terminalia catappa) fruit on the ground together with a small unripe macopa (Syzygium samarangense) fruit. This was several feet away from the nearest tree of either species. The talisay fruit was gnawed down to the seed, bite marks very clearly scarring the surfaces. Hmmmm...

Having some idea of the culprit, I looked up, and sure enough, there was a tiny bat hanging upside down from the tree canopy above me.

Ooops, I think I've been spotted! Here's the little bat taking a look down at me looking up at him.

How cool!

Frugivorous bats are well-known dispersers of talisay seeds, so if you come across a talisay seedling with no mother plant nearby, this flying mammal could be your sower.

I've always wondered where the bats I hear flying around at night roost. Nice to know the garden is home to another wild animal.

(And yes, I scattered the pile of seeds after I took the photo... didn't want my mom finding about our furry friend. I don't think she would be pleased.)

UPDATE: My friend (and wildlife biologist) JC identified batty as Cynopterus brachyotis, lesser dog-faced fruit bat (common short-nosed fruit bat, lesser short-nosed fruit bat). And this weekend, when I checked, there were two of them! Hope they hang around (haha).

Saturday, November 19

Brunch with the BBS

Last week, Alex and Tere were over at the house for brunch (Adri was out of town for work) and while we were at the dining table, I noticed that our little backyard butcher had brought down something long and squirmy.

Thinking it was either a huge earthworm or a tiny snake, I pointed her out to Alex and Tere. We could clearly see her struggling with her prey through the glass windows.

I quickly ran to my room to get my optics to confirm: sure enough it was a small snake, Calamaria gervaisii (Gervais' worm snake, www.iucnredlist.org/details/169760/0). This prey was not new to the bbs (backyard brown shrike) menu, as I had seen it already before, but it was only recently, that I confirmed its identity, care of herping enthusiast friend Emerson.

BBS expertly impaled the snake on a large thorn of a potted kafir lime, and with a sharp poke of her beak, broke through the skin and slowly pulled out a long, white and bloody gut. (Glad our brunch wasn't spaghetti!)

We slowly moved out to the terrace to get a better look. BBS momentarily stopped her exertions to take a wary look at us, and then, deciding that her food was of higher concern, continued to with her eating.

The three of us watched, mesmerized by the shrike's struggle with the longish creature. On every other pull, we would see its eyes cloud over as its translucent third eyelid covered its eyes.

After a few minutes, she flew off, leaving her fresh meal behind and giving us a chance for a closer inspection.

Yumyum. Warm and bloody.

Of course as soon as we stepped back, she returned to see if we had harmed her precious chow. Taking another suspicious look at us (and obviously deciding we were up to no good) she picked up her snake and flew it to the climbing rose at the back of the garden.

This was her favorite larder. Though its thorns were small, they were no less sharp. More importantly, they served their purpose well. Adri and I had documented a tiny gecko and a large furry yellow moth securely caught on the thorns during that same week.

We watched again, as she expertly laid out the snake by its long side, its skin shredded as it caught on the rose thorns. Pretty soon it had clearly skinned the little snake, and could now easily tear it up into bite-sized pieces.

Wonderful backyard natural history in action.

We left it to enjoy its meal and went back to ours. Bon appetit!

Sunday, October 30

Happy halloween!

Look who's here!

Shrikes are called tarat in the local dialect, but for today's ghoulish holiday, I think it is appropriate to borrow the local name of butcher cousin long-tailed shrike: mamumugot (head hunter).

BBS (backyard brown shrike) has settled well in the garden, hanging all sorts of hapless creatures on its rose bush larder. Happy to have her back!

Her movements have become so predictable that it didn't take much effort for Adri to take this shot. He just asked me to do some fancy, quick lettering on a piece of plywood which he strung up on the favorite perch (clothesline across the backyard) and he had several shots to choose from in no time.

A happy halloween to all tonight!

Sunday, September 18

While waiting for BBS*

*BBS = Backyard Brown Shrike

The garden has been high in bird activity the past few weeks. This is mostly because the rambutan is fruiting, but it's also because the migrant brown shrikes are slowly trickling in. The ripening of the rambutan coincides with the return of these feisty birds leading to the jostling for position and re-drawing of territories for the season.

Probably least concerned with the return of the migrants are the Large-billed Crows. A pair of them always lands on the tree outside our bedroom window in the morning, their loud cawing in dissonance with the pleasant dawn chorus.

At center stage are the lovable green Colasisi, twittering the day away in the rambutan trees. I have seen as many as 6 individuals on a single tree, slowly picking away at the thick red rind to get to the juicy white flesh of the fruit.

Small quarrels would erupt as they fought for the ripest fruit, or stood guard over their carefully opened treat.

Joining in the feast are a few shrewd Yellow-vented Bulbuls, on the look out for already opened fruit. They fly in to enjoy their own feast.

The Colasisi feed most actively during the morning and late afternoon. At midday, we would hear their soft chirping as they rested. It was almost comical to watch them dropping their heads while falling asleep after their meal, their bellies probably full of the sweet fruit.

Elsewhere in the garden, the Philippine Pied Fantail still rules, its melodious call resonating from every corner. It flies back and forth around the yard, turning with a sharp snap of its wings and graceful fanning of its tail.

The pair of Olive-backed Sunbirds, which occupy the shared corner with the next door yard, are already being bullied by the neighbor's BBS. What can they do but sing loudly from their clothesline perch in protest.

I am certain that the large flocks of Eurasian Tree Sparrows will disperse as soon as BBS arrives, the young ones had better learn quickly to avoid the king when he returns.

True to their less popular name, the Peaceful Doves (Zebra Doves), continue to be placid amidst the haste of the changing season. They quietly forage in the grass, or preen while perched on branch or electric wire. Their quiet cooing is only interrupted when they take off, surprised by the slightest of movements.

And the wait for the arrival of BBS continues.

Wednesday, August 3

Wannabe bird-mom

One morning I heard the twittering of young Lowland White-eyes in the garden and I quickly located three of them perched on the golden shower tree.

To my surprise, a Eurasian Tree Sparrow was feeding them! (Or at least seemed to be, it was handing food material to each of the young white-eye's beaks!)

And the white-eyes seemed very receptive to the food of their aspiring mother.

Soon though, the true white-eye parent came along and there was a flurry of wings as it chased the wannabe away.

I wonder what was up with that?