Photography Lovers

Robbie and his wife are nesting here.

So cute to see his wife flying though our front garden, loaded with nesting material.

I also have a video in here at the end of the post, to show you how Robbie takes a bath. He is a Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra), and they are building a nest in the neighbor's grape vine next door. A very clever move, as they bath and eat here by us, and there will be plenty food for the babies. They used to nest in the strawberry-guava tree in our garden, but I have trimmed the tree, and I removed most of its branches because the fruits draw many fruit flies that also come into our house.

The little White Eyes also used to nest in the same tree, and we just had to trim the tree down, not completely as it still has some of the branches that are now budding prior to developing into its delicious fruits. Enough for us to strip the fruits for my wife to make some sweet and sour jam. The thought is that as soon as we have removed all of the fruits, then there will be no more fruit flies.

Wow! I was surprised to see what material they are collecting for their nest.

This below was the second haul, and all that I had to do was to keep my eyes on that empty flowerpot.

The third haul of material below.

And here was the fourth haul. They move very fast and it's not easy to get the shots.

This was the last shot, as we had to go out.

This is a short video to show you how cute Robbie is bathing in our doggy water bowl.

Of course, we don't have a doggie anymore, but while we had one, we saw that the birds also drank from the water bowl. So, that gave us the idea to get some more doggy water bowls, and my wife now has four all over the place. Not that Robbie baths in all of them, as he has his favorite bowl to bath in. They are very hygienic birds, and my wife got tired of having to fill the bowl with water three times a day. Morning, afternoon, and late afternoon, and that's why we bought more bowls.

In the meantime, the flying ants are emerging from their underground nests, and I made 3 short videos to show you. The only thing that I am mentally debating is that if I should place all 3 vids in one post. Something like first a picture and then a vid, then another picture with a vid, and then some more pictures followed by the 3d vid. What do you think about it? Please let me know in the replies.

Photos and words by Zac Smith. No AI and no Photoshop. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Until next time, Shalom!

Comments · 7

@bxt(80)· 7d
What a cute bird ! amazing nature !
@pizzabot(60)· 8d
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@thebighigg(78)· 8d
What industrious little robins building their nest! That's amazing jut how much nesting material they pick up in each load and carry it back to build the place to raise their young. I guess they try to stay ahead of the season, spring is arriving and it's time to nest.

That is a cute video, funny how her takes a bath in the same bowl every day. He does a thorough job cleaning himself up and sure splashes a lot!

The flying ants sounds interesting. Less likely to sting you that the bees! I can't wait to see what you decide to do with those videos. I once had a next of flying ants appear in my building where my office was located. They were everywhere. I had to get an exterminator to clear them out, it's hard to get employees come to work when flying ants were landing on them! lol

Thanks for sharing the great pictures and video, a tip as always!
@rozioo(72)· 8d
look so cute
@zekepickleman(79)· 8d
Might as well combine the videos into 1 and get the action all together.

So neat to see the different birds with the same building material. I have a bird bath in the garden from the previous owner and I just let it collect rain water for the birds & bees.

Seems easier to welcome the signs of autumn up here when I can simultaneously enjoy the signs of spring down there!
@reachdreams(73)· 8d
The bird realized someone was taking its picture. It looked shy, perhaps because it had building materials for its nest in its beak.
@sarjan.hossain71(56)· 8d
Such a heartwarming post! Watching little birds build their nests around the garden is truly a delightful and soothing experience of nature. Regarding your question about the videos, I think you should share them however you feel is best and most convenient for you—others might have different opinions, but your comfort and storytelling style matter the most