04 September 2021
Things are happening . . .
This morning when I checked the nest box just after 06:00, the female was tearing pieces from the remains of a Common Myna – (why don’t they catch these birds more often?), and feeding them to one of the chicks. She swallowed what was left and settled down in the nest. I could still hear the wheezy asthmatic begging calls of a chick however and I eventually could see that it was in fact on the roof under the box. A short while later the female headed for one of the River Bushwillows in the tea garden. The male, after a short bout of ‘crow duty’ had gone back to his favourite spot in the Evergreen Oak on the other side of the building – so both adults are spending time away from the chicks during the day, both are however very alert and keeping an eye on what goes on at the nest.
When I went out onto the lower roof just now, things were where they had been this morning – one chick was on the roof under the box; its two siblings were in the box, and the adults were keeping watch from either side of the building. One change however was that there were now three Cape Starlings collecting feathers from around the nest. They were clearly intrigued by the chick sheltering under the box and one approached to within about 20 cm of it – before backing away.
Chick sheltering under the nest box 
Cape Starling trying to figure ‘what this thing is’
Two chicks in the nest
Female in a Bushwillow in the tea garden 
Male in the Evergreen Oak
By Geoff Lockwood