Page 30 - nov21

gardening for birds

A few random rocks or a small rockery are not going to be a magnet to
many species. To do that, you have to go big and have a rocky outcrop

or koppie in you garden. If you are fortunate to have that, allied with
the appropriate eco-system, you will attract a large variety of unusual
birds.

Boulder chats prefer well-wooded, boulder-strewn hillsides with granite outcrops, while
the Cinnamon-breasted Bunting prefers woodland with rocky sub-stratum and boulders
or rocky ridges. The Mocking cliff-chat prefers cliffs and boulder-strewn river margins.
These birds can become very confiding. The Short-toed rock thrush likes rocky outcrops,
escarpments and inselbergs, mostly in drier regions.

You will indeed be fortunate to attract a Striped Pipit, which normally occurs on steep
rocky hillsides. If you have a rocky outcrop in your back garden and you can establish the
right biome, you will be rewarded by attracting a Freckled Nightjar, which will call “bow-
wow’ or “bow-wow-wow”. These birds prefer bare granite and boulder-strewn hillsides,
surrounded by broad-leaved woodland.
If you can provide a rocky surround to your fishpond, which is not too close to your
house, you will be sure to attract hamerkops, cormorants and herons. Better still, if you
can build a boulder-strewn stream to feed your fishpond, you will attract an amazing
variety of birds wanting to slake their thirst in shallow pools. Such birds would include a
variety of waxbills, firefinches, thrushes and babblers.
Bobbejaanstert, scientifically known as Xerophyta retinervis (Front page cover) is provided
by Nature if you have a bed of rocks in your garden. This won’t necessarily attract birds
but will be an attractive feature, with plants flowering in abundance opportunistically
after good rains or a fire. by Harold Hester & Photographs by Ian White
( For more information - www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw )

Red-billed Firefinch
30 Red-eyed Bulbul