4.12.09

Dear Colin

Thank you again; I am further encouraged!

1. Level of parasitism by honeyguides related to natural as opposed to nestbox nest sites: Many of my boxes are large sisal logs, hung vertically, often with self-made woodpecker holes. These were a prime honeyguide target so I think nestboxes do not provide a more obvious target. Also my nestboxes have very species specific entrance holes, thus being more likely to eliminate larger honeyguide species who would, with many natural holes, be able to enter what is often a hole bigger than the user species needs.

2. I well remember the Elsamere nestbox project. I have been making nestboxes for over 60 years. I think one has to have a feel for the box and the site. My UK 200 box experience was applied totally at Lentolia where I had 48 boxes, and I learned fast a total UK box approach did not work every time. I badly lacked African nest site experience and some of my notable failures really surprised me. 3 Red-throated Tit nests in boxes at Green Park (maybe 4 now) did fit a UK box design well. The White-bellieds were far less likely to conform. Green Park has enabled a much closer study of birds’ likes and dislikes than Lentolia, and a great deal of work has gone into endlessly adding boxes (70 boxes up now) to try to meet requirements possibly seen by a range of species. Feel for the boxes and their positions still applies a lot. A friend in UK had an elm near his window. I said it needed a Kestrel box. I put one up. Kestrels arrived the next day, soon laid 6 eggs and hatched and reared the lot. While thrilled at the speed of it all, the site felt exactly right from conception. I plan a thorough account of what worked, what failed, and, on occasions, why, on my work here.

3. Update: Delighted to say it looks very much as though the Scimitarbills have bred again in their original box. Another box in which Nubians bred, then Grey Woodpeckers, is now I suspect occupied by Red-billed Oxpeckers. A Red-fronted Tinker has bored a deep hole into a box of great interest to Grey Woodpeckers at the moment so I immediately had to block the Greys’ hole and I hope the tinker goes ahead. They bred in a Lentolia box and Yellow-rumped bred in a Kiambu box. 4 Green Park tinker boxes have had holes made by the birds, interest shown, but have then been abandoned. Cape Robin-Chats have young in a box which they ignored for a year. The Greater Blue-eared Starlings whose young flew from a box in August, have not bred here again.

Grahame Dangerfield