Dear All,

As it has been pretty miserable in the mornings, with nothing much
moving I had not been in our paddock since 20th. I had last seen a Bat
Hawk on the morning of the 16th when after being a daily event resting
in our acacia, the male went over high and disappeared towards the
Mbagathi but showed no interest in the paddock apart from circling a
couple of times.

This morning around 7.30am after a period of nine days, the male
appeared from IUCN being harassed by Pied Crows and whilst trying to
shake them off, circled off towards Hog Ranch. Two minutes later the
female appeared from IUCN, also being harried by crows, circled over
the paddock with its antagonists and returned to IUCN.

So our tree is no longer a focal point in their lives, it obviously
formed an important feature in display and pair bonding, but now I am
more convinced than ever that attention now is focussed on nesting in
IUCN.

A male Brown-backed Woodpecker arrived carrying food, and after
sitting around for a while flew of with it to a neighbouring garden.
Some ten minutes later a female arrived from the direction the male
had flown but with no food, and flew off in the opposite direction.
The birds are certainly nesting close by, but in spite of excavating a
hole in the acacia they are breeding on a neighbouring plot.

Violet-backed Starlings have recently been increasing, and have
finally broken 100 in one morning.

Best to all
Brian