Invitation to the barbets

Acacia Pied Barbets (Tricho-laema leucomelas) are quite abundant in the gardens in our home town - Aliwal North. Unfortu-nately they have never set up home in our own garden. So we (the kids and myself) decided to put up a sisal log and see if we could invite them to come and nest in a tree in our backyard. The log was put up about 3 m from the ground in a leafless White Stinkwood (Celtis africana). The log is quite visible from far off and we hope the birds will spot it and excavate a nest before the onset of spring when the leaves of the stinkwood will sprout out again. According to literature these birds breed from August to April so we trust that the new site was put up just in time for the new season.

We'll keep you posted if the Barbets pick our log for their new nesting site – so come back and make sure you keep yourself updated.