It is afternoon and my dad called me. It is a familiar sound to us both. In 2006-2007 he finished his Ph.D. and he wrote an article for a journal. This required him to wake up at 4 am to fit all of this work in. He heard the call of a bird and it never escaped him. He never saw the bird but knew the call. I woke up at 4 am when I still worked at the bakery. The sun is just over the horizon and this same bird song fills the kitchen as I ready myself to go. Both for me and my dad, this specific bird call has kind of haunted us. Getting up at that hour in the morning is not fun. And doing something like writing a dissertation or trying to wake up to spend my morning baking bread, this bird song filled us with dread.
Until now.
Enter the olive thrush (Turdus Olivaceus).
I have photographed and identified this bird last here. (See my post on the mother feeding the baby some berries here.) But never have I seen it make this particular song or call. And I caught it on video! Sorry for the bad quality video I took with my iPhone, but please enjoy the beautiful call or song of the olive thrush:
Me and my dad stood there for about 30 minutes conversing with this friend. I played the video with full sound, and it was so sweet. The bird responded to the calls coming from the cellphone! I felt bad right afterward because it would lead to nothing for the poor friend.
Here are some photographs of the olive thrush whilst we talked to it. What a relief for me and my dad for finally seeing the bird that made this sound or call. It is weird how a single sound can almost haunt you like that, reminding you of the 4 am mornings that you spent doing something you didn't really want to do.
Mid song, I caught him or her! What a beautiful bird and song it makes. It sat so comfortably in that spot there. It looked like it was home, claiming the rock from him or herself. I love the white and black feathers around its throat.
Walking downstairs I also heard the familiar sound of the Southern double-collared sunbird. The fynbos flowers are so beautiful now, attracting various bugs and insects. This, in turn, attracts the sunbirds. It was feasting on what I guess would be beetles, as I only saw some beetles on these flowers. I am not sure. But what I am sure of, is the beauty of this bird. They never leave me without awe, and I always marvel at the beauty of their feathers.
And this morning, I saw an empty nest where there were some doves earlier. I am not sure if they grew up in the time I did not visit them, or that a cat might have gotten to them. The new neighbors have loads of cats that walk freely into my garden and I am not very happy with that. But let us hope the doves are safe and all grown up. Here is only the remnants of the once full nest.
I hope that you enjoyed this post. I hope that the quality of the video is good enough so that you can enjoy the beautiful sounds of the olive thrush. All the photographs are taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron zoom lens, and the video was taken with my iPhone. Stay safe and happy birding!