Raising kids is a difficult job!

In order to raise their chicks successfully, birds make use of a variety of nests and breeding practices. Some have elaborate woven nests, others use false entrances while some birds do not even bother to built a nest. Some chicks leave the nest as soon as they have hatched while others are born naked and blind and will remain in the nest for more than a month.

Birds will breed in the most basic of gardens. In many instances these nests can be easily observed, providing you with an excellent opportunity to study the breeding behaviour of that particular species. By noting a few basic activities (when have breeding started, do male and female incubate the eggs, how many eggs etc) you will get some really interesting data - data that could actually be of great value. You can then also submit this data to the Nest Record Card Scheme (NERCS) of the Avian Demography Unit where this data will be computerized and be available for use by ornithologists. For more information visit their website Here you will be able to download instructions on how to locate nests and what to look for when studying the breeding behavior of birds.

An example of a Nest Record Card Scheme card

But to get you started here are a few things to remember when studying or watching birds breeding in you garden:

• Where is the nest located? In a tree or under a roof? How high from the ground?

• Describe the type of nest - woven, made from mud or a cup of grasses maybe finely lined with feathers or spider web.

• How long did the construction take? Did the male and female construct the nest?

• How many eggs have been laid? How many chicks have hatched? Have all of them survived and left the nest successfully? How long did it take for the chicks to hatch?

• Do the male and female brood the eggs? Or is it only the female that is doing the brooding and the male provides her with food?

The eggs and chicks of a Cape Robin-chat photographed in a garden in Centurion Pretoria. (Rynetta Coetzee)