Weaver Morale

Because it rained the night before, Day 4 starts on a miserable note: the Masked weaver's nest is soaked & the weather stays overcast [SEE: previous 2 blog-entries].






Our little chap inspects his nest - any damage done? It doesn't appear to be the case - so far, so good. He's obviously done a good weaving-job - the nest still is firmly "tied" to a branch.





Since he's meticulous with regard to the overall effect, our little chap also checks the inside of his nest. Everything seems fine - no damage done here either. Now the nest only needs to get dry.






Checking-job done - now it's time for our little chap to also take care of his "ablution" - after all his feathers are also wet!







Ready for action - time to concentrate on attracting females to his nest again! His nest has withstood the test - not even heavy rain managed to destroy his work. His courtship-call echoes loud - does it now include a ring of desperation?





Finally - a visitor! But it's not an interested female weaver our little chap was hoping for! Instead it's a curious, juvenile Fiscal flycatcher.






When for a short while the sun does make an "appearance", a female weaver materialises, but: she reveals a dismissive attitude! At least she didn't try to destroy the nest as some female weavers do if they aren't satisfied with what a courting male represents as a supposedly safe nest to them.



The birds in general appear lethargic all day long & that's a similar case on Day 5. Our little hero even appears to have lost interest in trying to attract females to his nest & disappears for long periods of time - to feed.

Was our young chap perhaps too eager too early in the season?





In contrast, this Masked weaver male was "watched with interest" from the moment he started building his nest at the beginning of the year (= mid-summer in South Africa) = different circumstances to the rather lonely job our little chap is doing right now.