Crossing the Causeway over the Sand River on our way back to camp, we noticed something unusual.
There is an island of trees in the middle channel of the river here where many birds build their nests. There are Grey Herons, Thick-Billed Weavers, Lesser Masked and Village Weavers and eve the occasional Black-Crowned Night Heron.
On this particular morning, sitting at the main weaver colony was a troop of vervet monkeys.
One by one we noticed the weavers mobbing and actually hitting the vervet monkeys on the head. We thought it was quite strange until we saw one of the monkeys stick its whole hand into a nest.
Village weavers sit watching helplessly as a monkey rips into one of the nest.
A village weaver comes in to mob the marauder.
Given how much effort a nest takes to make, this in itself was sad to see…
The male village weaver will build around three to five nests, using strips of grass or reed blades, he replaces any nests that have turned brown or ones the female rips apart that she does not approve of.
A male and female weaver building a nest. The male will often build the round structure and the female once she has accepted the nest (based on the structural strength) will line the cup with soft grass and feathers.
They will regularly build their nests above the water to help protect them from land predators. The building of a nest can on average take up to 15 hours, so it must have been horrific for the weavers to sit and watch this take place.
The monkeys weren’t just ripping up the nests though, they were going after the chicks!
As the monkeys were methodically checking each nest the weavers were dropping on them, pecking at their heads, hoping in vain to deter them. Some of the monkeys got lucky and pulled out a chick and stored the meat in their cheek pouches.
Although we generally see vervet monkeys foraging on the flowers of a sausage tree or on the fruit of a fig, they are actually omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal food sources. They are also very opportunistic and thus it is not too surprising that they were looking through the nests for any chicks or eggs for a high protein meal. It’s just something I’ve never seen before.
A female vervet (note the infant clinging to her chest) extracts a chick from one of the nests.
During this time of year there is an abundance of chicks and eggs around, and birds are having a tough time protecting their offspring from all types of predators from snakes to monkeys.
Some species they have really camouflaged nests like the Chinspot Batises that James Tyrrell posted about a few weeks ago, or they have built them in inaccessible areas.
Unfortunately for the weavers in this particular sighting, whilst building nests out over the water may have protected them from some predators, it wasn’t enough to stop the incredibly agile and dexterous monkeys.
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This is really an amazing sighting.
Jess, I loved all the photos. Especially one photos🤗
Some of the light-hearted moments at meals are watching the monkeys demonstrate their omnivorous eating habits. I have a great photo of one with a piece of bacon hanging from its mouth.
Sometimes nature is cruel in the battle for survival! I am sorry for the weavers but those vervets are extremely clever , which is why we always try and remember to lock our villa doors when we leave! Hope some chicks did not get found and that this episode won’t drive away the weavers! Happy New Tear to you all! Victoria
The photos are great, especially the one in which the weavers are building the nest! However, it is really sad that the monkeys were able to help themselves to the eggs and chicks. It must really be horrifying for the poor birds to watch their nest being destroyed and their babies killed.
That is really quite sad for the weavers- how did the monkeys get over to the island – is the water quite shallow?
Jess, Your images are beautiful! The story is sad though, but that is life in the “real world”. Those monkeys can really be a nuisance, not just to us, but for those unfortunate birds!
Great post Jess! Those nests are beautifully intricate, so it’s sad to see them torn up, let alone their contents being pillaged. Life in the bush, though, must go forward.
I feel sorry for the weavers in that they take such painstaking time to build their nests and then to have this happen and to lose their chicks and eggs devastating. However, this is nature and the law of survival of the fittest. Hopefully they will build another nest and have some success. Thanks for this interesting blog Jess. Happy New Year to you all.
Wow!! I knew that monkeys would raid bird nests but I didn’t know they would go for weavers!
Jess, stunning photos but with a sad tale 😟..all that beautiful work ripped apart in seconds and chicks lost to the colony. Nature creates it’s own balance so I’m sure it will even out as is intended, rather than through our intervention. 🙏
The image of the two weavers working together is exceptional. Not happy about the monkeys.