Eastern Spinebill’s are the closest we have to hummingbirds. This little one was just fluffing it feathers following a nice cool bath – and how well it fluffed them!
These tiny birds weigh just 10g, that’s the same as 10 paperclips. If you put that many paperclips in your hand you’d hardly know they were there. And most of their size is made up of feathers.
This shot reminds me of a model on a catwalk wearing some outlandish, impractical concoction of fabric that somehow looks just right. I remember one shot I was entering in an international competition of an Eastern Spinebill when I felt I had to slightly decrease the saturation of its iris as it looked quite fake, although it wasn’t. They are truly stunning little birds that I love watching in my garden.
I’ve had a crazily busy week, some of it wonderful (especially last week’s trip to Snape Reserve in the Little Desert) and some of it extremely sad and stressful, too sad to share. Please send your loving thoughts to everyone whose hearts are hurting, and hug your family and friends a little tighter than usual.
Happy birding, Kim
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What an amazing phot Kim – thank you (yet again!).
My pleasure Fiona, thank you heaps for letting me know you like it (again!) 🙂
They are soooo gorgeous to watch. We normally have a few on our property but haven’t seen any for a couple of weeks – hopefully they’re back real soon.
I get a lot of pleasure watching them too Kathie. I hope they come back to your place soon!
Beautiful photo once again Kim. Thanks, I look forward to seeing them each week. Regards, Valda
Thank you Valda, they are such exquisite little birds, one of my favourites, Kim