I wandered around a paddock with this horse and it’s tiny rider earlier this month; who could have guessed how much our lives would have changed since then.
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 1250, focal length 560mm
Canon 5DSR, Canon 200-400mm L IS USM EXT
Willie Wagtails often hitch a ride on the backs of grazing animals, where they take advantage of the bugs that are stirred up as the large animals wander around the paddocks. They take insects from the air and the ground.
They are distinctive birds with their white underparts, dark upper parts and bright white eyebrows. The wagtail above has some brownish feathers which are typical of adult birds with worn or sun-bleached feathers.
My apologies for not replying to last week’s comments yet, I will answer them as soon as I can. Like most of us, I am feeling stressed and depleted. I was going to head to sleep early when I realised that it’s Friday and that I hadn’t prepared a lirralirra post – my connection to you all is more important today than an early night.
There were over 100 votes for last week’s images, thank you. The fairywren montage shows the shots in the winning order, other than the final two shots which are just filling the spaces. The results were:
Banksia Fairywren 26%
Fairywren with Petal 18%
Fairywren Posing 16%
Fairywren with Thistle 14%
Changing Colours 11%
Bathing Fairywren 8%
Jenny Fairywren 7%
We are living in times that have made me think of my wonderful grandmother, a lot. She was born in 1900, she was a teenager during WW1 and she lost her best friend to the Spanish Flu in 1919. Her seven children were born between 1922 and 1940, meaning that she raised them during the Great Depression and while living in a heavily bombed port city during WW2. She gives me hope that we will soon be looking back on these difficult times and that the world will become a kinder place, with closer communities and a greater appreciation of the intrinsic value of our natural environment.
Thinking of you all, stay home, stay safe
Happy birding from home, Kim
~ Facebook page Kim Wormald – lirralirra
~ Facebook group Ethical Bird Photography
Nice to see living in harmony. Shows how much we depend on others without realising it.
So true Togram!
I hadn’t realised that they hitched rides – but it makes perfect sense. Why we ever use ‘bird-brained’ to refer to those of lesser intellectual capacity is beyond me.
A truly stunning image of this cheeky charmer.
Many thanks.
And as an unrelated PS if you get the chance take a look at my Balloon Spectacular for some colour, some whimsy and fun.
Stay well, stay safe.
The Cattle Egret lurk around stock too, waiting for what they stir up. I love your blog EC, I’ve missed it while I’ve been unwell, I’ll head back now…
Great montage and wagtail. Thanks.
Thank you Thomas
Gorgeous little willie wagtail, great shot! It’s a super challenging time but good to think of what our predecessors went through without the convenience of mod cons and the internet to keep them connected and provided with copious amounts of hilarious memes and parodies. Sending hugs and looking forward to a real one xxx
I heartily agree with you Alyssa xox