lirralirra

I’ve mentioned the crazy amount of activity at my birdbaths, the number of species is quite remarkable. Recently it has included eight species of honeyeater, two species of pardalote, three species of thornbill, scrubwrens, fairywrens, two species of fantail, two species of robin, two species of whistler, Willie Wagtail, rosellas, magpies, treecreeper, shrike-thrush, Magpie-lark, Silvereyes, finches and the occasional blackbird, Spotted Dove, currawong and raven, while the ducks and White-faced Herons forage nearby.

I see some pretty hilarious sights as I watch from the window of my study, and sometimes I manage to capture a photograph that makes me smile. This female Superb Fairywren was calling so loudly as she perched at the edge of the shallow, pedestal birdbath. The fuzzy green blob in the foreground is a Silvereye’s head and the tail to the left belongs to another fairywren. Also in the bath were more Silvereyes and some Red-browed Finches. The busy-ness of the bath really makes me wonder what the fairywren was saying!

It was pretty amazing to capture such a close-up shot of this Silvereye as it ruffled its feathers while still sitting in the water. There are a few tiny drops of water on its head, with the largest droplet just behind its eye. I really like the look of the tousled green, grey, russet, black and white feathers. This bird’s bill is partly open too, they were making a lot of noise between them.

The Silvereye hopped onto a nearby branch to shake its feathers free of water. It’s interesting how quickly they can dry themselves, just a few quick shakes and their feathers are ready for flight.

Birds are vulnerable while bathing as they need to shake their feathers dry before they can fly. Add that to the racket they were making as they bathed and it’s hardly surprising that this raptor arrived on the scene. I saw it swoop majestically, eerily, through the trees. For their size they are incredibly agile in flight. Some alarm calls cut through the twitterings, the bathers dived for cover, and the garden was silent.

When I first saw this raptor I thought it was a Collared Sparrowhawk but on closer inspection I think it’s a Brown Goshawk. They are so similar. I looked for the glare vs the stare, for the long second toe and the relationship of the first knuckles, I checked for the shape of its tail while perched and the thinness of its legs. And I was still a bit stuck. Finally I looked closely at the cere and noticed that the blue-grey colour does not extend over the bill. So I think I’m right but it’s a close call for me with this one as I think it’s staring, its legs look skinny and its second toe looks longer than a goshawk’s second toe.

In the past I’ve seen a goshawk and a sparrowhawk dissecting Eastern Yellow Robins. I’ve seen a goshawk or sparrowhawk (it was flying too quickly) take an Eastern Spinebill, and I’ve seen a goshawk raid a honeyeater’s nest. But this time the lurking danger had to go elsewhere for its dinner.

Happy birding, Kim

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