lirralirra

Seven of my very favourite Superb Fairywren images and a question to go with them.

The image above shows a young male Superb Fairywren standing alertly on a banksia, in beautiful light. I love the detail of his tail coverts and the way they, and his tail, catch the light against the dark shadow of the background. It’s easy to confuse young males with females but the key identifier here is that his bill is starting to turn black, from the tip. Also his tail is bluer than a female’s tail would be.

I have shared this image before. It is a definite favourite and has just been selected for a wonderful book that is due to be published later this year – I’ll give updates once everything is confirmed and the book is available.

Male Superb Fairywrens occasionally choose a perfect yellow petal to impress their partner. I’ve seen this twice and the second time I was lucky to have a camera in my hands, and lucky that the fairywren paused for literally two seconds (according to the data between the first and last image of the burst). I was sitting on the ground which means the image has a more intimate angle than if I’d been looking down on the fairywren.

Actually, I’ve just scrolled through these images and realise I was either sitting or lying on the ground for all of them.

Superb Fairywrens generally have a circuit that they use each day, how many times they go past the same area depends on the amount of small insects and arthropods available. This thistle was on their circuit so I sat in wait one morning caught this acrobatic moment.

I think jenny fairywrens are exquisite with their subtle colouring. The image above also highlights the tail coverts against the shadows, so sweet. Female Superb Fairywrens have a brown bill, brown eye-rings and brown lores (the area between the bill and the eye) and their tales have a soft blue colouring.

The male Superb Fairywren above is transitioning into his breeding plumage – how cute does he look! Though I’m sure he’d prefer to be called handsome or debonaire. His brown cap feathers and ear tufts are moulting from brown to light blue, his throat is becoming blue-black. The males maintain darker tails regardless of breeding or non-breeding plumage.

This jenny fairywren had been bathing in a shallow puddle and hopping up to this fallen branch to shake herself between dips. The perch and background are serendipitously lovely and I like her dynamic mid-shake pose.

I like the roundness of this little female and the way she stands out against the glow of the late-afternoon sky. I also like the way her feet are daintily placed on top of the curved branch and how her head is gently tilted towards the soft sound of my near silent shutter.

I’ve shared these images today as five weeks ago I witnessed a horrible accident when a P-plater drove through a red light, he was distraught but unhurt, the driver of the other vehicle was injured. The injured lady called me today to say that she is home from hospital – I was thrilled to hear from her, and thrilled that she is home at last. I popped in to see her elderly husband last month and noticed a bird picture on their wall, so today I mentioned it on the phone and asked whether she likes birds: sometimes the pictures on our walls aren’t our first choice. She does like birds, and her favourite is the Superb Fairywren. I have emailed her six of the images above (there’s another that I popped into this post) and I’ve asked her to let me know which one, if any, she likes best. Which brings me to my question, do you have a particular favourite?

Happy birding

Kim


PS photographers might be interested to note that a combination of three camera bodies and three lenses have been used for these images

~ Facebook page Kim Wormald – lirralirra
~ Facebook group  Ethical Bird Photography