Tuesday, August 9, 2011

World Bird Wednesday - A Dogfight in the Sky


I was lucky enough to witness the White-Plumed Honeyeater,
Lichenostomus penicillatus, arriving for the summer season.
I heard an inordinate ruckus outside, reached for my camera
and was greeted by a whirring of wings and shouting of insults
as a few very early summer bird arrivals (it is still winter by
the calendar) were homing in to the main food source at this
time of year, a bush of red flowering Grevillea.


Protecting the larder was this very vocal and aggressive
New Holland Honeyeater.


It took a while for me to separate the combatants from the
onlookers, a whole flock of noisy common House Sparrows
jockeying for best vantage points on the wing to watch the goings
on. The whole thing was reminiscent of a Harry Potter Quidditch
match. For once, the birds were completely oblivious of me as
they fought and I could get close enough to get some clear shots.

Occasionally five or six House Sparrows would subliminally
sit in the cherry tree before the next engagement.


Although the beak to beak combat was very loud, no actual
feathers flew and a couple of these tiny Yellow-Rumped
Thornbills blithely went about their business of feeding on
tiny insects while the drama roared around them.



After a while, honour was satisfied and everyone went for
a drink (of nectar) in the bushes.

I am glad the Prof planted the natives below my rose bed,
they provide nectar for the birds when not much else is
flowering and now that they have reached a decent height,
are a good wind-break besides.

Hope all has been Quiet on the Western Front where you are.

Thanks to Springman at The Pine River Review, we can all share our birds.
Just click on the Logo and join in with yours as well!

27 comments:

  1. Beautiful birds to see...
    Many thanks for sharing your wonderful images...

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  2. How I'd love to sit in your garden with my camera.
    Such beautiful birds!

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  3. Nice to have your summer birds arriving now. You get a very nice variety in your garden. I am eagerly waiting for the shorebirds - still at least 6 weeks away.

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  4. these are beautiful birds. it must have been a real treat to see them up close.

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  5. Lovely photos and words, as always! I love hearing of such exotic species all the way on the other side of the world, where winter is turning into spring. Thank you! I hope your health is good and you are holding up well under your pressures. Best Wishes Arija!

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  6. They are indeed cute little buggers! Delightful captures as always and such a lovely garden, Arija! Must be nice to see the promise of spring! Hope your week is going well!

    Sylvia

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  7. Beautiful shots and critters :)!

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  8. What a treat for you! As your spring birds are beginning to arrive the birds here are beginning to prepare to migrate south.

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  9. Hi there - what a great selction of pictures. Spent more time than I should have trying to get pictures of Yellow Rumps last Sunday - net result: Zero!

    I would not be too sure about your elm woods - its remarkable what light, water and some turned over soil will bring up.

    Cheers Stewart M

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  10. so, our birds might be coming to you now. Some has already left. :(
    Great collection of birds near you. :)

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  11. Lovely birds - peaceful times. As to whether it is all quiet - you will no doubt have seen our riots on your news bulletins - all so sad. I was slightly cheered by seeing the clean up squads of volunteers move in last night but there are troubled times.

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  12. Beautiful birds and unusual (for me). Great photos!

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  13. Great sequence!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  14. Such cool birds Arija, and better yet things are beginning to come to life where you are. We are heading in the opposite direction.
    B.

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  15. It's great watching the bird behaviour happen before our eyes like that.

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  16. How fun to have that view in your garden ... glad all scores were settled! Great narrative and pics!

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  17. I love the fact that our hemispheres are opposite in terms of season. Its fun to hear you speak of the coming summer when today Suzanne and I feel for the first time a tinge of Autumn in the morning air.
    All Quiet on the Western Front. What a movie! I watch my copy at least once a year. The chattering bluster of your yard birds reminds me of the opening school house scene with the excited school kids speaking of the comming war.
    Excellent post!

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  18. Lovely photos and excellent account of the excitement! Hope all remains peaceful now!

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  19. So you have house sparrows too? Mine are chasing off my chipping sparrows! That honeyeater is colored like one of our warblers but looks 3 to 4 times the size!

    So, while summer is winding down to autumn here, winter is winding down to spring there! Hope you don't have a drought again this year!

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  20. A bit early for summer birds we had a report of a Channel-billed Cuckoo the other day a bit early for here too.

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  21. A great post and beautiful images. Well done.

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  22. Arija, your story of the bird combat made me laugh, esp.with your Harry Potter remark. Nice pix too!

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  23. Arija, your story of the bird combat made me laugh, esp.with your Harry Potter remark. Nice pix too!

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  24. Super post on the dog fight in your yard Arija. That White-plumed Honeyeater is beautiful but the New Holland is striking! I wish we had Honeyeaters in the U.S. but I guess I will have to take a trip downunder at some point to see your beauties!

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  25. A delightful little photo essay! :)
    Your world is 'waking up' beautifully.

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