A flash of gold

I can't believe how time has slipped by - it's nearly a month since I last posted. We've been having plenty of rain and cloudy weather but today we had some lovely sunshine which enlivened the birds in the garden.

A special treat was hearing a male golden whistler calling insistently from the bush next door. I grabbed my camera and hopped through the fence. There he was, up high in the marri canopy, flying from branch to branch and whistling loudly - presumably trying to impress the female who was much closer to the ground.

Female golden whistler

The female was much happier to get close to me - but the male kept his distance - hence the less than wonderful photograph. But isn't he a wonderful colour - his voice is equally impressive.

Male golden whistler

Another fascinating find this weekend was the nest pictured below. The nest had been hidden under a dead banksia and was revealed after I burnt the bush to encourage the banksia cones to release their seeds. It was made of densely woven grasses and looked fairly recent. On looking around I found another older nest under a nearby shrub. It seems that it may be the nest of a banded rail, which is amazing as the site is close to the house and quite a distance from the creek line (dense and damp bush being their favoured habitat). 

So the buff banded rail I saw back in January was probably nesting. Fantastic. Apparently they have a clutch of six or so young that leave the nest soon after they have all hatched.  

Finally, a new holland honeyeater in the sunlight on one of their favourite shrubs at the moment, a beaufortia. The birds fly in and swing off the tall slender branches as they chase the nectar. Their necks are as wispy as the feathery red flowers.