I have long been fascinated by the lovely red flowers of the umbrella tree (which I have since discovered is considered to be a pest in some areas, but without it I wonder how all our birds would get on). There are some trees in flower not far from me which are growing down a bit of a slope and consequently a little more accessible than most, so I stopped to take a few close ups of the flowers. I got more than I bargained for though; a very sore neck from constantly looking up and some new friends, feathered and human. Above is a cheeky silver eye (thanks Pam) which I had never seen before but was cavorting around the flowers, along with a few other tiny little birds. The flowers are covered in little droplets of nectar which has attracted these birds as well as the ubiquitous rainbow lorikeet which, understandably, they were very wary of.
Unfortunately these are the best photos of the silver eye that I could get as they are remarkably fast and I am remarkably slow. Not a good combination. This photo shows some open flowers too.
I can name this chap as a dusky honeyeater, thanks to a new contact, Graeme, who is also a wildlife photographer in his spare time. You can see his talents here. He saw me taking these photos one day and wondered what I was up to.
I'm familiar with these brown honey eaters as there are lots around my area and I documented the journey of a nesting pair back in 2012 here.
This one is also new to me (to be honest, there's not much that isn't new to me) but I believe it's a white throated honey eater.
Big, bad rainbow lorikeet, scaring off the tiny birds.
Another closeup of the flower dripping with nectar.
I love the leaves as well although they make it difficult to photograph little birds (lots of shots with no heads) but they make nice patterns against the sky.
What a strange plant you have there but doing a great job feeding the birds. Lovely photos of the birds. x
ReplyDeleteThanks Jackie. I have the small variegated variety in pots here at home, but they've not flowered. They're usually pretty tall when they flower, hence the sore neck, the slope didn't help much.
DeleteLove the 2nd last photo Sandy, fabulous aspect from underneath of the umbrella tree!
ReplyDeletePuts me in mind of cherry blossom the way they flower. Thank you, the tree was much easier to photograph.... :)
DeleteHi Sandy, be very proud of those shots of your Silvereye... I've all but given up, they're so flighty. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThe Honeyeaters are so sweet too. Pretty colours on the Lorikeets aren't they, always a delight to see :D)
Thanks Susan, I'd have gone back today for another try but it was pouring with rain. Going away for a couple of weeks & the flowers may be gone by the time I get back so no idea if the birds will still be in the area or not. No shortage of lorikeets around her though. Thanks for visiting and commenting again...
DeleteLove the photo of the silver eye.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly a fab pic I agree Badger! Thanks for the visit and lovely comment.....Sandy is away at the mo and having problems trying to reply on her tablet so I'm doing so in her stead. :)
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