Golden moment

We were working in the nursery this morning. We had to unload the plants we didn’t sell over the weekend (see yesterday’s post). I was suddenly aware of a bird calling nearby. Actually – there were a lot of birds calling, but this was different. It wasn’t our normal chorus of birds. I stopped what I was doing and followed the sound, an ascending “seeeep, seeeep”. It turned out to be a male Golden Whistler. Obligingly, he sat briefly on an exposed part of a branch with the morning sun lighting up his beautiful golden colour.

Photos

I raced inside for the camera. He was still there when I returned and I managed to take about 20 shots before he flew off. Because of the angle of the sun and the thick foliage I wasn’t able to get any really good shots. I did manage to get quite a good photo of the plain brown female. He was constantly chasing this female who largely ignored him, ‘seeep, seeeping’ as he pursued her. Was this courting activity? I’m not sure. If it is, he obviously hasn’t read the field guides; Golden Whistlers usually don’t breed until August-September.