Hot weather birding

1 Comment »11th March, 2013; Category: Bird Behaviour, Bush birds, Garden birds, Honeyeaters

New Holland Honeyeaters having a morning bath

We are currently experiencing another heatwave. Tomorrow is forecast to be the 11th consecutive day over 30C; some of the days – like today – the temperature has reached 40C (104F). During such days I add a bucket of fresh rainwater to the various birdbaths we have in our garden. Several of them are in clear view of where we often sit to eat, or to enjoy some reading. Sometimes I even do my writing there; it gives me a break from my office and I have a different view. The camera is usually ready for action, so on occasions I neglect my writing and attend to some serious bird photography.

During the current heatwave the birds have been coming daily to drink, bathe and generally have a good time. The parade of species is impressive. We sometimes have up to a dozen different species come to drink in a 10 or 15 minute period. Last week I captured a series of photos of about a dozen New Holland Honeyeaters having a great time cooling off in the water. Droplets fly in all directions and some are left looking absolutely drenched.

For more photos like this one click here.