Yellow Thornbills at our bird bath
Yellow Thornbill
The most common thornbill species in our garden is the Yellow-rumped Thornbill. This is a resident breeding species and we see small flocks of up to 20 almost every day. If we searched our whole property we would probably see them every day.
Less common is the Yellow Thornbill shown in today’s photos. This species, also known as the Little Thornbill, is a regular visitor. On a recent hot day a small flock came hesitatingly to our bird bath. Some of the larger birds such as the honeyeaters can be quite bossy and this makes this tiny visitor nervous and flighty, so I was pleased to get a series of close up photos.
As an added bonus, I managed to catch one of them landing but still in flight – check out the last photo below.
Yellow Thornbill
Yellow Thornbill
Little Thornbills take a bath
Little Thornbill (also called Yellow Thornbill)
We have many different birds resident or visiting in our garden and adjacent mallee scrub. We have quite a few thornbills, species which are always a challenge to identify. Many of them are little brown birds which move quickly and are hard to hold in focus for long with binoculars. Most are even harder to focus on with a camera.
I have over the years managed reasonable photos of the common Yellow-rumped Thornbill. I have fewer good photos of the occasional visiting Chestnut-rumped Thornbills. And until earlier this week I had no photos of the elusive Little Thornbill which is also called the Yellow Thornbill. This species is commonly heard and seen in our garden and nearby, but never have I managed to capture one with my camera.
Earlier this week a loose flock of about 6 of this lovely species came to one of our bird baths. they flitted in and out of the water, zipping to branches high above to preen before diving down to the water ago. I had to be very patient with my camera, making sure it was focussed on the edge of the bird bath in anticipation before snapping them. I was pleased to manage three reasonable shots.
Further reading:
Little Thornbill (also called Yellow Thornbill)
Little Thornbill (also called Yellow Thornbill)