Diamond Firetail Finch
Diamond Firetail Finch
Yesterday we were having lunch in the sunroom overlooking the bird baths in the garden. A single Diamond Firetail Finch delighted us by coming to drink several times from the bird bath. It gave me enough time to gather the camera from the office and take a few quickly snapped photos. These are the best two shots.
Diamond Firetail Finch
I was a delight to see this beautiful bird again after an absence of several months. It is widespread in our district but nowhere common. It is an infrequent visitor to our garden. I can’t add this species to the list of birds to have visited the bird bath as it has done so on several occasions before.
Related articles:
- Bird baths – an archive of articles about birds that have visited our garden bird baths.
- Visitors to our bird baths – lots of photos and a list of all the species to have visited our bird baths.
White Browed Babblers and water
White-browed Babbler
I’ve written a number of times about the birds that come to visit the bird baths in our garden (see the links below).
We are constantly delighted to see the stream of honeyeaters, pardalotes, parrots and many other species that come to drink. Some linger awhile to bathe. Some are tentative in their approach, others come in boldly, chasing away any who may linger too long.
White-browed Babblers
White-browed Babblers are frequent visitors to our garden. They come in their family group, scuttling through the low bushes, scurrying up the branches of the mallee trees searching for insects and spiders and filling the air with their cat like calls.
From time to time their foraging antics bring them close to the bird bath. Sometimes they get as close as a metre away. I have never seen them land on the bird bath, let alone take a drink or bathe.
I recently read a series of posts on the Birding-Aus forum that many species of birds do not need to drink, or drink very infrequently. They manage to gather enough moisture from the insects, beetles and spiders they eat.
Related Articles:
- Birds in the heat – birds that visit during hot weather
- Birds and communal bathing – water wasters at work
- Time for a bath – a long list of birds and animals which come to our bird baths
Updated November 2013, and September 2015
Restless Flycatcher
The Restless Flycatcher would have to be one of my favourite Australian birds. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it is the clean, beautiful lines of its plumage. Perhaps it’s the quite distinctive calls, the harsh “zeeep” contact call or the fascinating grinding, churring sounds it makes when hunting for a feed. Or perhaps it is the vernacular name of “scissors grinder” that really appeals to me. Whatever the reason, it is always a delight to see and hear.
Restless Flycatcher
The Restless Flycatcher can easily be mistaken for a Willie Wagtail. Unlike the Willie Wagtail this species has a white throat, not black. The call is quite unlike the Willie Wagtail but the habits are similar with both flitting about seeking a feed, tail wagging all the time.
Distribution:
The Willie Wagtail is found throughout most of Australia. The Restless Flycatcher on the other hand is widespread through northern, eastern and southern Australia and tends to avoid the hotter, drier inland regions. Where I live in the Murray Mallee districts of South Australia it is widespread but nowhere common.
Habitat:
The Restless Flycatcher is found in a variety of habitats, including parks and gardens, farmlands near vegetation, roadside verges, open woodlands and forests, mallee scrubs, golfcourses and orchards.
Our garden:
We have a resident pair of breeding Willie Wagtails in our garden. I have seen the Restless Flycatcher in a number of places around my home town but only once have we seen it in our garden until recently. The first time was about five years ago and a single bird passed through the garden one morning. It stayed less than two minutes. I happened to be having breakfast and heard its distinctive call and quickly raced out to see it fast disappearing down the road.
Until last week.
This time I was working at my computer in the office trying to concentrate on my writing. A sudden, harsh “zeeep” call and I was racing out with my camera in hand. (It was on the desk alongside of me after downloading some photos of Galahs.) Sure enough, a single Restless Flycatcher was at the birdbath and it posed for me for about ten seconds. (Pity about the twig of the branch in the way.) It was having a confrontation with the resident, bossy Willie Wagtail who didn’t want to share the water. After a few seconds it flew off into the nearby mallee scrub. I tried to track it down and found there were two of them. I gave up as they flew off over the neighbour’s house.
To read more about Flycatchers click here.
Restless Flycatcher
Another unusual visitor to our bird bath
3 Comments »24th February, 2007; Category: Animals, Bird baths, Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Honeyeaters
In recent times I have written about the behaviour of various species of birds at the bird baths we have in our garden. The birds give us many hours of entertainment as they come to drink and bathe. The very hot weather we have been having this summer helps to encourage their frequent visits.
I also wrote recently about some unusual visitors to the bird baths, a Stumpy Tail Lizard and a Red Fox.
A few days ago I was alerted to the alarm calls of a flock of New Holland Honeyeaters near the bird bath. I quietly went to have a look. The NHHEs were soon joined by several Singing Honeyeaters and a family of White Browed Babblers. All were calling madly and looking at the ground near a bush.
I waited for a few moments, fully expecting a Brown Snake (highly venomous) to emerge from the undergrowth. I had my camera at the ready and my feet ready to take off if a hasty retreat was in order.
To my great relief it was only a Blue Tongue Lizard. With the stripes on the back and tail, and a thin, long snake-like tail we have often been fooled into thinking we have a Tiger Snake (also quite venomous) in the garden. (They actually look nothing like a Tiger Snake; it’s the stripes that catch you by surprise every time.)
The new visitor didn’t wait to have a drink. A slight movement from me sent it slithering – almost snake-like – into the undergrowth again.
Related articles:
- Some unusual visitors to our birth bath – with photos.
- Time for a bath – with more photos
Updated November 2103
Blue Tongue Lizard
Birds and Communal Bathing
New Holland Honeyeaters
Our bird baths give us many hours of delightful birding. Quite often the honeyeaters come in numbers to bathe communally. When this happens with the New Holland Honeyeaters are often the first – and the bossiest – species to take advantage of the water. Sometimes there can be between five and eight individuals bathing and squawking noisily. With the Brown-headed Honeyeaters the number can be as many as twelve to fifteen at once, but they are very polite and take it in turns to bathe.
During the hot weather we have had this summer the bird baths need frequent replenishing. The water is splashed in all directions. They obviously haven’t heard that we currently have severe water restrictions due to the drought. On one hot day we actually had five species present at the bath at the one time: New Holland, White-plumed and Singing Honeyeaters, House Sparrow and a Spotted Pardalote. Soon after a Red Wattlebird (which is also a species of honeyeater) joined the communal bathing.
More recently I have observed a large family of about a dozen White-winged Choughs coming to bathe and drink together.
The photos on this page are better viewed by clicking on them to enlarge.
This article was update on September 20th 2015.
Further reading:
- Time for a bath – a long list of birds and animals using our bird baths
- White-winged Choughs at our bird baths
- Blue-tongue Lizard comes to our bird bath
New Holland Honeyeaters