Sacred kingfisher visits our garden

 

Sacred Kingfishers are no longer as common in Perth as they once were. In the 1980s I used to see them at Lake Gwelup. More recently I've heard them calling from the Karrinyup Lakes Golf Course. This week a juvenile Sacred Kingfisher visited our garden, ate a few insects, and perched for some time in the Grevillea until being chased away by a Red Wattlebird.

Butcherbirds in the bird bath

We frequently see and hear a couple of Grey butcherbirds around the neighbourhood.

They come and go over the seasons and often sit on the fence and entertain us with their beautiful caroling. Very occasionally in summer they come into the bird baths.

This photo was taken a few summers ago.

All puffed up, Singing honeyeater

In April 2016 in Perth, still hot. A singing honeyeater enjoys a bath.

Variegated fairywrens in suburban Perth garden

I'm catching up on posting about some exciting new sightings.

On an extremely hot day in March 2016, my eye was attracted to some movement in one of the outdoor birdbaths. Imagine my surprise when my focus of the binoculars revealed a pair of variegated fairywrens.

I  quickly reached for my brand new Panasonic Lumix DMC Z200 and these photos of the male were  taken through the glass window.

At this time of year the birds are in eclipse non- breeding plumage and the male has just a bare suggestion of azure blue around the head, blue tail and chestnut shoulder patch.

You can see the normal breeding plumage of the male in the photos of Graham Chapman

The birds stayed around for about 20 minutes, jumping in and out of the water, and haven't been seen since.