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I went to one of the dams in the Perth Hills. There is a small grassed picnic area beneath the new dam wall that, on previous visits, has been a spot that attracts small seed eaters like fairywrens and firetails for a feed on the grass and weed seeds. The walk from the car-park to the picnic site is a bit more than a kilometre on a decent path through mainly jarrah forest. The walk was filled with a variety of bird calls but the birds, except for a few honeyeaters, stayed well hidden - not a great omen. Being a weekday, the area was pretty deserted. Arriving at the picnic area, a Nankeen Night Heron took flight and disappeared. On the grass a group of Ring-necked Parrots were munching on the grass seeds. A little while later there was a brief flash of blue in a bush about 30m away - a pretty but distant Superb Fairywren. Then I noticed something colourful in a nearby bush, reasonably well covered with foliage. This bird clearly had a deep understanding of the limitations of the OM-1 bird detection and the operators inadequacies as it managed to move around in the same bush for about 5 minutes without letting me get focus for a clear shot. Finally it did break cover sufficiently for a shot - it was a female Western Rosella. Then a male Red-backed Fairywren popped out into sight and I noticed only a few metres behind me there was a bright red male Western Rosella that had probably been standing out in the open the whole time I was trying to get a picture of the female. I had hardly bent around to get a picture when a wattlebird swooped down and scared the rosella away - at least I got a shot. A couple of female Superb Fairywren appeared on the grass. I walked around past the old dam wall portion that has been left as a bit of history (built in 1891, Perth's first dam). More female Superb Fairywren and a couple of other birds appeared. Then it was time to head home - a couple of bright blue male Superb Fairywren were chirping loudly on the way.
A New Holland Honeyeater putting on a majestic pose -
A trigger plant (Stylidium) on the way to the picnic area -
A Ring-necked Parrot on the grass -
The distant male Superb Fairywren -
Female Western Rosella -
Male Red-backed Fairywren -
Male Western Rosella -
Female Superb Fairywren -
Another female Superb Fairywren (doing a version of Queen's "I want to break free")
A Grey Shrikethrush -
A Yellow-rumped Thornbill -
A Male Superb Fairywren (showing off the reason it is named superb) -
A New Holland Honeyeater putting on a majestic pose -
A trigger plant (Stylidium) on the way to the picnic area -
A Ring-necked Parrot on the grass -
The distant male Superb Fairywren -
Female Western Rosella -
Male Red-backed Fairywren -
Male Western Rosella -
Female Superb Fairywren -
Another female Superb Fairywren (doing a version of Queen's "I want to break free")
A Grey Shrikethrush -
A Yellow-rumped Thornbill -
A Male Superb Fairywren (showing off the reason it is named superb) -
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