251 Everyone is twitter-pated in the Spring!

Eastern Yellow Robin

Springtime is in the air!  And the birds are a-nesting.  We've seen more nesting birds this year than ever, probably just because we're looking for them in habitat where we can spot the nests. We've been observing the birds for a few minutes to see what it is they're doing as they go about their lives, and so get some glimpses into all their hard work.  This pair carefully camouflaged their nest with lichens and pieces of bark.  We wonder how in the world they cleverly got the bark strips to stick onto the outside of the nest like that!

Spotted Quail-thrush

We heard this quail-thrush calling to his mate before we saw him, then carefully followed them around the forest as they nosed about foraging for their afternoon snack

Tawny-crowned Honeyeater

Home for this  pretty honeyeater is on windswept heath atop a coastal cliff.  They have an astonishingly beautiful flute-like contact call to keep track of each other.  

Variegated Fairy-wren

Variegated fairy-wrens are sociable birds, living in a group with a dominant female and male, such as these two.  The hard-working matriarch constructs the nest and incubates the eggs, while the male and the younger females and males help feed the hungry chicks.