Spent the long weekend down in the Rutherglen-Chiltern
area. Got lucky in a stand of flowering Ironbark where there was the
usual cacophony of Noisy Friarbirds and Red Wattlebirds scrapping over the
blossoms. In the lower canopy of an Ironbark, my eye was drawn to a
curved-billed shadow of a bird pumping up and down as it called, though
inaudibly in the racket of the others. There was a single Regent Honeyeater,
sitting in a position that protected it from the aggressive attentions of the
larger Honeyeaters. I watched it for close to 40 minutes, during which it
ventured away from its perch twice to feed in the same tree. It evaded
Friarbirds, who seemed to zero in on it, by going to the extremities of the
branches, which afforded a great view of its back as it faced downward to reach
the furthest flowers not available to the Friarbirds. Returning to its
perch it spent considerable time preening its plumage which again afforded
wonderful views of the bird from several different angles. At less than
10 metres, it seemed unperturbed by my presence and more interested in the
goings-on above which it kept an eye or two on by twisting its neck to and fro
while remaining stationary on its perch. An exquisite experience with a
beautiful bird!
Cheers
Shaun Bagley
