Re: birding-aus pardalotes

["EDWIN VELLA" <>]

Nick

 

I have had a similar exeperience with filming Spotted Pardalotes on video. They are not camera shy ay all. On two occassions they have come too close that they are difficult to focus on. At times, after standing still for quite some time, I have had the birds being fairly curiuous and come to me within half a metre. I have also had similar experiences with Brown Gerygones and Large-billed Scrubwrens and the Yellow-bellied Sunbirds up north are also very approachable and easy to film. I got one on video at the Crocodile farm just south of Cairns singing away to its heart content. The bird was only a metre from the Camera lens. I wish all birds were like that, in particular Western Whipbird, Noisy Scubbirds etc !!!

 

Edwin

-----Original Message-----
From: Nick <>
To: <>
Date: Tuesday, May 04, 1999 10:13
Subject: birding-aus pardalotes

Hello all

 

Not usually one for sentimental style birding experiences, but this was amazing...

 

I was birding in Campbell Park in the ACT on the weekend, and was trying to photograph some sitella's which were doing their usual thing in a eucalypt, which had a wattle tree growing near its base. My camera was close to a branch of the wattle tree, and I saw a bird bounding down this branch. When it stopped i realised it was a female spotted pardalote. By this stage she was only about 1 metre from the end of my lens, and i was trying to back away so it would focus that closely - but the pardalote must have been camera shy, cause it proceeded to hop onto my lens and there was nothing i could do. It sat there on my lens for about 20 seconds before it jumped off. I wish i had a second camera to take a photo of that moment. Are pardalotes usually this confiding??

 

Nick Leseberg

 

P.S  Does anyone know of somewhere close to Canberra where you can reliably see Painted Button-Quail??