I will share some lovely wild birds in a garden here.
This youngster is a Southern Double-crossed sunbird (Cinnyris chalebeus).
This is one of our favorite places to visit, as then we can sit with our plunger of coffee and watch the action in nature. It is a very large property, and it holds many species of birds and other wildlife. It's amazing how this town has developed, as I had to come here in the early 80's to buy some stainless steel tanks for a fertiliser company that we were building. Since then, this town has grown so much, that it is now almost unrecognisable, and it doesn't end here as there are developers at work all over the place. Hospitals and malls also sprung up, and where once we could drive and see only one or two cars on the road, now it is more than 200 cars on the road. Unreal, isn't it?
Come and see what I have for you today.
They are called White-backed Mousebirds (Colius colius).
I wanted to show you this guy's hairstyle.
They are similar to the hoopoes, as I waved at him, and he raised the hairs on his head, as if to say, come on fellow, let's get it on.
The little sunbirds can also hover in flight, similar to the humming birds overseas. She is a female Double-crossed sunbird, and I will show her in action in 4 shots below.
And here is evidence that they can not only hover but also sip nectar from small flowers at the same time.
Then she landed in this bush to search for insects.
But no luck as she even searched under this second floor window sill. Still nothing, and then she flew away.
The wildlife has just continued to adapt to the changes over time, and I am sure that the birds are glad for the many buildings where they can build their nests. We love history, and there are many elderly people that lived here all of their lives, and at times we run into some of them, and they love to tell us their stories of the town. There are still some horse stables, and old original heritage houses in the town, and it does indeed have a very interesting history. We have an idea to source some of the old pictures of the town and contrast them with my own pictures to show the current status and development. I will get to it sometime.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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