Red-winged fairy wren (male)

Once again I almost missed him. Why do I continue to go out onto the back decking without my camera? I spotted her first and quickly but quietly dashed inside to grab camera. (Fortunately I had remembered to put the SD card back in it last night). Back outside and there he was along with another male friend bobbing around the garden. No time to waste...camera straight to Auto setting and fired away and managed to get this reasonable shot in amongst a few complete duds. Yeah!!! I don't know if it is possible for me to a better shot from this distance with the lens I have and so I am satisfied for now. They didn't stay for long as is their way, but for the few short minutes they grace me with their company I am enraptured.

I have noticed how I am becoming more proficient as a bird watcher and it brings to mind the way my son Peter is with whale spotting. He is an avid surfer and when not in the water catching massive waves he is staring out to sea and so able to quickly recognise any anomaly (like a whale's spout spray). He is always the first to see it and then spends time trying to direct Claire and me to where it is. Sometimes I can see it, other times it just looks like a sea of breaking waves to me. Back to me as a bird watcher. I am now able to differentiate between leaves and branches which are moving due to the breeze and those which are moving because of some tiny bird landing on it, and so I am able to hone in on the birds much quicker than I use to. This doesn't always mean a good photo...with so much vegetation around I often find myself tiptoeing through the garden (and I'm no fairy) trying to get into a position with a clearer vision of my target.

It is early morning here and I have my blip up for the day...that is certainly a different start and leaves the rest of the day to catch up on some indoor chores. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Actually it will be rather nice to have everything spick and span and then back to the great outdoors to be 'free as a bird'.