What a story to tell!

You're not going to believe this.

OK, so we went for a drive into the Hills to a little town called Nairne so that the Rower could get a blip of a wonderful old mill there. Blip done and dusted.

Not much further on is another little town called Kanmantoo (Lovely name taken from the Aboriginal language), which was famous in days gone by for its copper mine.

With the current resurgence of the world copper price, and using modern mining methods the mine has been re-opened.

So far so good.

So, we drove up this road to find the mine, which indeed we did and the Rower got out his camera with the long lens and started to take photographs (as you do - or at least as he does). I am decidedly more timid, so stayed in the car. Next thing, he's found this bird and is taking photos of it, when he gets a tap on the shoulder, by a very large security guard, and asked to explain himself. He was marched off to the Mine Office, whilst I just sunk down into my seat and pretended to be invisible.

Of course, I also spotted the bird, and hopped out the car and got this really very nice image of a Singing Honeyeater, (Lichenostomus virescens) while I was waiting to hear if the Rower was going to spend the night in jail or not.

Eventually he comes walking back to me, big grin on his face, armed with the email address of the mine administration so he can get clearance to get into the mine, suitably clad in a hi-vis vest and a hard hat, to take as many photo as he likes.

I swear he can talk his way out of anything - and it's not the first time. I don't know how he does it.

Anyway, back to the bird. it's an interesting little thing (already blipped for BlipBigYear by the Rower at the beginning of March).

The Singing Honeyeater can vary in length from 18-22 cm long. It has a brown color, but it also has other, more distinctive, colors. The tail and wings have a yellow-green color. There is a small black stripe spanning from the behind the bird's beak to the bird's back. Under the line there is a small bright yellow spot. The bird's song ranges from scratchy to melodious. The song also varies according to where they live.

Singing Honeyeaters will eat a variety of foods. This includes nectar, small insects, fruits, grubs, and berries. This makes them omnivorous creatures.
The Singing Honeyeaters breed between July and February. They are capable of forming long-time relationships with partners. When they are breeding, they show aggressive actions. Also they don't have any particular color for their eggs, they all are different colors. Their nest is a cup of grass, plant stems, and spider webs.

The Singing Honeyeater lives in families. They will attack larger animals, if they feel threatened by them, or if they are in their territory. They have been known to attack intruders in mobs thus showing they are a community-like bird.

They associate with other species of birds, such as the Brown Honeyeater and the Red Wattlebird. It is different from many birds however, because it lacks the ability to communicate with other birds of the same species.