Pin Oak

Quercus palustris

Last week I blipped the first few leaves that were changing colour on my pin oak. Now about half of the tree has changed. It is taking on a real presence in my garden.

Best seen in large.

The fantail is still calling in several times a day. My ceiling has never been so clean. It is a high ceiling and usually has an array of moths and other flying insects that are numerous in country areas. The fantail picks them off in a moment. He comes to me sometimes when I'm outside. I love it when he circles close about my head. Yesterday he flew ahead of me as I walked from the back lawn, along the side of the house to the front, and then onto the verandah, where he perched on the door handle to wait for me.

Fantails are birds of the forest. You rarely get to see much of them as they flutter among the trees. Seeing this one in the open gives me a chance to see how swiftly it can fly when going in a straight line over a distance. It would not surprise me if his present territory extends over a wide area.

Because of the perpetual motion and usually low light conditions I have failed to get a good shot of him. However, I did get some lighter ones one day when he was on the grapevine on the verandah. In one he has a blowfly, which he ate by holding it down with his foot while he picked bits off it until it was small enough to swallow. Then he preened himself. Collage.

I feel very privileged to have been befriended like this by a wild bird.