Thursday, September 14, 2006

Scarlet Robins and a Bonus

It was a day of mixed emotions really. I ventured into the Meehan Range mid week and I knew that I shouldn't really be there. I was suffering from what I suspect, was an overdose of wattle pollen, which has made me both ill and a little cranky! Some would probably say very cranky. But it's the time of year that an awful lot is happening in the bird World and I decided that I'd try to photograph Spotted Pardalotes. That part failed miserably. But while I was searching for the pardalotes, I came across a pair of Scarlet Robins that I knew had a territory nearby as I had witnessed them nuptial feeding, a short while ago. The results of that attempt are at left.(Male, top; Female, centre)
While I was concentrating on the robins I noted that they were getting agitated (I didn't think it was me!), and shortly afterwards they set off in pursuit of an as yet unidentified bird. I set off in pursuit of them. I finally caught up with them, chasing off two, possibly a pair, of Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoos, one of them pictured at left. I don't think that Scarlet
Robins are normally host to bronze cuckoos (but that may occassionally happen). I suspect that they saw the cuckoos as competitors for the locally available food supply. Either way, for me it was an unexpected bonus, and for an hour or so, was able to forget my ailments!

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