December Garden 2

[maewyn_2]

The kangaroo paw has produced lots of flower stems this year.  It's at its flowering peak at the moment.

Comments

[mechtild]

Oh, the kangaroo paws! I love those. And what lovely close-ups of them! Yes, I think you're right about your bird being a nectar eater. Even if you hadn't caught him ready to sip, he's got that sort of beak.

[maewyn_2]

Yes, the kangaroo paws are putting on a really good show this year.

I've looked for information on this type of bird before, but obviously looked in the wrong places. I've also tried taking photos before, but every time I got near, they'd fly off. This time, it seems the flowers are more important, and will allow me to get fairly close. Unfortunately, as I said before, the light is never in the right place to get a clear shot of the colour and markings!

ETA: Guess what? I've found the name of the bird! It's a New Holland Honeyeater. I think the reason I couldn't find it before was because the birds would flit past quickly, and I wasn't getting a very good look. I obviously didn't put in the correct descriptions (this was a year or so ago). I also didn't know that they were a honeyeater. I just Googled and found it straight away! I'm happy now! :)

Here's a link so that you can see what it really looks like in good light! Another link to hear its call.

[mechtild]

Oh, it's so pretty! And what a sweet, chirping little call! Not to mention I love its name, "New Holland Honeyeater". Definitely sounds like the name of a nectar-eating bird. But is there a New Holland in Australia? It can't be named after the European Holland, surely.

[maewyn_2]

New Holland was one of the first names Australia was called. Early Dutch explorers gave it that name. Here is a link to the: Wikipedia entry

[illyria_novia]

Oh, the nectar eating bird is beautiful! And it just perched there, ever so calmly, that's fantastic.

[maewyn_2]

The bird(s) - I'm not if it's the same one all the time - seem to be quite fearless. I was standing less than 2 metres away as I took the photos! They even come when the cat is nearby!