Golden moments

Every now and then one has a Golden Moment in birdwatching. Several weeks ago I had the delight of close views of a male Golden Whistler. How the bright colours lit up the winter gloom. This particular bird has been an irregular visitor throughout the winter months. More recently I have seen the female several times.



In my excitement, however, I didn't take the time to focus the camera as sharply as I would like. Consequently, these shots are not of the quality I would like. The bird was moving around quite a bit too, and this only made the task even more difficult.



Despite these problems and difficulties, these photos do should how brilliantly the male Golden Whistler lights up the Australian bush. Add to this visual delight is the lovely rich call of all the whistler family. We also have occasional visits by Rufous Whistlers. Another great songbird is the Grey Shrike-Thrush. We are so grateful that we have a resident breeding pair near our home. In recent years they have nested inside an empty plastic plant pot in Corinne's plant nursery shed!