Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Red-winged Parrots.

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

I often hear Red-winged Parrots (Aprosmictus erythropterus) flying over my place but they seldom come down into any of the trees. The other day I heard one - then saw it fly down into a Grevillea bush. This particular Grevillea bush had almost finished flowering and had set seed. The Red-winged Parrots are seed eaters and these seeds must have been just right to their taste! I went closer as carefully as I could and there were two of them in the bushes. I stayed down there for nearly an hour trying for photos where the birds were not half hidden among the branches.
Finally one of the birds hopped down onto the fence - unfortunately in the shade and with a background of my neighbor's shade house. It looked at me as carefully as I was looking at it.
It sat and ate seeds and used its left foot to do this - in typical parrot fashion!
Finally it reached down towards some seed pods lower down and I could get a good look at the feathers on its back. The color was rather splotchy - only just beginning to get the dark color of the mature male.
Then the second bird hopped down to the same place and this one had the typical color of a mature male.
I kept waiting and taking photos and finally it hopped up higher into the bush and into the sunshine. There were some branches and leaves in front of it but the sunshine really showed off the colors beautifully.
I still didn't get the "perfect" photo - one without anything in front of the bird and in full sunshine! - but it was worth waiting for what I did get!

23 comments:

  1. gorgeous looking birds! so cool to see them in the wild! your patience paid off!

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  2. What a bobby dazzler. Well worth the wait.

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  3. The last series is good and the last one is excellent!! Take a bow. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  4. Beautiful birds to see... the blue skies make me so jealous though.

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  5. It isn't about perfect..it's about wonderful and those are wonderful!!!

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  6. Fantastic colors, Mick! Very nice! I'm not used to seeing birds that brightly colored.

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  7. What a stunning bird Mick.
    Great to see such colourful birds.

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  8. Definitely worth the wait.
    I'm not fond of the prickly leaves on the grevillia but the hummer's like the flowers so I have several in my garden.

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  9. Beautiful parrots!
    Well worth the wait.
    Lucky you who can see them in the wild.

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  10. I love parrots, they are beautiful birds. Wonderful photos.

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  11. That is what I call a kickin' bird post. The unexpected sighting, the drama of the chase, excellent dynamic pictures and still the frustration of not-quite-getting-the-perfect-shot. Devine!

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  12. fabulous photos; colour is so vibrant

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  13. ooooohhhh i think they are wonderful!! the colors are so very vibrant!!

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  14. Wonderful images and such brilliant colours, Mick!!
    It must be Australian Parrot week. I managed to snap some Australian King Parrots.

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  15. Such beautiful photos, Mick! I actually prefer the half-shade pics - so intriguing, a little mysterious... Great captures!

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  16. These are great shots of such a beautiful, colorful bird!

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  17. the photos are awesome! that last shot is so beautiful ... well worth the wait! Hope you have a great T-day!

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  18. they are so cute. Lookong liek flying colorboxes for children. And so soft looking. Great shots Mick.

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  19. They're stunning birds, mick --- like king parrots in negative!

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  20. these are great! I love his messy bill :)

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  21. Hi there - what a great bird. Even after over 15 years in Australia parrots still amaze me!

    Splendid pictures!

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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  22. What amazing colors! Wonderful birds and superb shots!

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  23. Beautiful captured! I love these colorful parrots, but have to find a Zoo, and then the fence is mostly disturbing! Great job!

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