Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Shades of Blue

 This post is for Wild Bird Wednesday.

I am showing a very mixed group of birds today - seen on different days and in different places - but too nice to just forget about.
The Mangrove Honeyeater is quite common around the bay wherever there are mangrove trees for it to roost in.  This one was sitting up on a dead tree branch and showing off its beautiful blue eye. It is not a big bird - 18-21mm - but it has a big melodious song. I saw this one out at Bullock Point.

The Peaceful Dove is another small bird.  It can often be seen feeding on seeds on the ground.  The bluish ring around its eye makes the eye itself look blue in the right light.  I saw a group of these birds at the picnic ground at Mullens.


There was a big storm blowing through north of me the other afternoon.  The sky got very black in that direction but the camera "saw" more dark blue than black.  The late afternoon sun was still shining and the birds sitting high in the tree looked very dramatic against that dark sky.  This is a Pied Butcherbird.



29 comments:

  1. Nice to see you getting among the bush birds Mick. The Waders will be back soon. Beautiful photos as always.

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  2. love the magpie! and the blue eye in the first one is wonderful, too. those doves remind me of our inca doves - they have the similar scalloped feather patterns. :)

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  3. Great series!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  4. That dove is really beautiful. Love the blue around the eyes. They look similiar to our Incan Doves here. Nice captures.

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  5. Gorgeous shots, Mick! Love that Butcherbird! Very handsome!

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  6. The pied butcherbird is amazing! Great shots. :)

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  7. Beautiful birds. Last one is too good.

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  8. I have never seen a Pied Butcher bird before. very cool!

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  9. nice shots of both birds. Isn´t the striped legs of the dove very unusual? Can´t remember ever seen pattern on legs before.

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  10. You have some very descriptive names for your birds down there Mick Pied Butcherbird tells us lots about the bird, as does Mangove Honeyeater. Great shots of both. By the way, while many birds leave here for the winter we get lots of wintering birds arriving from northern Europe. Some birders prefer our winter birding.

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  11. The Mangrove Honeyeater is my favorite. It has pretty colors and a beautiful blue eye. The Butcherbird is cool! Great birds and photos.

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  12. Great photos of your birds. It's so interesting to see birds from Australia!
    Greetings Pia

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  13. Thank you for visiting us on "Les Fous du Cap". Congratulations for your photos.
    Céline & Philippe

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  14. Lovely images of all your wonderful birds.

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  15. The Magpie is really a very cool bird and I am so looking forward to seeing a few of the species that we have out west...soon;')~

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  16. I like that handsome Butcherbird!

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  17. Beautiful.....
    I thought it was an inca dove at first, but I don't think they have the blue eye rings.

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  18. Nice pictures you show - really like the last picture.
    Hanne Bente

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  19. Beautiful birds and great pictures, the honeyeater has lovely colouring.

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  20. Such amazing birds you have. I wish the Florida mangroves had honeyeaters! Lovely pictures. Tex is right, the butcherbird really does resemble our magpie.

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  21. Nice feather detail on all these shots. Love those penetrating eyes on the first bird.

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  22. Nice honeyeater - that one we dont get down here.

    That picture of the butcher bird is great - and they have such a good voice.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  23. All wonderful images, Mick!! I'd love to see that first bird and hear the song!!

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  24. All pretty birds, but I LOVE the Mangrove Honeyeater .

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  25. you got some amazing detail in these beautiful close-ups!!

    i really like doves, i can never understand why peeps don't like them.

    love that last one, he/she has a very unusal look ;)))

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