These trees grow to 25 meters - and that was my problem in trying to get photos of the birds. All the birds were feeding on the blossom which was way up above my head. Stepping back to get a view of the bird from the side put branches and other trees in front of the camera. A view from below was the best I could manage.
The view from below made the birds look different. Lots of birds have a stripey look underneath. However, the bill was a typical honeyeater bill and there was a little bit of yellow color fading into a splash of white visible below the eye. I eventually decided that these birds were Mangrove Honeyeaters - sometimes called Variable Honeyeaters. Hopefully, I will recognize the underneath view better next time!
laughing at your 'underneath' view, but i completely understand! :) at least they tilted their head for you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful birds, lovely trees, incredible blue, blue skies and all perfectly captured for the day, Mick, as always!! Thanks for sharing and wishing you a great week!!
ReplyDeleteI've had that experience with warblers which are always in the treetops and hard to identify from below. What a handsome bird.
ReplyDeleteThe trees and blossoms are pretty. And great shot of your Mangrove Honeyeater.. Great photos, have a happy week!
ReplyDeletelovely blooms; I love both those natives ...
ReplyDeleteReally great shots of these birds and the Melaleuca flowers. I wish they would stop categorizing plants and just leave the Melaleuca's and Callistemons where they are though.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous shots.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots...
ReplyDeleteGreat undershot of the Honeyeater
ReplyDeleteHandsome fellows!! Boom, Bobbi and Gary.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful trees and birds -- actually the 'view from below' could be a great help in IDing. Melacula (sp?) actually grows around where we live in Florida ... very well.. and there it is considered an invasive plant. It's a lovely tree there too, but I guess it is crowding out the natives. A lot I don't understand about invasives.
ReplyDeleteFascinating birds and photos.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of the honeyeater.
ReplyDeleteMick, you'll be getting 'birders neck' if you have to do too much high altitude photography!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting info about the plants and definitely put a new slant on bird ID.
Beautiful bird, Mick! This is the first time I've heard of this one.
ReplyDeleteLovely view from any angle with that gorgeous foliage, blue sky and lovely bird. Is this also known as the "tea tree"?
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, yes it's sometimes called tea tree (ti-tree) but proper ti-tree is Leptospermem and both are in the myrtaceae family. That's a bit technical - local and common names vary quite a bit!!
DeleteI Mick Yes it is difficult to photo bird high up in the trees but you managed and I love the blue sky as well.
ReplyDeleteThose birds like to test us out most times with underneath, brief or partial views. I often say birds would be easier to photograph if they didn't have wings! But nealry as much fun.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bird.
ReplyDeleteNice pictures! My heart sinks when I find out a bird is called "variable" - often means "basically, unidentifiable"!
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
The flowers are great, but I really love that honeyeater. Pretty bird!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely find in your yard!
ReplyDelete