But it turned out to be a good day and to my surprise the birds were already nesting.

Normally when conditions are as dry as we have experienced in the Hunter of late, birds would not nest because of a lack of insects. 

The venue for my day’s outing was west of Kurri, in Hunter Economic Zone, which is an area teeming with birdlife and a habitat of the regent honeyeater.

This area I believe is about to be cleared for development, which, from a bird watcher’s point of view, is a shame.

It was a real surprise to see so many species of birds.

My first was a pair of brown thornbills, which were feeding low down and paid little attention to me. 

While I was watching them, a yellow robin landed right beside me, hanging on to a tree limb as they usually do, and then dropped to the ground, picked up an insect and then made a bee line through the scrub.

I followed this up and in due course found my first nest for the season low down, with the female sitting on eggs.

Keeping well back I watched, and then the male came with more food for the female, one for a later date when the chicks hatch.

My next bird spotted turned out to be the pick of the day, it was a white-throated treecreeper.

It is amazing to watch this bird as it goes round the limbs, half the time upside down.

It kept collecting insects and would then dart off into the scrub, a few minutes later it would come back and resume its search.

By placing myself further into the bush in the direction the bird kept heading, I eventually found the nest. 

It was a stump and each time the male arrived, up would pop a head – the female – to be fed. 

With the use of a long lens I was able to document this taking place, another one for the next few weeks. 

The white-throated treecreeper is a small bird with a short tail, fairly long bill and large long legs and feet.

They hunt for food on tree trunks and large branches which they climb without using their tails for balance.

It is the most acrobatic of the treecreepers. As it moves up trees it explores crevices and cracks for insects and ants, which play a big part in its diet.

Like all treecreepers, they climb in an unusual way, the bird holds one foot in front of the other, the white-throated treecreeper is the best known member of the treecreeper family and is found all the way up the east coast as far north as Brisbane.

They nest in holes in trees, stumps and both sexes incubate the eggs and feed the young. 

The next meeting of the Maitland Camera Club will be held at the Maitland City Bowling Club Rutherford, on the first Tuesday of the month, 7pm sharp. 

The competition for the evening will be open, all are welcome.