Extreme heat and the very dry conditions have resulted in a lack of bird subjects.
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One of the few exceptions – for me, anyway – was one of the most common small birds seen in our gardens, the Superb Blue Wren.
I was fortunate in Spring when a pair nested close by, but during that terrible heatwave recently I couldn’t believe my good fortune. A pair decided to nest in the garden directly outside my bedroom window.
They are beautiful little birds, and if you keep still they will come very close to you.
Watching – from the comfort of my air conditioned room, no less – I could see that they were flying to a stick a few metres from the nest, then carrying in the insects to the chicks.
The heat was unbelievable, too hot to work outside, but the temptation was too much: I just had to have a go at photographing them. So outside I went.
I set up the camera about four metres away from the nest on the tripod, 100-400 lens, and also some fill flash. Everything looked good, but the heat was incredible. I was concerned about how it would affect the camera, so I put a brolly above it to shade it.
I only lasted some 15 minutes before I decided there had to be an easier way.
I moved into the bedroom, set my self up with a nice chair, cooled off in the air conditioning and spent a lovely morning triggering the camera with wireless control. How easy is that!
The result was some nice images. Each time the birds flew in to feed the chicks, it was noticeable that a number of the previous brood were assisting in rearing the chicks.
The Superb Blue wren is a great favourite in south eastern Australia because it has adapted to human intrusion and readily lives in gardens, and parks where it can be easily seen.
The Superb Blue Wren lives in groups, which is basically a family party. This was most noticeable with this nesting.
One of the advantages of group life for those wrens is that when seasonal conditions are good it enables them to breed a number of times in succession.
Anyone lucky enough to share a garden with a party of wrens can make friends with them by offering them food.
And here’s a tip: wrens absolutely love peanut butter.
