Pardalotes are usually common in our area of the Hunter but this year they have been very hard to find.
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Probably the best spots around here are in the Seaham and Vacy areas.
The Spotted Pardalote is found in all our coastal areas. They are fast little birds and usually build their nests in paperbark trees or in the banks of creeks.
It is more often detected by its characteristic call. The wings, tail and head of the male are black and covered with small, distinct white spots.
Their cousin is the Striated Pardalote which has similar nesting habits, but it has a striped head rather than spotted, lacks the telltale spotting on the wings and has a plainer back.
Pardalotes are among Australia’s smallest birds – they are usually from 8cm to 12cm in length.
During winter Spotted Pardalotes generally feed in flocks, where they are often joined by other birds, particularly Striated Pardalotes.
In the summer months they feed, usually in pairs, on moths, caterpillars, small beetles and spiders.
They forages on the foliage of trees for insects, especially psyllids, and are also very partial to the sugary exudates from leaves and psyllids.
Their nest is at the end of a tunnel burrowed into a bank or ready made in a tree. It is an basically an enlarged, lined chamber at the end of the narrow tunnel.
It is quite common to find them returning year after year to the same nesting hole.
When they start feeding the chicks it is an ongoing assignment. They will dart in and out of the nest with food.
Both parents share nest-building, incubation of the eggs and feeding of the young.
Pardalotes will usually select a shady spot to nest which is ideal to photograph them. It is then a pretty straight forward process.
As we are dealing with small, fast birds in a shaded area, I find the best method method to record images is with short duration flash. This is a simple approach but at the same time great care must be taken in setting up the camera and flash.
First your camera should be within a metre of the subject, short lens, pre focus with great care on the flight path, lock the focus, your camera set on manual – let’s say ISO 200 APP F11. Now set the flash or flashes, 1/16 power, check exposure and adjust app to suit.
The easy way to trigger the camera is probably wireless control or, if you have the equipment, infra red trigger. Wireless works well and you soon get into the habit of catching the birds just off the nest hole.
The birds pay no attention to the flashes, and the short duration flash freezes the action. You can be sitting well away from the nest so you do not disturb them.
