I have been watching this amazing little bird for some weeks now, on a property just north of Maitland.
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With the sun just up he appears on the same stick, which is a bit higher than the scrub around where they nest, and starts to call.
The golden headed cisticola is unique among Australian birds and unusual among those of the rest of the world, on two counts.
Interestingly the male’s tail is longer in its non-breeding plumage than in its breeding plumage and the the bird often stitches living leaves into the framework of its nest so that they conceal it.
To watch this bird drilling holes and then threading through cobweb silk, before pulling the construction together is amazing.
That is why they often get called tailor birds.
Both sexes have been seen working together in making the nest, the male apparently assists by passing a thread of coarse spider web and fibrous material to the hard working female who is stitching away inside the nest.
The male seldom takes any part in brooding and feeding the young.
In eastern Australia a walk through rank, low-lying vegetation on a summer day will often disclose brightly coloured males giving their incessant buzzing calls.
Over the past few weeks I have been photographing this lovely bird in all its stages, from a hide, mostly just as the sun comes up with a 100-400 lens and great lighting. It was quite easy to do as it continually returned to the same few twigs.
The action shot was taken with a fast shutter to stop all movement.
Without doubt this would have to be one of my most enjoyable events of the year.
Although the weather is now hot, things are still happening. In the past few days two sacred kingfishers have been found feeding chicks.
But more on this will come up in future articles.
Maitland International is now receiving prints and digital images from all over the world, for its forthcoming exhibition.
Entry forms cane be found online.