Big-footed thornbill

Regular lirralirra readers will know that I am inordinately fond of thornbills; the tiny LBBs or LBJs that often get grouped together as nigh on impossible to identify. But when you get to see them up close, or up close in detailed photographs, their subtle charm is delightful.

I was thrilled to capture this colourful shot as the thornbill posed on a branch that had fallen in the recent high winds. So many branches, and one small tree, came down. I play an awful lot of pick-up-sticks and yesterday spent nine hours doing a fuel reduction burn. And today we’ve had more high winds and I can hardly believe how much more was ready to drop!
Anyways, back to the gorgeous thornbill. I love the way it is fluffed up as it shakes itself free of drops of water, and I’m also fascinated by the size of its feet which look quite out of proportion as it balances on the tiny branch, not much more than a twig really.

This next series of shots show a Brown Thornbill on a lichen covered branch. They move so quickly that all of these poses could come in a fraction of a second. Look at those feathery legs!

There are different aspects of each pose that appeal to me – for example in the shot above I love the way the feathers from its underparts are swept up around its wing.

In this shot it’s the jaunty expression that appeals to me, along with the clarity of the russet coloured scallops on its forehead.

Here it’s the intent gaze as it plans its next dive into the shallow bird bath. These birds are incredibly tiny, weighing just 6-7g, which is not much more than a teaspoon of sugar.

I hadn’t realised how similar two of these shots are. I think I prefer the shot above, without the distraction of it’s cute little tail. In fact I know I prefer this shot. I like the simplicity of it and all the fine details, including the rictal bristles that are catching the light around its bill.

Anyways, I’d better be off as I’m half way through addressing envelopes and rigid mailers for the second printing of the calendars. Oh, I have a beaut new logo that I’m keen to use on all my photographs as soon as I can work out how to load it into Lightroom – mentioning the calendars reminded me of it as I used it on each month bar. It was created by my eldest daughter – thanks heaps Lannie!

Happy birding everyone, Kim
NB There is currently about 20-40% off at my Redbubble lirralirra shop, link below

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