New Holland Honeyeaters are comical to watch but can look seriously sweet when preening.
New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 1600
The bird above was preening when a rival came a bit too close; New Holland Honeyeaters are lively, rambunctious critters.
New Hollands can be found across southern Australia from just north of Perth to around Brisbane, including Tasmania. They are about 18cm in length and weigh about 20g and can be tricky to photograph as they move so fast and camera settings have to be set carefully to ensure that the blacks and whites are properly exposed. They are mainly black and white with a yellow wing patch and yellow tail sides. Their underparts are streaked black and white, they have white eyebrows, white cheeks patches and white malar patches that extend from the base of the bill.
New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 1600
I’m often asked about shutter speeds for bird photography. Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second, for general, handheld photography a speed of 1/60th of a second is considered good as it lessens the possibility of blurring but such a slow speed would only be useful for taxidermied birds or roadkill. I remember a budding bird photographer being astounded that 1/160 wasn’t fast enough to capture birds. I have used 1/1600th and 1/2000th to freeze the action in these images.
New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)
1/1600, f/11, ISO 1600
I especially like the image above where the New Holland Honeyeater is carefully detailing its plumage. Sometimes it’s more than the pose that appeals to me. In this shot I like the background bokeh, the simple perch and foreground, and the way the bird’s bill parallel to its body – I feel a bit nerdy after admitting that.
Happy birding
Kim
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New Hollands are pushing further north every year. Not common at all in Shepparton years ago but now a common garden bird. I haven’t seen one in Numurkah yet , only 30kms north but it’s just a matter of time I suspect. Thanks once again for your superb images .
That’s interesting Paul.I wonder how long it will take for them to get to you. There have been changes around here too, not good ones
Not nerdy at all. Particular. Which is a very different beast.
Watching birds preen is always a treat, and how I love that you have captured and preserved that treat for us. Thank you.
Thanks EC. Now I feel particularly nerdy, which isn’t a bad feeling at all.
What lovely little birds. Wonderful photos. Thank you.
They are beaut little characters Meredith, thank you
They flirt and preen right outside our kitchen window Kim, so these are wonderful images of familiar sights of this little beauty. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Neil. They’d be fun to watch through a kitchen window, their interactions can be so comical.