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The Ultimate.....
Topic Started: Apr 14 2008, 04:12 PM (49 Views)
Kahu
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I was sitting down near the waterfall in my back garden, and there were a couple of Fantails fluttering around the trees...... These are small quite friendly birds which catch small flying insects on the wing. Piawakawaka - Fantail They seem friendly in the bush because when you walk through you are stirring up the insect life and they're flying all around you and the birds are in for a fast food dine-in. You also can attract them by sucking your lips against the heel of your palm ......... kind of like a cork on glass.

The great thing was....... one came down and sat on my hand, for nearly a full minute!
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Kahu
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While I'm on this thread....... I have a Lacebark Tree (Houhere) in full bloom at the moment and its absolutely covered with both Monarch Butterflys and bees. I've never seen this before.....

Houhere flowers
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agate
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Cool Kahu. That is a pretty bird...reminds me of our varied thrush in colouring.
We have a bird that is more up on the mountain and in the forest, called a Whiskey Jack/ gray Jay. It will readily come on your hand and take food.

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erka
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Are the houhere flowers fragrant?

Here is a picture of the varied thrush feeding on the deck this winter. It is a very shy bird and he comes down from the mountains to feed during the winter.


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Kahu
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erka
Apr 15 2008, 06:06 AM
Are the houhere flowers fragrant?


Well not especially Erka. They do have rather a strange smell, not really pleasant but at the same time not unpleasant...... probably just the sort of scent an insect might like! :grin: I posted a picture of them in the link above.......rather like a larger version of an apple blossom without the pink central tinge.

Your Varied Thrush looks very like an introduced Finch we have here.
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agate
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erka, your bird looks more like a towhee

If you look on this page you can see the difference. I think the towhee is smaller than the varies thrush also.

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http...l%3Den%26sa%3DG
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Kahu
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agate
Apr 15 2008, 04:26 AM
We have a bird that is more up on the mountain and in the forest, called a Whiskey Jack/ gray Jay.  It will readily come on your hand and take food.

I've seen a Blue Jay and a Cardinal in Virginia. The Fantail is a bit different though in that it is insectivorous and catches food on the wing..... I've never seen one take food from anyone's hand before. The only other bird that I've been able to do that to was a young blackbird who'd fallen from the nest, and I used to throw earthworms to it when I was digging the garden. It got so that it would feed directly from the hand, but not on it, and only if I was very still.

Now I must have a reputation amongst all the local Blackbirds and Thrushes....
One of my early morning jobs is to sweep back all the soil they've scratched out of the garden onto the paths! :grin:
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