Morning sunbath

Fairy Wrens are favourite birds to have in the garden as they are busy insect eaters and they are just a delight to watch. They used to be quite common in suburban gardens but as houses have grown larger and blocks of land smaller, the gardens have shrunk and are often planted with shrubs and other garden plants that are not suitable for the small Fairy Wrens. The other problem is the current landscaping fad for architectural plants that are planted in mass almost becoming mono cultural and not at all suitable to birdlife.

However we are blessed to have plenty of space and with gardens that blend in with the natural bush that surrounds the property. Consequently we have lots of Fairy Wrens both Superb and Varigated with an occaisonal sighting of the Red Backed Wren, which is not that common in our region.

This morning I found the wrens busy with their morning preening, which involves having a wash in the dew on the leaves of shrubs, then finding a nice sunny spot out of the breeze to do a bit of preening and soak up the sun.

The pair below a female Varigated Wren Malurus lamberti and an immature female were in a sheltered position amongst the foliage of a Grevillea.

The next couple, a female with an immature male still showing a spot of colour of its breeding plumage, not yet moulted. They were amongst a pile of sapling trimmings that are waiting to be chipped, a favourite spot to work over for the insects still amongst the foliage.

Another male with the tail of the female in the background.

I have posted a few blogs of Wrens but they are lovely birds and they do allow you to get quite close to observe their acvtivities, so felt I should post this one.