Friday 24 July 2009

Sidetracked...

I had planned to go walking on a forest trail, which runs alongside a stream.  And I had hoped to find different species of dragonflies to add to the checklist.  As it turned out, these plans were meant to be changed!
After parking the car, I walked along the road that would lead me to the trail.  When I neared a tree, I could hear the familiar chirping of birds... of either the sunbirds or flowerpeckers?  I could never tell the difference as they both sound very similar to me, but I had always liked to watch them, so I stopped for a look. 
There were quite a number of birds on that tree.  Instead of dragonflies, I ended up with photos of these birds...

A Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker with a cherry in its grasp...


Another Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker feeding on a cherry...


An Orange-bellied Flowerpecker feeding away...


Another Orange-bellied Flowerpecker... decisions, decisions... which cherry is sweeter?

A female Orange-bellied Flowerpecker eyeing a juicy cherry...

This tree, the Muntingia calabura, or Cherry Tree, is named for its sweet fruit that is full of tiny seeds, which is a favourite for birds, bats, kids... and me!  And there were lots of these sweet, delicious, red, ripe, juicy cherries on that tree waiting to be picked.  I would have helped myself to some but I did not want to disturb the birds and scare them away.
Those birds were initially a bit restless with me standing there and they kept flying back and forth to another tree and then back again.  After a while, sensing that I am just standing there and not doing any harm to them, the birds happily went back to their feeding frenzy.
Yummy cherries!

2 comments:

  1. Hey, from your SMS requrest, you got the flowerpecker names correcto! the pics were well taken. well done! i think i need to upgrade my Canon PS2... at the same time, i'm thinking of buying a scope.. hmmm... decision, decision... just like the orange-bellied flowerpecker!

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  2. Hi,
    Thanks for looking in on it. Probably a scope first as your Canon is ok. After that, you can still get another camera...
    ;-)

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