Honeyeater HQ

None of the local plants on the hill are flowering at the moment.  Some of the feral invaders though are putting on a mighty show, in particular the Flinders Range Wattle (Acacia iteaphylla) and the Pincushion Hakea (Hakea laurina). It is the latter plant, with its branches laden with nectar-rich spherical flowers that is attracting all the honeyeaters in town (& country).

You don’t need to know where the trees are located to get an idea of where the birds are. The raucous territorial cries of the Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), left, can be heard from a long way away. They are of course warning other wattlebirds that this is their feeding spot. And whilst the wattlebirds beat each other up, smaller honeyeaters like the New Holland Honeyeater  (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), right, and the Eastern Spinebill duck in and out of the trees to have their fill of nectar.

Pretty soon the hakea show will be over, the local acacias will take over and the honeyeaters will disperse across the landscape.

I’ll sit here at Honeyeater HQ whilst the show lasts.