Bird Watching: Whopper - heading towards independence at a leisurely pace., 1 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:
Duc, they do tend to return to their natal sites, but there'd be now way of identifying most birds without a band or distinctive iris marks, such as Dad has.

Whopper is 7 months old tomorrow and is still around with Dad and Big Hook. It is a very peaceful, relaxed time of year for them. All three birds are spending quite a lot of time on the branches leading from or under the nest. I've been going to the nest every 2-3 days for a fix.

Whilst I was at the nest a few days, I saw 19 different species of bird, including a male and female Western Spinebill, which I haven't seen for probably 30 years. They were so close I couldn't photograph them. Same with the Fairy Wrens. They were within arms reach until they were chased off by a Singing Honeyeater.

This first shot is of Big Hook with a partially eaten fish from a few days ago.