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Hot weather means the bird baths are becoming increasingly popular.Silvereyes and buff-rumped thornbills often visit in noisy flocks, but are usually too active and skittish for photographs. I did catch this silvereye trying to get past a willie wagtail that had laid claim to both baths. (The silvereye had a quick dip later, while the wagtail was at the other bowl.)
I am spending far too much time trying to snap birds as they enter (or emerge from) the water. They almost never visit when the light is optimal and I am not prepared to sit and wait for them. Still, some of them are obliging, especially the white-browed scrub wrens (first two pics) and the Lewin's honeyeaters (last pic), which love to get right into the water. I recall an incident in the other house when I heard fluttering from the bathroom. Expecting to find a confused bird that had flown in through the window and couldn't escape, I was floored when I saw a Lewin's honeyeater taking a bath in the toilet bowl. They are practical birds, if not classy ones.
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I discovered to my amusement, but mostly to my horror, that the resident green tree frogs like to sit on washing up sponges and scourers at night. They also knock things off shelves. It's like having a pair of clumsy cats around the place. At least they don't shed hair.
