17.7.05

New Holland Honeyeater



Was visited the other morning by one of these ... it flew into the jade trees by the front door and pretended to be seeking food until it was sure I had seen it. Then it flew away, only to return quite soon after for another look: the bird looking at me looking back at the bird looking ... Came and perched so close I could almost have reached out a hand to touch it, although I didn't try. I've only ever seen these in the wild before - in the Royal National Park to the south of the City, where they are common in the hilltop scrubland, and, less often, in the bush on the Hope Range behind Pearl Beach: so what was it doing here? With a chirp and a flirt it flew off into the medium sized gum that stands, flowering now, in front of this building and began probing the lemon-yellow sprays with its black shiny beak. I felt appropriately informed. Grateful for the encounter. And lighter too, as if the contemplation of a busy inquisitive bird might mean an increase of potential in the hollow bones of flight.

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