Black Fantail

I added a poor shot of this fantail as an extra 2 or 3 weeks ago, but today I made a better job of it. It comes to my veranda every day to scold me with loud and penetrating screeches, and today I was ready. Its mate, a more common pied fantail used to come inside the house, but now doesn’t approach so close.

It’s thrilling to have had these two wee birds visit for more than two months. Usually fantails stay about three weeks in spring and then again in autumn. They will move on when the weather gets colder.

There are three species of endemic birds in my garden at present. As well as the fantails we have a female bellbird and grey warblers. The native waxeyes are also here. Resident exotic birds are starlings, magpies, blackbirds, dunnocks and sparrows. This could change when it gets colder and I start feeding them.