An Ode to Blip

How do I need thee? Let me count the ways.
I need to blip daily with the depth and breadth and height
my camera can reach, even almost out of sight,
For the ends of blipping and the spotlight page.
I need to blip daily at every level,
By sun and by electric light.
I blip freely, and try to get it right;
I blip purely, although I love the Praise
I blip with a passion formerly put to use
for projects, or something very dear.
I blip daily with a need I never knew
in times past. I blip with the breath,
smiles, tears, of all my life - And if God willing,
I shall Blip for another year.

Sincere apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning - she's probably spinning in her grave right now.

So it's been a whole year - 365 days of blipping. What can I say, but thank you for every single view, every single comment, every single star, and every single heart. And thank you to all my lovely friends, some met and some not, but friends for all that. And thanks to Blip Central for all that they do to keep this very special community going.

And thanks to my dear Rower for his support and advice.

A whole year - who'd have thought!

In other news - this is a new one for Blipbigyear. A grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa).

This Fantail is mid to dark grey or grey-brown above, lighter (often yellowish/orange) below, with a white throat, white markings over the eye, and (depending on the race) either white-edged or entirely white outer tail feathers. It grows to 16 centimetres in length, of which half is the tail, which, as the name implies, is often displayed fanned out. This reveals that the outer tail feathers that are light and the centre ones are dark. Some subspecies are found in a darker plumage.

During waking hours the bird is almost never still. It flits from perch to perch, sometimes on the ground but mostly on the twigs of a tree or any other convenient object, looking out for flying insects. The birds are not shy, and will often flit within a few metres of people, especially in forested areas and suburban gardens. In doing so, it is able to catch any small flying insects that may have been disturbed by human activities such as walking or digging.

The bird's call is an almost metallic "cheek", either as a single sound or (more often) repeated as a chattering.

Now considered to be a separate species to the New Zealand Fantail, due to its distinctive different call.

A closer look