After being hailed on during my walk yesterday I went for an extra long one today. I was going to go for even longer but was waylaid in the park by a couple of cute little birds that were giving me a right telling off! I sat down in the (new) pagoda for a few minutes to take a few photos of the ducks & pukekos and these two birds were flying around me and chattering non-stop and then they'd sit on a pole a little way away and start chattering at me again. Then I noticed why, they had built a nest inside the pagoda on an almost vertical wall! I've noticed these birds a lot in the wetlands park since moving here 8 years ago but have never been able to take a photo because they didn't seem to ever stop flying and settle. I could tell from their tails that they were Swallows and have narrowed them down to the Welcome Swallow, Hirundo neoxena, a native of Australia and now NZ. I spent a lovely hour trying to get some good photos but darn it I didn't have my zoom lens with me so they aren't that close. They were constantly flying in and out of the pagoda, while I sat just a few feet away, and now I realise they were actually building the nest which is mainly made of mud. I thought they were going to swoop down on me a couple of times but they didn't, I'm guessing it will be a different story when the babies arrive. Here's a photo I found on the Internet of a nest full of baby swallows, it made me laugh!
So today's photos are all about birds, one of my favourite subjects if you haven't already guessed.
This one is looking straight at me as if to say 'buzz off lady'.
Wow, I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this one, quite accidental!
This is the nest, with the roof above the bird and me looking straight up, how that nest stays there beats me!
This must be where they're getting the mud for their nest from.
Juvenile ducks with very full crops, I think they'd need a drink after all that bread!
A family of Mallard Ducks.
A couple of Mynah birds nearby, not a loveable bird here, they're very noisy, they mimic other birds' calls and have been known to dive bomb kids on their way home from school.
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The swallows have built a nest under our front deck for years. When we had pets they used to fly down and tell the dog and the cat off too. They'll build anywhere. Mum & Dad used to have them nest on top of their garage door opener and on top of a plug socket in the garage.
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