Up early to spot more Spotlesses

Up early to catch Spotless Crake (Porzana tabuensis) or two out on the drying weed mat in front of the Tyto hide today.

The red-eyed 'chocolates' stand out in the light but fast melt into the scleria shadows if second thoughts arise.

And on to three cases of second thoughts, images processed but set aside and later redone. So ...

... Horsfield's Bushlark (Mirafra javanica)

... Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)

... Dragonfly in flight: rare successful exercise with 300mm lens and manual focus.

Blustery breeze keeps Zitting sitting

Blustery breeze across Orient Station yesterday made things bit unpleasant but helped keep Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) close to the ground...

... and to the fenceline.

Not an easy bird to get clear pictures of in its preferred habitat.

And when chance comes of right place and right pose (on a less blustery day), the bird's too far away!

As also, yesterday, was male Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis), my first sighting of the species at the station, and only my second in the Ingham area.

Stalking the Zitting Cisticola

Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) at home on grass stalk at Orient Station, southeast of Ingham. So natural and everyday.

But stalking Zittings for years has delivered few clear closeups, except with the birds on barbed wire: not so natural. Naturally I'm delighted.

More Zittings in the mornings

One or two more Zitting Cisticolas (Cisticola juncidis) lining up on Orient Station fences when the sun shines these days.

Not often they look quite so charming as Mr Fluffy yesterday.

And still greatly outnumbered by scores of Golden-headed Cisticolas (Cisticola exilis).

Zed is zee place to start ...

Zed is zee place to start, with uncommon sight of Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) along Orient Station road the other day. Sign of the delayed Wet, because species shows up here and dazzles only in the dry.

Zere's also ziss Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) along same road. Seldom does the species ever look so true to type.

And talking of looking, Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton) takes a long hard gaze at someone in the Tyto hide. 'Hey, good-looking!'

Adorning our Structures

Drizzle dribbles off the caravan, grey gloom continues, laptop chores sort of done ... time to cook up stew of leftovers, but with grandiose theme: Adorning our Structures

Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus): Broadwater Forest Park rail

Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii): Tyto Wetlands elevated walkway

Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis): Orient Station fence

Striated Heron (Butorides striata): Dungeness rail

Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii): Dungeness rail

Red-backed Fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus): Orient Station fence
Click pix to enlarge  

Golden rule for Zittings

Several recent Orient Station road outings finally found a Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) clear of usual long grass ...

... and close enough for plenty of detail.

Here's a Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis) for comparison. Easy to see differences? Perhaps, in such pictures. No, most of time in field. Forget white eyebrows and tail tips and streaked heads and 'clicks' versus 'pliks'. The golden rule? If it sounds like a bird, it's not a Zitting. 
Click pix to enlarge