A pair of Eastern Spinebills, also nectar feeders, can squeeze through the lattice fence into the fernery. Thankfully, this pair seems to have mastered the process of getting out of the cat enclosure as well as breaking into it. The cats don’t seem to have noticed their presence, which is a huge relief! The birds come through the lattice high up on the fence, and fly straight to the tallest flower bloom. They do this reasonably quietly, and if we sit down, they don’t mind us watching them while we talk and sip our drinks.
Pizzey and Knight’s ‘Field Guide to the Birds of Australia‘ shows that the female has similar markings to the male, with the exception that the female has a grey crown while the male has a black crown. Golden specks in the crown are not mentioned, so I am not sure if this colour results from pollen? Most of my photos don’t show the crown fully, but I can see some grey feathers near the crown of the head, so this is probably a female bird.
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Fifteen Acres 
Hi,
Lovely photos.
It sounds like a wonderful adventure, but no doubt last summer being so dry would have been a challenge.
We live in the inner city in Melbourne and our courtyard limits our ability to grow many indigenous plants and veggies although we do both.
I envy your large patch.
The Xanthorrhoea grass tree brought me to your sight but I enjoyed the stay.
Thanks
Regards
Anna
Hi Anna,
Thank you. We lived in inner Melbourne for ten years, and I do love Melbourne very much. In some ways it is a big change to come out here, and others not so much. The largest impact, for me, has been the engagement with nature, which you just can’t get in the city. This, more than anything else, makes me feel the joy of moving out here. I love it here. Yes, the dry Summer is the most worrying time of the year – it’s shaping up to be another dry one, I think. Our dam is lower now than it was at the end of last Summer, so that lack of rain will show up in dry vegetation in Summer.
I’m glad you found my blog, and even happier that you enjoyed looking at the photos.
Thanks again,
Lisa