Richard Hall Photography

I returned to Mount Lofty on the 25th of April to look for the pair of Scarlet Robins I’d seen on my previous visit. Sure enough, I located them in the carpark area again after just a couple of minutes looking, with the male up to his old tricks of attacking the side mirrors on cars vigorously. He certainly seems to know that each mirror he visits has an intruder in his territory, as he flew from car to car directly onto the mirrors. He would attack the reflections then sit on top of the mirror chattering softly. I was hoping to catch him on a more natural perch this time though, so I was thrilled when he landed low in a tree just in front of my car to feed on a flying ant!

The female was nearby in the surrounding trees just as she was last time and I took opportunity on a few occasions to photograph her when she was close to me. Not quite as stunningly coloured as the males, they’re certainly still a beautifully coloured and patterned bird.

On the 28th of April I went back again, this time armed with a perch I’d made from a dead branch found in my garden. I placed the branch into an upturned plant pot to keep it upright, with the idea to place the perch near to my car’s mirror in the hope he’d use it before landing on the mirror itself and I could remain inside my car using it as a hide. After arriving, I hastily set my perch up a couple of metres from my car, but the Robins were nowhere to be seen. I went for a brief walk around the carpark to see what else was about and as I returned to the car a couple of minutes later, I was delighted to see a male Superb Fairy-wren attacking his reflection in the windscreen. As I approached, he hopped off the car and onto my perch which was on the opposite side of the car to where I was standing.

From this position I was able to photograph him over the top of the car’s roof. He soon realised I was no threat however and whilst I stood leaning against my car he returned back to the windscreen just a metre away. He tired of this after a couple of minutes and left so I sat in my car in anticipation he’d return and I might photograph him again on the perch I’d set up.

I had only been sitting there about 20 minutes when rather than the fairy-wren returning the male Scarlet Robin turned up! However rather than use my perch he flew directly to the mirror. At just two feet he was far too close to photograph so I could only admire him at such close quarters. It was clear he knew I was there as he would stop attacking the mirror to look at me from time-to-time, but he seemed totally unafraid. After a short time he flew off into a nearby tree but then moments later returned stopping on my perch first. YES!!! He stayed there just long enough for me to capture several lovely images of him in different poses.