After seeing a Facebook Post by the Norberta Philbook Gallery I decided it was time for an upgrade at the buffet. The Gallery is owned by a friend and neighbor. She had been looking for pottery for the Gallery when she came across the work of Julie Windler. She makes these adorable hand thrown bird feeders. They have real elm limbs for perches.
I bought one and hung it pretty close to my shooting spot last Saturday. I filled it with some clean feed and black oil sunflower seeds. I barely finished before it started to rain. Once the rain stop I settled into my spot to see who might check out this new addition.
One brave little chickadee checked it out right away.
He hopped from perch to perch until he found a spot that was perfect.
He decided to give it a try – time for a snack.
He stopped to give me an adorable pose…
and flew back to the walnut tree.
I think Chicky is an art connoiseur.
the eff stop 
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Lovely shots, Lorri.
I bought a bird feeder to try and entice some birds onto my balcony (my lounge room doors open onto this balcony), but no luck. I tried hanging it on a tree outside my lounge window but no luck.
All the birds that used to visit my inner city flat years ago seemed to have disappeared for ever.
Looks like it’s back to walking in the Botanic Gardens & Melbourne Zoo to photograph birdlife.
I do have birds that sing outside my flat window in the Spring and Summer, but the tree foliage is too thick to take a photo.
Thanks Vicki,
When I put these up in June 2 weeks passed before I saw a single bird at it. Once they started coming they were very skidddish, but by the end of another week I was sitting inside an open door shooting. Slowly I moved the feeders closer to my door. This feeder is about 8 feet from the door and the chickies don’t even care if I’m outside with them at this point. I know what you mean about the foliage – It’s tough to focus even manually without enough contrast. I envy your ability to go to a botanical garden near where you live – the variety that you get to see is amazing.
Lorri
LOVE your blog! and it is such fun to actually see my birdfeeders being used! you sure have made me smile. Thank you! julie windler
Thanks Julie – I bought another feeder from Raven today – can’t wait to hang it tomorrow and start snapping. It’s funny how this Chicky loves this feeder – he squawks whenever another bird comes near.
This is so lovely!
Thanks a lot!
Really good shots! Love the new feeder too.
Thanks! I loved the idea of adding a piece of art to my feeder mix. I just picked up another today:)
Gorgeous pictures! Are you a bird watcher? You seem so competent in attracting them and knowing what kind they are.
Thanks Diana – I’m becoming a bird watcher, but that’s not my aim. I wanted to shoot birds this summer because they are a real challenge to capture, I hope it makes me a technically better photog. I bought a terrific iPhone app that makes identifying them easy and even plays their calls. I was trying to shoot in the woods but it’s so difficult to get a clear shot so I decided to make my patio a feeding station. So far it’s working and every day the birds are less and less concerned with my presence.
I admire how dedicated you are to your craft. Happy shooting!
I’ve never seen a chickadee before, even in pictures. I’ve heard of them a lot and wondered what they looked like. A very cute name for a very cute bird! 🙂 I so appreciate that I get to see these beautiful little animal pals who frequent across your camera’s path. I’m so glad you’re sharing these!!
If I make it to North America one fine day, I will no doubt see precious friends over there whom I grew up with in the Phils, but I will also devote as much time as I can to seeing the animals there. I’m besotted and fascinated with all your animals- squirrels, raccoons, chickadees, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, cardinals, flamingoes, cougars, wolves, bears- all these amazing animals I never ever see in Australia, and out of that whole list I only saw hummingbirds one time in the Philippines, and flamingoes once in Tooronga Zoo in Sydney.
I am besotted with that bird feeder too, and WANT one for my garden here in Australia! I wonder if she ships overseas? Possibly not, if she’s using real oak branches in her pieces. Besides the breakability of pottery being shipped. When I get some spare cash I will check her work out and send her a message asking her if she’ll ship to Australia. 🙂 It’s the best bird feeder I’ve ever seen. And I *love* feeding the birds! Our rosellas and lorikeets and parrots will be able to use a feeder like this just as much as your chickadees (unlike the hummingbird feeder I’ve seen in your photos- that one is a bit too specialised for birds we don’t get here).
I live at the foot of the Dandenong mountains and I get a lot of colourful birds here, some very loud ones and some shy ones, but all beautiful. When I plant up my new garden and put in a feeder and birdbath for them, I’ll get lots of birdie visitors, guearanteed. 🙂
Every single time I come to your Blog, I leave happier than when I arrived. 🙂 You spread joy.
Rach.
Thanks for your enthusiastic comments Rach – I live in the woods outside of the city so I have more than my fair share of wildlife viewing opportunities. The birds you mention that are native to Australia are exotics here and are sold as pets. My sister-in-law works with exotic birds professionally. I always wanted a Lorikeets because they are called loris here:) I’m glad my musings brighten your day – I always appreciate your encouragement. Raven told me that she does ship internationally – she ships art supplies for a flat rate of $10.95 and she would do that for the feeder as well. She ships art so I know she could pack it in a way that it would arrive safely. I just got a second one from her today and am going to fill it with suet to entice the cardinals and woodpeckers.