Up close with divine Diamond Firetails – Capertee Valley
47Most of this Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata) footage was collected during a mid February and mid March 2019 visit to the Capertee Valley, NSW. It’s always a thrill to see these stunning little birds, especially as they are listed as “vulnerable” in NSW. Sadly, both numbers and range have declined. But they appear to be thriving at the filming site – a private property that has undergone habitat restoration since 1994. Indeed, we have seen several species of finch here: Diamond Firetail, Zebra Finch, Double-barred Finch, Red-browed Finch and Plum-headed Finch. The grassy eucalypt woodland (natural and replaced) and paddocks with a mix of grasses (and protective shrubs) are ideal for our video stars and the other finch species. Diversity in grass species, particularly native ones, means that food is available across the seasons. Nonetheless, conditions are sometimes especially favourable. Late summer and autumn were boom times for seed eaters due to exceptional rain in January. Moreover, the summer storms filled dams and various ground depressions. Seed-eaters generally have a high need for water due to their fairly dry diet.
An earlier production showed Diamond Firetails using the main dam on the property, which was the only consistent water supply during a drought-affected 2018. This year (so far) they have four waterholes (and two bird baths) to choose from, albeit slowly receding after some dry months. Luckily for us they were still attracted to the in-ground bird baths near our accommodation. A small portable bird hide clearly did the job as they seemed quite relaxed during filming. Their preening behaviour near the bird baths and elsewhere was also captured. Note that the footage of the adult Diamond Firetail holding the grass stem was a late irresistible inclusion (filmed in June). Males use grass stems for courtship displays. For further reading and viewing of the Diamond Firetails on this Capertee Valley property go to https://youtu.be/f1PTmHCpQog Additional information about the species can be found at http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Stagonopleura-guttata