Houseproud honeyeaters


My nesting honeyeaters aren’t happy with the house they built. At least she isn’t.

Perhaps the winds have made the finely netted nest feel less secure, or she’s rethought the design.

She doesn’t seem to sit still for as long as she was, turning about instead of facing away from my window as before.

She fusses about the nest inside and out, from all angles. Is she patching and improving on what they built together, or are those the bits that he built — unsatisfactorily?

Or does her restlessness mean that she hasn’t yet laid those eggs? Perhaps this is the avian equivalent of a human female driven to ‘springclean’ just before she goes into labour.

Meanwhile all the father-to-be can do is keep watch — and pace the branches.