Birds!

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Yes.

"Summer" and "winter" are not really very accurate terms when describing the different plumages carried by birds at different times of the year. Many birds will have moulted into "winter" plumage well before the end of summer and many will have moulted into their "summer" plumage before the end of winter. The terms summer and winter also cause a lot of confusion with birds that migrate between the two hemispheres.

"Breeding" and "non-breeding" are perhaps a little better for casual use but still aren't entirely accurate as many birds have very complex moult strategies where different feather tracts are moulted at different times of year.

The Humphrey–Parkes system was designed to get around these problems but not many people tend to use it except for serious scientific study. I'm a bit lazy and tend to default to terms such as breeding, non breeding, sub-adult.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey%E2%80%93Parkes_terminology

The very first bird at my house to greet the morning In the pre-dawn sky is the cardinal.

With the current lockdown the blue wrens have returned to our Garden

^A blue bird thats bluer than a literal bluebird.

The males are little showoffs.....the female blue wrens are less blue

That's useful- thank you! So black-headed gulls are named for their alternate plumage. I've often thought they should be called something like "Earbudded Gulls" instead...

Aside from another heron, I encountered a local duck celebrity today. As I was eating lunch down by the lake, two seperate passing groups of teenagers pointed at a duck and said- "Hey, isn't that Long Boy? Yes it is, it's Long Boy!" The duck in question was very long and skinny, mottled dark brown, and walked around in a bolt-upright posture the way some domestic duck breeds do. I wonder if Long Boy's a farm duck gone feral?

Stunning!

Blue wrens have sexual dimorphism where the males have evolved more colourful plumage over time to attract mates. The more brighter coloured males catch the female's eye so the trait is passed down the generations.

This is most clearly demonstrated with peacocks where the males have elaborate tail feathers and bright blue down feathers. .

That Blue Wren is spectacular but it's just tooooo colourful for my liking!

My favourite birds tend to be those with far more subtle colouring such as Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_fulmar

Its interesting, as my daughter's favourite is wattle birds which are species of honeyeater with fairly plain feathers.



They are fast, perky and dart about around the garden

Not 100% certain, but I may have seen an osprey yesterday!

I was heading back from work when I heard a flock of seagulls getting excited about something. Looked up to see a bunch of gulls chasing something much bigger than them. It was only in view for a few seconds, but looked so bizarre and distinctive. Very pale- against the sky, it appeared almost white. Very long, straight, narrow wings with "fingered" tips. I suppose it could have been a large albino buzzard, but buzzard's wings look shorter and wider than these did. One birdwatching site did mention a couple of osprey sightings in Yorkshire, but you have to be a paid subscriber to see details.

The plumage of Common Buzzards can be very variable and confusing. Some Buzzards have very pale plumage, but at this time of year Ospreys will be starting to head south on migration so your bird could certainly have been an Osprey.

We have a number of birds of prey here in Melbourne ranging from owls, currowongs and little falcons all the way to Wedge tailed eagles which are absolutely magnificent

Two Common Kingfishers flying across the lake in the rain, at an altitude of about 1 foot. This doubles the number of kinfishers I've ever seen!

I saw a male Mandarin duck today, slummin' it with the local mallards. Bizarre and fantastic creature- at first glance, I couldn't even tell which way he was facing!

https://ebird.org/species/manduc