Posing waxeyes

Someone recently said to me that you can’t get wild birds to pose for you in the way you want. Well I can and do, often!  Today I decided that I wanted the waxeyes to perch closer to the house so I could get close ups through the open door without them being down on the grass. I decided that the ponga fern was a perfect perch to achieve the shots I wanted.

So I headed out to the shops and purchased some more bananas, I ate the last one for breakfast! I hung a banana in a different tree to normal, placing it where the birds would have to perch on the fern to wait their turn at the banana.  I have noticed by watching the waxeyes that there is usually one bird that will take ownership of the fruit and the rest have to wait until it has had its fill.

Having set the fruit in place I then tossed a bit of bread on the lawn to get the attention of the birds. They are very responsive to bread being tossed out and it is mere minutes before the waxeyes have found the banana. By this time I have opened the French doors and positioned myself with the camera ready to photograph them.

It all worked perfectly, the birds posed exactly how I wanted them to and I am extremely happy with the resulting images. I have so many good photographs!  All in all a very successful shoot.