These hilarious photographs show the moment four tiny birds tried to all fit on the same piece of wire to avoid the rain.
The four splendid fairy wrens were spotted taking part in the comedy jostle in the garden of Judy Walker, 70, in Kalgan, Western Australia.
Semi-retired Education Department manager Judy lives with her husband Dick on their property which spans five acres about 20km (12 miles) from the city of Albany.
The splendid fairy wrens are regular visitors to their garden and love hanging around the vegetable patch and nesting in a nearby sage bush.
The four Australian splendid fairy wrens were spotted taking part in the comedy jostle for space in the garden of Judy Walker, 70, in Kalgan, Western Australia. Pictured: A female wren (top left) about to join the male blue wren and another female
In the humorous sequence of images the male blue-coloured bird can be seen trying to squeeze his way into the middle of a crowd of brownish-coloured females for a nap.
Judy’s photographs, taken earlier this year, have now attracted the attention of publishers who might want to run them as a series for a book.
Judy said: ‘We live on five acres and the splendid fairy wrens live and nest on and around our property.
‘They are regular visitors on our verandas and have worked out that we are not a threat to them, in fact, I think they realise that they are probably safer around us.
Semi-retired Education Department manager Judy lives with her husband Dick on their property which covers around five acres about 20km (12 miles) from the city of Albany. Pictured: The female comes back to sit with the other two
The splendid fairy wrens are regular visitors to the Walker’s property and love hanging around the vegetable patch and nesting in a nearby sage bush. Pictured: A female wren jumps on top of the other three
Judy’s photographs, taken earlier this year, have now attracted the attention of publishers who might want to run them as a series for a book. Pictured: The male wren decides he doesn’t like being on the outside of the group so jumps on top of the other three and tries to squeeze in
‘One group have nested this year in the sage bush near our veggie patch. They are very communal birds, with families staying together for a few seasons helping to raise the next brood. There is usually a dominant male and female though and the dominant male is usually the brightest blue.
‘The males are always blue to varying degrees during breeding season and summer, then during winter they return to more of a bluey grey colour.
‘The birds on a wire shots happened around 9am one morning as I walked back into our bedroom and saw through the window, three females sitting huddled asleep on the wire, sheltering from the rain, under the veranda balustrade.
‘It had been raining most of the night and morning and they were very wet and cold obviously. I rang to get my camera and took many shots of the three females, until I decided to get my tripod, so as to hopefully take better shots, as I was shooting through window glass and the light was quite low.’
To take these heart-warming images Judy used a Nikon D800E fitted with a Nikon 80-400 lens.
She said: ‘When I arrived back the male had arrived and was snuggled up with one female, then as I was taking photos of those two, one of the other females came back and then the other, who decided she wanted to squeeze into the middle, so landed on top of the group, because it’s warmer and safer I assume.
‘It was then that the male decided he didn’t like being on the outside, so he jumped on top and forced himself into the middle. They all did a bit of shuffling and preening and then went back to sleep.
‘I stayed and took lots of photos, until gradually they left, one at a time, until the lone little female was all by herself, with indented feathers.’
To take these heart-warming images Judy used a Nikon D800E fitted with a Nikon 80-400 lens. Pictured: The blue wren finally forces his way into the middle of the group
Pictured: The birds all did a bit of shuffling and preening and then went back to sleep