Right place at the right time

A White-Throated Honeyeater with a spider in its beak.

One morning just a few weeks ago, as we were having breakfast, a movement in a nearby tree just off our verandah, caught my eye.

One of our smaller Honeyeaters, the White-throated variety, was busily searching through the leaves and flowers, probably checking out the nectar in the flowers or being alert for insects.

My first thought was to fetch my camera which I normally keep quite handy for such a situation as when a bird could be a great subject.

I suddenly remembered that my camera was in another room upstairs where I had left it the previous evening after taking it to a function to take some photos of the event.

Normally birds only stay in each place for a short time before moving on to another part of the tree.

Consequently I thought it would be gone before I returned so I didn’t go for the camera.

As I watched, the Honeyeater began preening itself right in front of us on one of the open close branches. I would have had time to get the camera, come back and take its photo before it moved off.

There is a saying, ‘You win some, you lose some’. This was one that I didn’t win.

However I did have success on a previous day when I was down in the yard. I waited quietly as another White-throated Honeyeater was moving through the bushes.

It landed right in front of me, plunged its head into a flower and came up with a spider in its beak as the illustration shows.

On that day, I happened to be in the right place at the right time.