Pat Martin, Birds on Sticks (ANIMAL & NATURE 2024)

Birds on Sticks Australia’s small birds are colourful, characterful, usually very shy and… very fast! Getting a good photo is difficult unless one has the luck or patience to catch one sitting on a ‘stick’ for a brief moment. Although these photos lack the drama of action shots, they can reveal the beauty of the birds in their surroundings. I have chosen with difficulty four of my little birds: a Splendid Fairy Wren just getting his breeding plumage (which will be a variety of bright blues all over); a Singing Honeyeater; a Wood Swallow and a Western Whistler female.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.