Silvereyes are tiny puffballs that flit through the shadows of a gum tree. This one stopped a moment to glance up at the sky:

There are a few variations of Silvereyes in New South Wales. According to my bird book, this one is a Zosterops cornwalli. It has a yellow throat, which differentiates it from the white-throated lateralis also found around here.

Weirdly, the birds migrate up the eastern coast of Australia as winter approaches, but we’re still likely to see them around even in winter – it’s just that the ones we see have come from even further south, while the ones that live around here in summer have moved northwards for the winter.

I took a shot of the tree too, so that you can see the bird’s habitat:

Last time I managed to snap a shot of one of these birds was at a mossy puddle, way back in 2016.

Common name: Silvereye

Scientific name: Zosterops cornwalli

Approximate length: 11 cm

Date spotted: 19 May 2018 (Autumn)

Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’35.3″S 151°15’11.0″E