Vivonne Bay Blue: Superb Blue Wrens of Kangaroo Island

The Superb Blue Wren, aka Superb Fairy-wren, is a resident of southeastern Australia. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that this is a popular bird, just look at it! Indeed, Gillian and Colin Rayment became so enamored with the wrens of Vivonne Bay on Kangaroo Island (hence the book’s title) that they created a book about them.

Vivonne Bay Blue is the result. It is an intimate look at “their” wrens, primarily through photographs. 75 photos show the male and female wrens in just about every pose imaginable. Most shots are of a single bird, but some of the best (and certainly the most adorable) show the pair together. Since there is very little text – limited to an introductory paragraph describing some of the general characteristics of blue wrens – one could think of this book as an extended photo album.

The pictures range from good to great. The technical quality looks good to me, but I appreciate them more for the window into the birds’ character that they convey. I especially welcome the wide range of positions the birds are shown in; there are even some shots from behind! You certainly don’t see many published shots of birds in some of these poses, but it works here by enhancing the intimacy. I would have liked to see more types of behavior depicted, however. Conspicuous by its absence is anything related to breeding, including nest building, incubation, and feeding of nestlings.

The introductory note on the wrens should be sufficient for anyone, like me, unfamiliar with these birds. It isn’t extensive, but a full life history isn’t needed here, just enough to get a feel for the birds. The authors have expressed that they wanted to keep the book simple and highlight the birds themselves, thus they did not include any further text. I can understand that, but personally, I feel that some further details on these particular birds would have added much to the book.

Looking through this book for the first time, I was struck by two things. The first was the size; like the birds it portrays, this book is small. However, this was an intentional choice on the part of the authors, who hoped to keep it “small and delicate like the little wrens”. I can’t argue with their decision. My initial thought was that these photographs deserved to be reproduced in a larger size. But if the book was any larger, I think it would have lost something. Like the blue wrens, I think part of the book’s charm derives from its small size.

The second thing that struck me was the printing and binding quality. This doesn’t look and feel like someone’s pet project, but rather a well-done, professional book. The cover is perfect – a great design with some fantastic flourishes like the embossed frame around the photograph and the glossy, slick feel of the photo itself (neither of these show up in the photos of the book, but are obvious in-hand). The interior is also very nice, with the photos being reproduced well.

Recommendation

You may be asking why you would want a book like this when you can find tons of Superb Blue-wren pictures online. It’s a legitimate question. I found some great photos with a quick Google search, including a few that rivaled anything in this book. But for the most part, especially when taken as a whole, the pictures of Vivonne Bay Blue are superior, and definitely have more “personality”.

I’ve never seen one of these birds (though now I really want to!), but I imagine that they could easily enchant anyone who does. If you’re fortunate enough to be so afflicted, then this book is for you.

Vivonne Bay Blue can be purchased at The Rustic Blue Gallery in Vivonne Bay, on Kangaroo Island, and also at The Sealink Terminal in Cape Jervis (the ferry to Kangaroo Island). And for anyone not fortunate enough to be in South Australia, you can email the Rayments, and they can mail you a copy for $30Au.