17 June 2015

Tui in tagasaste

On this morning when the temperature felt only slightly above absolute zero, I took the camera for a walk to see the patterns of frost. I saw something much more spectacular — this tui sipping nectar from the flowers of a tagasaste (tree lucerne).



All content © 2015 Pete McGregor

11 comments:

Lisa said...

Just - beautiful. Words fail me, Pete - this is the loveliest thing.

Avus said...

Obviously taken on "zoom", Pete and a rock-steady image too. How do you manage it?

pohanginapete said...

Thank you Lisa :-) They're beautiful birds, and full of character, too.

Avus, it's mostly a matter of being in the right place at the right time, with the light right. The lens is good, but not great, but I have lots of opportunities.

Relatively Retiring said...

This looks so very exotic and so far away from your previous photos of storms and dying leaves. The 'scarf' of white feathers is beautiful.

Lesley said...

Lovely, Pete, and a cheering sight on a frosty morning. The beauty of those back-of-neck feathers caught my eye, too. They're not usually noticeable from the usual sighting-distance of tui. Just the parson's bands are visible.

Helen N said...

Thanks for this cheering sight, and for all your bird images - this is a really engaging pic of a wonderfully engaging bird and an encouragement to plant some tagasaste for winter bird feed too.

Zhoen said...

Wow, gorgeous. And I'm with RR about the curling throat feathers.

pohanginapete said...

RR, the weather deserved a photograph of something other than storms and dying leaves ;-)

Lesley, I've often been struck by how tui can appear markedly different in different light. Maybe that's one of the many reasons they're such fascinating birds.

Thank you, Helen. I'm very pleased you're enjoying the photographs. This particular one seemed to me to convey the 'attitude' of tui — which are birds with a very particular attitude.

Zhoen, the white throat feathers are one of the most noticeable physical features of tui. It's their distinctive, noisy flight and vocalisations that mean they can't be confused with any other bird, though.

Ruahines said...

Kia ora Pete..
Beautiful. I am reminded of how people became annoyed at the resurgence of the Tui dawn chorus around Wellington due to the success of the Kairori Wildlife Sanctuary predator proof fence. They rang the council demanding something be done! Do I sense a wry twist of the beak by this fellow. :)
Robb

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

Man, this is a gorgeous bird, a gorgeous scene, a gorgeous photo. Thank you so much.

pohanginapete said...

Kia ora Robb. Well, you know how noisy and horrible those tui are — disturbing the peaceful sounds of early morning traffic and all. Can't have that, can we? ;-)

Barbara, you're welcome. Very pleased you like it. :-)