24 September 2016

Tui at the Pohangina Wetlands

Photographing tui on the Massey University campus among the cherry blossom is one thing, but photographing a tui feeding on the native kakabeak (kowhai ngutukaka) at the Pohangina Wetlands is another: somehow intrinsically more satisfying. I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps photographing the Massey birds, which are habituated to constant human presence, seems too close to photographing animals in a zoo, or maybe the juxtaposition of a quintessentially New Zealand bird and a plant most closely associated with Japanese culture seems slightly contrived.

Of course, while kakabeak is a native plant, it's almost extinct in the wild, and if you see one it's almost certainly a cultivated plant.

[1/400 sec at f4, ISO 250]



All content © 2016 Pete McGregor

6 comments:

Ali Honey said...

2 excellent Tui photos. We have many Tui on our property but I mostly see them bathing in the bird bath. They don't care how cold the water is and go under 6 or 7 times per bath. The Kereru use the bath too.

pohanginapete said...

Thanks Ali. Your mention of kereru reminds me to check for them today, the last day of the Great Kereru Count.

Zhoen said...

Oh. Wow.

pohanginapete said...

Zhoen, that's what I thought when it was posing for me.

Lisa said...

What Zhoen sad: Just wow!

pohanginapete said...

Thanks Lisa :-)