A Day At Zealandia

Whenever I go to Wellington I always try and fit in a visit to Zealandia. Even without my interest in nature photography, I somply enjoy walking around the tracks in Zealandia and hearing the rich bird song and seeing the amazing abundance of native birds that are now thriving in this pest proof sanctuary. Unfortunately on my last visit, the upper valley was closed due to work being undertaken on the power lines so I couldn't walk some of my favourite tracks so instead I did the valley view walk which was very rewarding with many sightings of saddleback and whitehead and an amazing number of tui singing in the trees.

This is my collection of photos from my last visit.

I was really pleased with this shot - one of the best photos I've ever taken of a saddleback/tieke.

This one came in too close to me and I had to retreat to get him within the minimum focal length of my lense (about 2.5m).

This is a juvenile whitehead or popokotea, they're beautiful little birds and I was lucky to be surrounded by a flock a couple of times.

You often see whitehead hanging upside down like this prying into the bark searching for insects.

Toutouwai, the north Island robin is a common site on the paths in Zealandia. They're very curious little birds frequently coming right up to you or following you along the path.