It Seems Like Spring

It's still officially winter, but the cherries have blossomed early and it seems like spring. The garden is full of birds with 30 or 40 tui in the cherry trees drinking nectar and chasing each other around. The tui are very territorial and defend the cherry trees chasing other birds out. A game of chase has developed between the tui and the silvereye.

The tui tend to feed in the top of the tree and the silvereye keep sneaking into the bottom branches until the tui spot them and chase them out. The silvereye retreat into the thick growth of a nearby camelia then after about five minutes sneak back into the cherry until they get chased out again.

Other birds that I managed to photgraph in the garden this weekend were piwakawaka (fantail), riroriro (grey warbler), eastern rosella and yellow hammer.

A tui, showing off its colours in the cherry tree.

I love watching how the tui hang upside down to feed  from the blossom.

Tauhou (silvereye) sneaking in to the cherry while the tui aren't watching

Silevereye are such gorgeous little birds

Piwakawaka (fantail) hunting insects above the tops of the trees.

Riroriro (grey warbler) searching for insects in the acacia.

Darn - I thing he's spotted me.

An eastern rosella in the bare branches of a golden elm.  The rosellas like to feed on the cherry buds, pecking them right off but they have to be quick. At this time of year the tui don't give them much time and will chase them right out of the garden.

A yellow hammer on our driveway.  We see small flocks of yellow hammer around quite often but they're very wary and it's not often that I get close enough to get a good photo.