Back yard birds

I had a day out planned with a friend and our cameras. We had a list of places to go and subjects to photograph but alas all of them required fine weather, if not sunshine. Of course today it rained so we ended up inside shooting out the french doors.  At least we were dry, the birds certainly weren't, but that didn't stop them from bouncing around the trees and ferns for us.

While the waxeye numbers have increased it is interesting to note some of the differences in the birds. Last year we had 'broken beak', I haven't seen him this year so his handicap may well have caused his early demise.  This year we have a couple of birds with what can best be described as 'muted' colours, we have one with a bald patch on his head, and today I noticed one with black feathers on its head.

The black feathers just look wrong as they should be green but they do make this bird stand out from the rest. Somewhere there must be a dominant gene for black feathers, or someone jumped the nest a couple of times! I have resisted giving them names because there would be way to many to remember.

Our resident tui came by a few times while we were sitting there. He was singing us a delightful tune before popping in for a feed. We can almost stand right next to him now (providing we don't have a camera in hand) and he enjoys it when we talk to him. As soon as there is a camera in sight then the standard distance must be observed or he is gone. We are very lucky that we have such beautiful birds visiting our back yard.