Petone Estuary

There is an abundance of bird life at the Petone Estuary at low tide - I have yet to go there and come away without at least one decent image. There is a resident white heron (kotuku) by the boat sheds, a grey heron that comes in from time to time, lots of kingfishers (kotare), and the usual bunch of gulls, sparrows, and finches. These images were all shot within one hour just before low tide.

Busy Bumble Bees

Bay of Islands - Day Eight

This morning we headed back to Whangarei to visit with friends. While there we went to the Quarry Gardens (really pretty gardens in what used to be a quarry) and to the Canopy Walk where we saw some rather large Kauri trees. I spotted another shining cuckoo while we were there but it was a major tease and stayed just far enough away that I couldn't get a clear shot of it.

I did find this little fantail to photograph. He didn't spread his tail into a fan so it's not obvious that he is a fantail. I suspect he is a very young bird because he had a lot of fluff about his face. Very cute!