Tui

Oh what a glorious day this was! Slept in, ate well, hiked from our hotel to the Sanctuary. May have clocked 25-30Km easily. The weather was especially brilliant and warm.

This is New Zealand's Tui bird. A beer is named after it. It was especially difficult to blip as it was extremely camera shy. Before you see them, you hear them just above your head, the whir of its wings are surprisingly strong and I almost mistake it for a wood pigeon. It's song is simply poetic and just as I wish I could fully describe it, I have vaguely captured the intense iridescent blue sheen of it's feathers. It's design is magnificent. I am humbled to be in its presence, if only fleeting.