Tui Chicks

I was resigned to the necessity of photographing raindrops today when I heard the unmistakable call of tui chicks. Looking out, I could see five tui chicks bouncing around in the trees close by. They seemed to be playing, with somersaults, chasings and swinging upside down.

I shot out to the deck with the camera but could hardly focus while laughing at their antics. In the end I managed to get a sequence that shows a different side to these nectar loving birds.

This chick was hunting insects and has managed to catch one. Although they are nectar feeders, they will on occasion eat insects. The chicks seem late in the season and also seemed to be of different ages, ranging from one that had no bobble, shawl or much colour on the wings, to a couple that were well on the way to adulthood.

The chick in this sequence still has the yellow inside the beak to encourage parental feeding, no bobble at the throat and the lacy shawl just starting to develop. It has caught an insect – you can see the wings and body sticking out of the beak.

The final chick in the extras is a little older and you can see the developing bobble at the throat.