Calling Tui

I am really pleased with this. I was chatting with waipushrink while he was gardening, and I saw a couple of tui flit across into a tree in my grandmother's backyard next door. Two flew off, but I noticed there was still one there, so I raced back inside to get my camera, despite being almost completely convinced it would be gone by the time I got back out. Amazingly, it hadn't.

I started snapping as I walked slowly towards it, and it still didn't fly away. I had to raise the exposure compensation - a lot - as the camera was exposing for all the bright sky behind it. Rather incredibly, it stayed put while I did that - and while I realised the image stabilisation was off, and clicked it back on. Then it flew off ...

... Only to come to rest in a branch of a tree much closer, with much less bright background, and stay there showing me one side, then another, then its chest, then its back - and continuing to primp and pose for ages, while I took shot after shot.

Here's this one large, and I've put in my "birds"set on Flickr a couple more shots - plus a few of a Kereru which hung around just off the deck munching on berries.

A most good birding day, and a nice way to see out the old year. Mrs tsuken and I didn't get to go for a run/walk today, so we'll be sure to usher in the new year with one tomorrow.

Oh, a couple of kid pics from today I'm happy with. This one of the lad I think has some neat curves and lines with the playground terraces, and this of missy I thnk is quite a neat portrait (and required all my processing-fu).