Kotuku

White Heron - Egretta alba - or as it is known by its Maori name in NZ - Kotuku

I know this photo is disappointing - completely wrong light and no point of interest, just the blank canvas with a bird on it - but it is the most decent capture I've ever managed of a white heron. They are rotters to photograph as the white blows out so badly and their beak and eye are so small - I also find them terribly flighty so I can't get near them.

I was on my way to Nelson airport this afternoon to pick up Kiwilizzie from her wee jaunt down into deepest southland. I thought I was running late but I still had to stop and turn back when I saw this kotuku in the estuary by the airport. As it happened I wasn't late, but it wouldn't have mattered if I had been, they are a rare enough sight that it had to take precedence.