A few weeks ago I purchased this feeder for our garden.
The bottle contains sugar water which supplements food for the nectar feeding birds. It is my hope that the Tuis will visit the feeder during the months when their natural foods are scarcer.
Tui on flax
We also lost our largest Kowhai tree in the June storm. It was a “maybe it can be saved” to a definite “no it cannot be saved” decision.
While we have transplanted a teenage kowhai tree from the back of the section in to its place, it is unlikely to flower this season.
So the sugar water feeder was another offering to the Tuis in lieu of the tree they have enjoyed in the past few seasons.
My plans have gone somewhat awry with spring bursting into fullness here weeks early. The Tuis are currently spoilt for choice as every local kowhai tree is laden with the golden nectar-bearing flowers they adore eating.
On a positive note the tiny wax-eyes have thoroughly enjoyed the feeder. ( The sugar water is coloured with a minute drop of red food colouring to attract the birds.)
source: New Zealand pictures.com
We do, however, provide another facility for the Tuis and many other birds, in a rather more unintentional way.
When the spouting or guttering that channels rainwater off the house roof was installed, mistakes were made. The length was slightly short and the fall to the down-pipe was too shallow. This results in rainwater pooling at the higher end of the spouting. This provides the best bird bath in the world if daily numbers of birds using it is anything to go by. The Tuis being the largest of the bathing birds make a huge din and splash the water vigorously on to the concrete and parked car two storeys below.
So I may not be feeding the Tuis well at the moment but I am helping to keep them clean.
ordinarygoodness 
It’s hard to get everything just right at exactly the right time! The feeder is very smart. The Tuis will find it eventually, once they have done with their bathing, and kowhai feasting.
The feeder is beautifully constructed and there is a larger one that we may add once the Tuis know where the “fast food” near the bath house is located.
Batheing and feasting/drinking wildly sounds rather rascally doesn’t it? I have seen courtship behaviours too with great puffery of clean (;-) feathers!
You run a marvellous bird resort 🙂
Lol….I do. Mr and Mrs Thrush are around the garden consuming worms and I suspect nesting:-) The sparrows wait for me and there is a male blackbird who I swear lurks and flies in as he hears the slider open. I toss out Jazz’s cast off cat food which they relish and sometimes a crust.
For sure, there is nothing bird brained about birds. They are smart cookies and know their humans ever so well.
You are right about the waxeyes. We have had a tui feeder set up for ages. The waxeyes love it but so far the tuis have always found enough food elsewhere…
What a shame about your Kowhai tree, but it looks as though you have made the best of a bad situation, Christine.
I have always done my best to encourage birds to the garden. I call them “my little dinosaurs” 🙂
Clean tuis and happy wax eyes – love your photos, Lyn! Good to see some spring flowers are appearing. They must be very welcome.
It has been a bounteous spring so far Jo. Some winter weather is back which has slowed everything down again.
Sorry about your kowhai tree that is a shame it was lost due to the storm. You are going to get hours of fun out of your bird feeder – where did you buy it from?
Thanks Leanne. I am always sad to lose a tree and this one attracted the Tuis when it flowered. However that is nature and change.
http://www.backyardbirds.co.nz They have something for everyone or something for every garden and every bird!!! Great prompt and friendly service too plus loads of information on the website.
Sad about the kowhai tree, but the tui feeder will be wonderful.
The transplanted kowhai tree is showing hopeful signs. I am looking forward to visiting Tuis.
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Reblogged this on Tuis in my garden and commented:
Sept 1st 2013