We have had over 60mm of rain in the past 4 days. The garden is saturated again. It has also been unseasonably warm thanks to sub-tropical air.
In a break in the rain I went out into the garden to take some photos.
Low cloud and mist was clothing the nearby hill.
The autumn colours of Viburnum Opulus (Sterile)
Raindrops on the Fuchsia that defies neglect and hard pruning. It refuses to bush up but it survives.
And finally a Lavender flower.
In between rainy days I found this Camellia busily flowering.
The winter light was perfect today for showing off the stunning colours of the Tui. This image is a rough one but the iridescent blues being highlighted make it worth posting. This bird had just swept through moving another Tui and several Sparrows away from the sugar-water feeders. His flight-path saw him perch briefly here in the Wonga Wonga vine. Tui look black from a distance but any dark feathers are brown.
We watched the second Monarch Butterfly emerge today in the miracle that this transformation is.
Winter is definitely here.  So little sun today and bad weather approaching.   Freezing cold wind, blackened twiglets but firey red in the Nandina berries.
The Cotoneaster leaves offered a wide palette of colours while the Nandina offered its scarlet intensity. The past autumn with its crisp nights, clear sunny and calm days meant a more striking autumn season here in the garden.
I have been fortunate in the past three or more years to hear the beautiful song of the Korimako, New Zealand Bellbird. Eventually I spotted one in the garden but it was a fleeting view as this fast moving bird was there and gone.
Two very tall Bottle Brush trees in neighbouring gardens provide food for our nectar feeding birds, especially the Tui and Bellbird.
My attempts to photograph a Bellbird have been futile so far. But today our lovely visiting Bellbird ( or perhaps more than one) has been in and around the garden and singing temptingly close by.
With cold winter light offering little assistance I ventured out with my camera to try and locate Korimako feeding in the tree across the road.  The zoom on my camera is very good and I was able to gain one photo.
I crossed the road carefully and stood a way off from the tree believing that the bird would be fearful and take flight. However food was a stronger pull and with plenty of foliage to hide safely in I was able to move closer and closer without causing the bird to fly away.
My luck held and I came home with some pleasing photographs and the great sense of achievement gained from ticking a “wanted bird” off the list.
I have included a link to a sound clip of the clear, bell like song of this very special New Zealand native bird.
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