The Bottle Brush puts its sparkle on

A little late for the glitter of Christmas but welcoming in a new year, the Bottle Brush flowers have a special sparkle.

Click to enlarge the photo and see more of the sparkle.

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Patience required, magic can happen

The Kowhai tree on the reserve next to our property is in full flower. My intention has been to gather some very close up photos of the Tui feeding. So far I have been thwarted. The light has been wrong, the birds too wary of me, too many loud noises in the neighbourhood, a busy road, the speed of the birds as they harvest the nectar and tangled branches that obscure that perfect image.
I persisted today and have a few photos I am relatively happy with. Here is one:

However later in the day one of the Tui decided that the three Tom Thumb Bottle Brush bushes that are very close to the kitchen window had plenty of pickings to feed on. Repeated visits happened all afternoon.
Here is a selection of images that I am thrilled with.

“For every act of senseless violence in the world, use your camera to record random acts of beauty” Dewitt Jones

So in an antidote to senseless violence in the world here are some photos received by me during this past week. Soak up the beauty and light.

Wordless Wednesday

Two Tuis on Thursday

In a rare moment of “happy to share” last evening I recorded these two Tuis enjoying the nectar from the Tom Thumb Bottle Brush bush outside the kitchen window.

The Waxeyes are the birds who visit this large bush most frequently at present but with most Kowhai trees losing their flowers now the Tui are very happy to shift to a different buffet table.

Waxeyes feeding on Bottle Brush bush

This time last year…..

I have been watching the Bottle Brush bushes closely in the past week in the hope that I would see the colourful red brushes emerging. There is nothing yet but I can see plenty of the knobbly cases that the flowers burst from. This is another dish on the Tui and Wax eyes’ menu and provides a colourful show in the garden.

Wax eye

There have been signs of abundant new growth on the three bushes but the cold spring and lack of sunshine has probably delayed the flowers appearance.
This time last year the” table” was well covered with Tui nectar of the bottle brush kind. See this post.

This year I am watching this space, and awaiting developments, as they say…..