It was this time last year when I first saw a pair of tui juveniles together. There were no adult tui in sight and the juveniles stayed around the property for several weeks.
One of them appears to be bold, leading the way, with the other following closely behind. The tui that's shadowing the other is peeping incessantly as if demanding to be fed. At first, I thought I was imagining this. They look the same age, it's impossible for one of them to be the parent. Perhaps we have a dysfunctional tui family in the area where the parents have left the young alone far too soon.
We have decided to name our apparent orphans Feisty and Squeaky. Feisty, the reluctant parent seems to barely tolerate the noisy sibling shadow. Every once in a while I see aggressive posturing and chasing. Feisty isn't the least bit shy and is spending a great deal of time on our deck. This tui is chasing off all the other birds, including adult tui, which has really surprised me. Meanwhile, Squeaky sits observing from the manuka tree, peeping loudly for attention.
There were times when I found them playing together. One morning I saw them in our manuka. Recently some of the manuka branches had been damaged in a storm, so we had tied some of those branches together using garden tie. This is a fabric somewhat similar to a wide boot lace. The tui orphans seemed to find the movement of the garden tie irresistible. They were snatching at it as it swung back and forth in the breeze. It was like watching mesmerised kittens.
I think my initial impression of intolerance and aggression may have been incorrect, because I also found them snuggled up together at dusk, no doubt preparing for the night ahead. Then it finally happened. I witnessed Feisty feeding Squeaky. Perhaps it was just a one off to get a moment of silence, but it was a delightful scene none the less. My favourite photo of late is when I found them huddled together, gazing up in wonder at the last flower on our pohutukawa tree.
There's something incredibly delightful about seeing tui juveniles frolicking in the trees. I find their behaviour fascinating. The more I observe, the more I learn. If you're lucky enough to have tui visiting your garden I do hope you take some time out and get to know them. (HEIDI PADAIN)
To see some of Heidi’s other photographic work go to www.flickr.com and type Heidi Padain into the search box, or, you can contact Heidi by email hidihi@xtra.co.nz