Last week I wrote about Tāwharanui Regional Park as a good place to photograph Pāteke/Brown Teal. The Ecology trail is a lovely walk through bush with the possibility of seeing Kākā, Kākāriki (Red-crowned Parakeet), Kererū, Toutouwai (North Island Robin), and my rellies, Pōpokatea (Whitehead). None are guaranteed but I have seen them all from the trail. My hope for this visit was Tīeke as to photograph them usually requires an island trip. Tiritiri Matangi and Mokoia Island are both reliable sites but cost and time constraints make it a more complex expedition.
I have not been lucky enough to photograph Tīeke at Tāwharanui previously and this visit seemed to be following the usual script. The cool damp of morning had very little bird activity but on climbing up from the valley onto the sun-exposed side the birdlife blossomed.
I encountered three Tīeke and was lucky enough to have opportunity to photograph two of them. Being endangered and closely monitored they have bands which is distracting photographically but they are beautiful to watch gleaninig food from bark and leaf litter. Hearing their call announcing their presence is always exciting.
Their dense bush habitat and rapid movement in the low light can make photography difficult but equally makes the reward of success sweeter.
Photos with Nikon D850 and Nikon 500mm f5.6PF lens
