I’ve got so much pleasure from the hiking I have been doing and the encounters I’ve had with these Toutouwai/North Island robin that I thought I would share a few more images that I have got since those in my first post, It’s The Little Things That Make a Difference.

The birds are quite relaxed and have some favourite perches where they will sit and preen. They are not a regular encounter so it is always a joy when I do see them. I haven’t seen both members of the pair together since that second encounter I reported last week.

This last Friday I got home from work having completed my final Friday after 35 years and 7 months in rural family practice. Fridays have always been a challenge and stressful as there are always last minute things that have to be done before the weekend and can’t be “booked in tomorrow”. When I began I would work on my own with one nurse and we now have a team of doctors and nurses seeing up to the same number of patients because the complexity of the work is just so much greater.

Arriving home I had time for a walk so hoped to see my birds but it was not to be. Regardless it was lovely to walk and reflect that next Friday I will be able to walk any time of the day and not have to hope to squeeze it in at the end only if time allows. It will feel strange.

From next week I will be officially semi-retired and working only 2 days a week on the weeks I don’t have more important things to do. I’m looking forward to that reprioritisation. It’s going to take a bit of adjusting because there are still going to be demands greater than I have time and energy to accommodate which will be a tension that I will have to navigate. A lifetime of balancing the needs of others with my own and tilting the balance in favour of others in more need is a habit that will take time to resolve. Time spent hiking and in discussion with my conscience is important for this. As is the distraction of my birds.

We have a bunch of exciting things planned, many of which involve birds (conferences and research trips) and photography (workshops and holiday) so I will have more to share over time. I will also have a little more time to work on my backlog of images from June 2024 in the UK and Arctic so look out for those.

Heading back down on my last hike I encountered a slightly co-operative Riroriro/Grey warbler and managed a few images. They are often singing high in the canopy but this one was foraging at eye level which was nice.

Photos with Nikon Z8 and Nikkor Z 400mm f4.5 VR S