I’ve been getting distracted while working from home. It’s feeling very springy and with the flowering karo there’s a sudden influx of tūī rushing around and filling the garden with song. So every time I hear a flurry of wings, I’m out the door with my camera to try and get some photos. It’s a nice break from reading papers and writing up manuscripts. They hop through the karo, sipping at odd flowers, and then whoosh off to the next tree, leaving the garden quiet again.

It’s not much of a garden. Most of it is paved, but there are a few good bird-trees. The slope of the hill means I can get nice eye-level shots, rather than staring up at them from below. Sometimes I forget how beautifully iridescent tūī are, their colours fading to black in the shade. But when the light hits them just right, or is suffused through the clouds into a giant softbox glow, all those glorious details stand out. The myriad of colours hidden in their black feathers, and the delicate sweeps of their white plumes. They’re truly stunning birds, and I’m enjoying spending time at home with them.