On the very last day of 2019 I spent the day at an amazing sanctuary called Bushy Park. This magical place is less than 3 hours drive from Wellington and is full to the brim of native birdlife.
Bushy Park has recently had a rebrand and is now known as Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, it has a fancy new informative visitor centre, signage and a lovely covered picnic area. Bushy Park is a fenced sanctuary, and because of the lack of predators the birds are absolutely thriving. The beauty of the sanctuary is that you drive right up into the centre, so you’re already surrounded by birdlife immediately, the song of the tūī is especially welcoming.
Within minutes I had seen tīeke/Saddlebacks, toutouwai/Robins, kererū, tūī, korimako/Bellbirds and even a pīpīwharauroa/Shining Cuckoo being fed by it’s riroriro/Grey Warbler foster parent. Seeing the Cuckoo chick was especially exciting, as it’s a bird I’ve only seen a couple of times, and to see one out in broad daylight was amazing. I tried my hardest to get photos of the chick with it’s tiny foster parent but there was always a branch in the way, I managed to get a photo of them side-by-side which I’m pretty stocked with! I also spotted an adult Cuckoo in the middle of the forest, it was really amazing to watch it forage for bugs and call every so often, they are such interesting looking birds, unlike anything else we have here in NZ.
I hope you enjoy these photos, and I hope you put a visit to Bushy Park in your diaries, it’s a truly magical place with abundant birdlife. I already can’t wait to go back!
p.s. more photos coming next post!
