NZ Native Kea

We've had about 5 Kea visiting us over the past month, and today they arrived not far from the house.  Four of them enjoyed sitting on some firewood (yet to be chopped up), attempting to pick the bark from around the wood.  They are beautiful birds, although hard to photograph when they are flying.  I love their gorgeous orange feathers under their wings.

These 5 birds are becoming quite tame.  I could get quite close to them, although I'm rather weary of getting too close.  I'd hate to get their sharp beak and claws caught in something!

The Kea are a protective bird in New Zealand.  There are only approximately 5000 of them in the country, which is considerably less than the kiwi.

We've had some rain overnight, so was a bit warmer this morning without a frost.  Having said that, the frost usually generates a magnificent day, something we haven't had today.