Tui in the nest.

Six years ago we were unbelievably lucky to have a tui nest in a bush underneath our deck in a spot where I was able to photograph the whole process from the empty nest, to the laying of 2 eggs and then follow the hatching right through to the babies leaving the nest. The series resulted in images that achieved a Fellowship with the NZ Photographic Society and a published book. Over the years, Shirley-Anne, a neighbour has been my biggest fan and has shared my book with many others resulting in a large number of sales.
Well it must be karma as now she has a tui nesting in a tree beneath her deck and today I visited to check it out. The nest is very close but does have a few leaves in front of it, restricting photo opportunities but still really exciting. And so far 3 eggs have been laid. I know "Mrs Tui" has found a very safe spot to rear her babies and I will be keeping a close eye on progress as well.
This morning the sounds of the birds were interrupted by a procession of over 100 classic American cars, obviously on a rally. As the road ends about 1 km past us we got to see them coming and going. A little bit of excitement in Tarawera.