Acrobat in the Kowhai

For many kiwis, this scene epitomises Spring in New Zealand, particularly those of us who live in the countryside.

The bright vibrant kowhai flowers are starting to burst out all over the valley, their sweet taste and pollen attracting birds and insects.

As I shot the other day, kereru are huge fans of the young kowhai leaves, but as I witnessed in the tree photographed, they also like chomping down the flowers. Just along the branch from the scoffing pigeon was this bellbird/korimako, hanging upside down and getting stuck into the nectar.

This one is shot with the teleconverter again, so the actual EXIF details are 600mm f/8