I have just returned from the North Island where I was able to spend time in the bush with the birds.

The first bird I saw up close was a Tui, otherwise called a Parson bird for it's 2 small bulges of white feathers on the front of it's neck.
Has a glorious song, and I reconized it as I walked into a cul-de-sac heading for the bush walk nearby.
I stopped and listened, and as I did it flew out from the dense green tree and into a flowering Kowahi tree filled with beautiful bright yellow flowers that have a delicious nectar. I watched from a few feet away as it enjoyed breakfast on a sunny spring morning., the blackness of the bird against the yellow of the Kowahi.

The bush I visited each morning, and each morning it was a different location, was filled with the sounds of glorious bird calls, and the longer I sat and listened on a log or tree stump, the more I saw of them flying about.

Be still, and know that I am God - who watches over the birds!

On another occasion I was at my neices house, which overlooks a wild area over her back fence. There the wildlife is in abundance, with a stream flowing through, and very often the wild birds come into her property to feast on the delicacies she throws out for them. She had no sooner told us about the Pukeko family that come, when the father bird appeared on the scene. Throwing out a whole crust of bread, he jumped the fence and grabbed it and was off again. We watched fasinated as he negotiated the fence - bread dangling - across the long grass and over the stream, and then had to negotiate his way up a hill of long grass. Every now and then droping the bread and retrieving it.
His lair was halfway up the hill in amongst bushes, and not doubt the mother bird was eagerly waiting a feast to be brought her.
I imagined the joy in taking it, and the joy in receiving it.
Isn't that so much like our lives. A joy to share and a joy to receive.

At our daughters place where I was staying, I was able to landscape the garden for her by relocating the bark from one garden to another. It was fun to watch from the window the blackbirds as they came and discovered the new look, oh how they love spreading bark about! I promptly bought a leaf rake to be used before the lawn mower came out!

It is spring here, and a joy to wake in the mornings to the sounds of spring bird calls that are in abundance.

Spring there is Fall here.

Sad as Winter is too close behind the Fall weather.

There was another sad event that happened last Spring.

We were watching a Robin nesting in a tree-like bush outside our house at a height that we could enjoy watching it through one of our bedroom windows.

The sad thing was the day we discovered broken egg shells on the ground.

Something obviously got into the nest and ruined all the eggs. That Robin didn't have any babies last Spring.

Oh, how I wish that heaven will be somewhat like North Island forests (bush) and the birds and trees rule over that domain.
Our visits to New Zeland have all been in North Island, and I gotta say: if you like birds and nature, nothing compares to there.

Ikan, if you loved the North Island, then the South Island is Paradise.
I can say that, as I was born in the North Island, but have lived most of my life here in the south.

It's colder here of course, nearer the South Pole!

However, the bush is spectacular here, especially over on the West Coast. The trip through the pass to the coast, then down the coastline to Queenstown - you may have heard of that tourist resort, and Milford Sound, there is nothing in the whold of NZ to compare - just ask any American tourist!

This week I went on the bus trip up to the mountains to the hot pools. There are many pools to choose from of varing degrees of heat, mainly 36c, and go up to 42c - 2 hours of soaking and your whole body is so relaxed. As you lie in the pools you are surrounded by tall trees 50 ft high, and behind them the mountains. Very beautiful trip with the spring lambs and calves, the lovely new green willows, and the rolling hills.
As it was still the Australian school holidays there were a lot of families over enjoying.

With all that in mind, nothing can compare with the beauty we will behold when we see His face.

Daryl, it is always sad when we see the results of sin in the world, and the terrible destruction - yes, even to a birds nest. How the animal kingdom have to suffer in many ways because of man's pollution, or through neglect of pets.

I watched a programn on the Discovery channel this week, where a wife took the dog out into an industrial area and let it go - because if fouled up the small outside area of the highrise it was forced to live in. It was the husbands dog, but totally neglected, it's long hair matted. She let it go with a long rope attatched. Fortunately a neighbour saw her leave, and alerted the authorities, who came immediately and made her drive to where she had left it.The dog appeared, you could see the hurt in it's eyes of abandoment and bewilderment. Her excuse was she had no choice, but she did have, and paid a high price. And yes, the dog cleaned up and found a loving home.

Heaven is going to be a wonderful place, not just for rescued humans, but for the animal kingdom as well.

A faviourite bird of mine is the Silvereye. It's a tiny bird full of energy, and loves to come into gardens and look for insects in the bushes.

This colonist was self-introduced from Australia in the 1850's and in the years since has spread to most parts of the country. It adapted well to settlement and is common in home gardens as well as native forest, scrub and orchards. The silvereye forages for a wide variety of foods, takin, in addition to a natural diet of fruit, nectar and insects, handouts of bread and fat.
Here in NZ they are on the 3 main islands and many offshore and outlying islands.

To find out more about this bird, take a look at this site. If it doesn't work, then do a search of silvereye nz, and you will come up with many sites!

http://www.123.co.nz/tiri/Fauna/Silvereye.htm

Here is another native bird site that I have enjoyed looking at.
You will notice the Tui, feeding from a Kowhai tree, I mentioned that in my post on my recent trip to Auckland.

Both tree and bird surpurb. I thought my Kowhai wasn't going to flower this year, but it is later then the others, and the first flowers are now out and will be loaded in the coming weeks.

http://www.photo-trio.co.nz/rsp/silvereye.htm

p.s. I have tried doing a search on this site and it won't come up either way.
You can locate it by searching through silvereye nz, it's well worth the effort!

Click on Birds - enjoy!

Zita,

The link in your last post in search of the Tui doesn't seem to be working, therefore, I did a bird search using the link in your previous post and came up with this link:

http://www.123.co.nz/tiri/Fauna/Tui.htm

By the way, I enjoyed a small flock of robins joyfully playing in pairs this morning before leaving for Sabbath School and church. It was fun watching them chase each other, etc.

Try this:

http://www.photo-trio.co.nz/rsp/silverey.htm

That one works, John.