We had a lot of enjoyment as Piwak Tahi and Rua built their nest below our deck. It wa in an easily observed place. Through the hatching period and early chick raising both parents were sitting on the eggs and feeding the chicks until the male,
Tahi disappeared. Then it was all up to
Rua. She really worked hard keeping the remaining chick
Tama warm and fed. One night and not far from fledging
Tama fell out of the nest. We found it alive and below the nest. Put it back and
Rua carried on as if nothing had happened. Feeding, feeding and dodging the aggressive Tui.
Tama was quite developed and sitting on the edge of the nest waiting for food. A friend managed some great photos. Sadly the next day we found
Tama dead in the nest. It is such a hard life for small creatures.
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| Tama |
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| Rua feeding Tama |
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| Rua feeding Tama |
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| Tahi sitting on eggs. The nest is mostly constructed of Alaskan Yellow Cedar shavings from my boat building |
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| A worn out Rua |
