It’s a glorious spring day, so I walked up to the Village by way of Fairview Rd. Dozens of tui, flitting from tree to tree, their song echoing all around. Sublime.
One resident of the street told me that “The tui start at 5am.” “But I don’t mind it at all”, she added. Who would?
It would be selfish of me not to share one of Mt Eden’s best kept secrets. For a few weeks every year, Fairview Rd is resplendent in blossom and the Tui flock to feast on it by the dozen.
We went for a walk this morning down Fairview Rd, as the blossom on some trees is already out, and is threatening to bloom on the others.
The Tui have started to return for their annual extended picnic. Even at this point we counted getting on to twenty birds and could hear their happy song and deep-throated gurgling all around.
By the weekend it should be possible to stand under a single pink cloud of blossom and glory in the sight and song of upwards a dozen birds. On a fine day it makes for a special spring spectacle, and can be combined with a coffee at Altar, just a few steps up Mt Eden Rd.
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