First Kingfisher of Spring

First Kingfisher of Spring arrived on the second day of Spring. I am so pleased to see him as it has been a long dreary winter here in Auckland but this morning there he was sitting on my neighbors TV arial.

He was very patient and obliging and waited for  me to go and get my camera and to get it in focus. I had forgotten how to do it in my haste. Nice DOF quite by accident!

I love kingfishers every since I did ISpy as a child. We had little ISpy books and you got 50 points for seeing a kingfisher. They are rare in UK and I despaired of ever seeing one.

My husband asked me what I should like as a treat and I asked to see a kingfisher! He was lucky as one turned up by a watermill in Devon. I had my 50 points but joy of joy in Auckland you see lots of kingfishers admittedly not as many a you did as the great concreting and tree felling is still in progress but today there he was.

They are just so beautiful with that magnificent electric blue and their long pointy beaks.

Then in the afternoon I had an embarrassment of riches as two native pigeons came and made love in the plum tree just as I had my camera handy. These pigeons are HUGE! They are protected but they still end up on dinner plates up north. They can see off a cat. They like the seeds of my Wellingtonia palm.

So a good start to Spring.  Garden photos tomorrow.