Going Places - Butterfly Creek

One of the most picturesque places I've visited this summer is Butterfly Creek. It's a real gem hidden in the hills above Eastbourne, a suburb on the other side of Wellington Harbour. Like all these places I've been to, this place has been on my list for ages, mainly because of some tiny birds, Riflemen!

The walk seem to be used quite regularly, we came across several people, and there is a lovely picnic area at the end of the walk, it would be a spectacular place to camp. The main reason I wanted to go was because Zealandia had just announced that sadly they won't be introducing any Rifleman to the sanctuary this year because of low population numbers in the area they were going to be transferring the birds from. I was quite disappointed because these birds clearly could use a nice safe predator proof fence, I really hope these birds make it Zealandia some day, they would be a wonderful addition to the existing birdlife.

I was lucky enough to see quite a few of these tiny birds, and some bonus birds, like Tomtits! There were countless Fantails, a lot of Tui and some Kereru as well. I didn't take that many photos, but here are the best of the ones I got. Bear in mind these birds are tiny and far away. so they're not the best pics!