Since I came to live in New Zealand 20 years ago, I’ve noticed a proliferation of tui in urban areas. In the mid-1990s it was rare to see a tui in a built-up suburb. Now wherever you walk in Auckland or Hamilton (or anywhere else I’m surmising) you hear the distinctive trills, croaks and squawks they make. One day a couple of weeks back I stood in a small copse of trees in the middle of a park and looking up I saw six tui. I managed to snap this photo before a dog came running down the path and they scattered. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds their tuneful presence a delight.