Unexpected tūī spotted in Christchurch cause for beer and chips

Friday, 24 April 2020

There are generally no tūī in Christchurch, but one has been filmed enjoying a feeder in the hillside suburb of Mt Pleasant. (Video first published April 2020)

A rare Christchurch tūī sighting was 'better than TV' for the Mt Pleasant residents lucky enough to lay eyes on it.

Though the beautiful song of the native tūī is common through much of New Zealand, there has not been an established population in the Garden City for decades.

Emma Bedford was amazed to see the nectar eater feeding from the sugar water in her bird feeder on Tuesday afternoon.

A tui has been spotted using a feeder at Mt Pleasant in Christchurch. There have not been established populations of tui in the garden city for decades.

She said she heard the bird as she was making dinner, at first thinking it was a funny sounding bellbird.

* From gorse-infested pasture to lush native bush**

The tūī ended up hanging around for a few hours, flitting between the kowhai tree, leading to Bedford and her neighbours having some socially distant chips and beer on the lawn as they watched the unusual visitor.

Bedford said it was 'better than TV'. Her neighbour had lived in Mt Pleasant for 20 years and never seen a tūī there, she said.

Emma Bedford saw the tui on Tuesday afternoon, feeding from the sugar water in her bird feeder.

Bedford said she had seen the tūī again since it first appeared. She wasn't not convinced it dropped in because things were quieter due to coronavirus restrictions, but thought it could have been noticed because people had more time to sit around and take in what was happening.

There have been efforts made to re-establish tūī in the wider Christchurch area: in 2009 and 2010, 72 tūī were released at Hinewai Reserve near Akaroa. The population has established and there are now regular sightings in Akaroa and Little River.

Emma Bedford heard the bird as she was making dinner.

Laura Molles, an ecologist who volunteers for the Banks Peninsula Tūī Restoration Group, said they had occasional reports of tūī in Christchurch every year – though they sometimes turn out to be bellbirds.

The birds tend to roam around at this time of year, looking for food.

One was seen in Huntsbury in November 2018, and there have been sightings in Lyttelton in the last few years.

Molles said it was wonderful Bedford got a photo of the bird, and encouraged others who think they have seen or heard a tūī to take photos or audio recordings and report it to the group.

The tūī was unbanded. Molles said there was no way to know if it was the offspring of the Akaroa population or whether it had been blown into the area from somewhere else.

At this time of year, tūī tended to roam around looking for food. Molles said it could settle there but it was unlikely, especially if there was only one.

She said she hoped that with more pest control, the birds would be able to become established at this end of the peninsula.