While I was waiting for David to collect me at the end of the Kaikoura Coastal Walk I spotted a black fantail (piwakawaka). We’ve seen a few black fantails on our travels but most of them haven’t stayed still long enough for me to take some shots. This one was doing a little circuit of the bushes beside the walkway so I knew if I stayed still long enough he’d come back round and stop for a few moments before launching himself up into the air again chasing bugs & flies that were flying around in the late afternoon sun.
Black morph fantails are very rare in the North Island but make up about 5% of the South Island population. For readers who are unaware of the usual fantail colouring here is one I prepared earlier
I took this one in Napier last year.
And here is Kaikoura’s black fantail
