Lake Hayes was the location for last week’s Great Crested Grebes and is also home to a good population of introduced passerines. While numerous they are quite skittish, presumably because the lake is a popular destination for picnics and dog walkers. This makes photographing them well difficult so I was pleased to get a few images of this naive fledgling.

Song Thrush were introduced to New Zealand from England from 1867 and are now widespread. They are considered largely neutral in their impact on native bird species. This post is simply an excuse to share some holiday season bird cuteness and reward the arachnophobes for their tolerance.

Photos with Nikon D850 and Nikkor 500mm f5.6PF lens