Mr Sprog
Anyone looking for Kōwhai (#Sophora tetraptera?) flowers? Here are some.

I think the little hole at the top is from tauhou (#Zosterops) drilling in to get the nectar as their beaks are too short. Not sure. I’ve heard it happens but never seen it myself as my kōwhai is hard to see from the house.

#BloomScrolling #flowers #native #Aotearoa #iPhone
Oct 12 at 8:08pmWeb
Show threadJon SullivanOct 12

@stephen-ao Yes, I've seen tauhou and bumblebees both do that, sneaking the kōwhai nectar without get the pollen.

It's been a banner year for kōwhai flowering this year. Spectacular.

Show threadMr SprogOct 12
It’s been a fantastic year here in the Waikato for kōwhai flowers. Tūī have stayed around a lot longer than in previous years. I still need to get some good photos of them. I can hear them but not when I’ve got my camera in hand.
Show threadPhilipOct 12
@joncounts @stephen-ao Hearing it's been a big year for the flowers makes me think my trees really are not doing well. No where near as full as the other trees I've seen in the neighbourhood :/
Just hate to take out natives. Have only seen 1 or 2 tauhou this year though. Not sure if the sparrows are scaring them away (they're dominating the flowers) or if tauhou are just waiting for the feijoa. (or maybe the cats got some :( )
Show threadMr SprogOct 12
My tree which I planted about 3 years ago is pretty small. I wonder if I’ve done something wrong. Do you have insects eating it? My other concern is glyphosate which I haven’t been using. In fact, I have it on my list to hand weed today.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/kowhai/grow-and-care-for-kowhai/
Grow and care for kōwhai

How to grow kōwhai, get the best results for your planting and protect them from pests.

Show threadDr. Curiosity 💻🔬Oct 12
@stephen-ao I just discovered that we have a kōwhai in the last few weeks :-)