Little bird in the big city


 
Situated as we are in the new Felt headquarters, we have a lovely view of the Avon river winding its way through Christchurch’s central business district. It was a lovely surprise this morning to spot a kingfisher keeping mindful watch over the water from a sunny spot in a nearby tree, and it inspired a spirited discussion in the office.

 
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A quick survey of the Felt team drew mentions of bellbirds in the suburbs, paradise ducks and swooping kererū in the CBD and even sightings of the glorious kōtuku couple who have moved in to the estuary.

It seems the Christchurch quakes and the resulting riverside red zones and urban wilderness have had an interesting silver lining: our native birds have wasted no time taking advantage of the emptying space – and they’re moving in. There’s even talk of a green corridor from city to sea, bringing our native birds back into the heart of the city – wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing to come out of all of this?

 
galleryWe’re all enjoying the beauty and hope our new neighbours are bringing to Christchurch, and it isn’t the only city welcoming back the birds. National Radio recently reported on the success of the Halo project in Hamilton, bringing the tui back to the gullies. Our Felt correspondents in the north (Jo’s mum and dad) live in a gully-side property in Hamilton and report tui staying for the breeding season these last couple of years. The dawn chorus, they say, is glorious!
 

Our native birds are a wonderful spark for creative minds, and the makers and artists of Felt have created some truly beautiful work inspired by these feathered muses. Search by the names of your favourite birds and see what lovely avian-inspired items appear.
 
KIWIANA TUI HANDPAINTED SILK SCARF by kiwisilks

2 thoughts on “Little bird in the big city

  1. I was walking around Nelson’s airport early Sunday morning and we spotted a lone Kingfisher in the estuary sitting on a branch above the water so it’s timely you have written this lovely article. Definitely a silver lining to hear that the native birds have swooped in on and have taken up residence in some of the earthquake damaged parts of CHCH.

  2. What a lovely little essay about native birds. Indeed Newzealanders are very lucky to have so many beautiful singing birds. I work part time from home (as it called), but in reality work from my garden under a big albizia (Persian silk) tree and every morning listen to wonderful songs of birds over my head. What a lovely place to work. Much better than in the office I guess.
    FSG LOuisa

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