On arrival at Motuara Island I looked at the path ahead and it was all uphill. I headed off knowing that I was not going to get very far before I had to stop, so was on the lookout for a spot to set myself up in to wait for the birds to come to me instead of my trying to track them down. 
Thankfully a short way up the track there was a small timber ‘grandstand’ for want of a better word. It had obviously been built for people to sit on to observe the birds as they visited the small pool of water right next to it. I sat myself down with no intention of leaving this spot until it was time to go back to the boat. 
I wasn’t alone, the seating soon filled up and excitement grew as what looked to be a saddleback was bouncing around in the nearby branches. We must have looked like a bank of paparazzi at a football game to the birds, several big lenses all lined up pointed at the pool ready to fire. 
Before long it became apparent that it was a juvenile saddleback and it was very keen to get to the pool of water, so after backing off for a bit when everyone arrived, it slowly made its way down for a quick bath. 
The birds there must be used to people being close to them because we watched several different birds taking a bath in the short time we were there. Watch the next couple of blog entries to see just who and what they were.