A few weeks ago I arranged to visit Pat from the North Shore as he is one of our most enthusiastic clients. Several months back he placed an order for a deluxe pole mounted  tui feeder and within a few days of receiving it he was on the phone telling me how well it was working.

“Rodney we’ve only had it on the fence for a few days and already the tui are treating it like a newly opened McDonald’s.” I knew from the excited tone of his voice that we had a convert and that ultimately the two of us would have to get together.

During our last telephone chat Pat mentioned that he was looking forward to this happening plus he had an idea to share.

I didn’t want to steal his thunder but was 95% sure that I already knew what he was thinking. As I had a few days up my sleeve I set about making up “our” idea. The day we agreed to meet was a Friday and I set off mid morning with “our” idea in a box on the back seat.

I’m not that familiar with the North Shore but with a little help from a recent hand me down GPS I reached Pat’s place within 45 minutes.

After he had introduced me to his lovely wife Diane I was directed to a nearby window from where I could see the tui visiting the feeder. Being attached to the top of fence just a few metres away meant I was able to enjoy a birds eye view of their comings and goings. Unlike at our property where the tui drop by every hour or so they were continually in the adjacent trees or on the feeder.

Its was truly amazing seeing so many tui touching down on the feeder for a quick snack and then taking off again. It was almost like a tui version of London’s Heathrow. After taking some photos and video I decided it was time to get the tui feeder from the car to see if Pat and I were thinking alike.

As I took it from the box he just smiled and commented …. “yep that’s pretty much what I had in mind”.

The idea of the two way feeder occurred to me about a year ago but it wasn’t until after I’d spoken to Pat that I became motivated to put a trial one together. This feeder allows tui and other birds to feed from either side whereas our other models only have access from the front. The other difference is that the bottle holder has sight holes on two sides.

It now hangs in a tree adjacent to our family room and was being frequented by the local tui within hours of it being set up. During the past week we’ve sold a Deluxe Two Way Tui Feeder and expect that it will be the first of many. Rather ironically the lady who placed the order is a friend of Pat and Diane.

As I’ve been so busy with orders of late I haven’t had time to list this new model in our “Garden Shop” on the web site but will do so shortly. If you would like to order one in the meantime please let me know via our contact page above.

Feeder now available as this page was re edited (14th October) … click here for more info.