Mapua has a famous association with the heron called Hamish who visited Mapua for 15 years until he passed away.  In 2024 a new heron has arrived - Hamish 2 or you decide what this beautiful bird will be called when you take him/her home!!
 
From Virginia: Another work celebrating the leggy, beaky birds of the Inlet.  The beautiful kotuku is a rare and solitary bird. You'll only see it by itself, unless it is mating season. And you might see it in quite odd places.  This work depicts the kotuku/white heron just by itself, enjoying its own company via its reflection in the water. It's perched on an odd looking log, to reference the weird places you find them, but mostly because I wanted to paint the feet!I adore painting shore birds, capturing the essence of an ordinary day on the Inlet, with the wildlife, the tides and the light all working in harmony as it does in nature.