The local sportsfield with a lake was closed so I went through a vacant lot to get in and had the whole place to myself. I saw the Cattle Egrets and they were verly flighty and didn't like me. I saw Australasian Grebes but all blurred shots and there was a Magpie struggling to get a big twig up a tree.
Today I saw Black Cockatoos for the first time in ages on my walk so I ran home and got the camera and was able to find them again.
Cattle Egret taking off
Magpie with nesting material
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo feeding on Hakea
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo in Radiata Pine tree
Enjoy!
Great photos owen. I love seeing black cockatoos. Unfortunately I havent seen one for many years. I have been seeing a lot of cattle egrets lately. Reason for this??
Great photos again.
Thanks Coee. I hadn't seen one in over half a year until today so you can imagine how happy I was to see them and get shots of them. Hopefully you run into a few soon.
The Cattle Egrets are doing well and it might be because of the wet summer making lots of new good waterways for these birds to breed well.
Cheers, Owen.
Great photos Owen!!Black Cockatoos are in decline , one reason could be the lack of dead trees, and old trees with hollows in general? (people seem to be obsessed removing dead trees)Those trees are deserately needed as they provide Cockatoos with oportunities to nest. I was very lucky last breeding season, we had a pair of bl. Cockatoos and 4 juveniles. They spent quite some time in a tree on our property.
M-L
Thanks Marie-Louise. They do need somewhere to nest if they're to do well so it's a pity people remove old trees with good hollows.
I love listening to them call in a group because they have their own conversations.
Cheers, Owen.
Well done and congrats! These photo's are gems!
Im lucky to live in a part of the country where I see all kinds of cockatoo's very often (they make the loudest sounds flying over my house) But it has also been a while since I have seen any Black ones.
So well done!!!! :)
From the stunning Yarra Vally Mountains!
Thanks SakerF. I only rarely see Black cockatoos in our area so I was lucky to get some shots of them. I haven't seen any white cockatoos in a while either.
Cheers, Owen.
Owen, I'm so sorry, it all depends where you live. Just today, I drove past a flock of sulfer crested cockatoos, at least 30 of them. In the Mainstreet of Gembrook on the side of the road. Out here most people would rather they'd go away, as they can be very destructive. ( LOL, the next town isn't called "Cockatoo" for nothing)
M-L
That's fine. I never have to travel far to see them. they're all over the farm and rural areas.
Cheers, Owen.
I just love yellow-tailed black cockatoos - I always run outside when I hear one
They do have great screaming calls Birdgirl. They also have little chats when they are in trees together.
Cheers, Owen.
Nice set of photos - in the almost two years we have been in this location we have only had black cockatoos visit once!
Jeanne
Brisbane QLD
I'd like to remove some pine trees near our house but they do provide food for the yellow-tailed black cockatoos. This species also feeds on Hakea & Banksia fruits on our property so I need to plant more of those before I remove the pines, I think.
And you're right about the removal of dead trees, Owen. So many valuable nesting places have been destroyed because people find dead trees unsightly or because they get in the road of vine & olive plantations.
Hi Woko,When I was talking about the dead trees, I wasn't talking about food, I was talking about the dead trees, and old trees parrots need to find "hollows" to build their nest in. Unless you can get them into nesting boxes, they desperately need those old trees.(I'm no expert on this, but a tree has to have a certain age, before they have hollows.I would love for someone to tell me , how old a tree has to be, to have hollows?) That's why we don't have a shortage of any kind of parrots where I live, the State Park next to us doesn't remove trees. The King Parrots I see, had 4 lots of babies last season, and have started now, if I'm correct? As I said before, I had black cockatoos breeding and raising 4 young.(there isn't a pine tree near anywhere)So, don't feel bad about cutting it down before it gets too big. M-L
M-L
Around 100 to 150 years Aramita :)
Thanks Holly, I hope everybody who removes a native tree will edge that in their memory! I's as if someone would destroy your house, and you would have to wait for a very long time before you could move into a new place, because most of them would be occupied by other birds already. Please , think before you cut down a tree!!!
M-L
Adrian Davis said that large hollows are not found on trees younger than 200 years. Medium hollows 140. Ok, exact numbers doesn't matter, hollows are pretty much a non-renewable resource in Australia (other countries have primary excavators like woodpeckers - but still). I really cannot understand why people would want to cut down great century-old indigenous forest without realising the enormous value they are sacrificing for something superficial as business, paper, space.
Great shots Owen! Particularly the one with the magpie and the nesting material. I'm jealous, I only saw one flock of Yellow-tailed Blacks once in my entire life living in my suburb. It was not too long ago too and you're right about their screaming calls and I did exactly what Birdgirl did when I heard them. Before then I've only heard their calls on the internet and are very distinguishable in real life.
Taz
Taz , I hate to be the one to tell you, words like: Greed, money, profit and exploitation are some that come to mind. That's why people cut down "old growth" forrest. (I took to the streets to demonstrate in the 60ties, and again, and again, has anything changed ? You tell me!)
M-L
Lovely shots Owen, and I too am addicted to the sound of Yellow tailed Blacks...and go running outside every time I hear their eerie screeching call !!!
I saw some close up in my friends garden recently....and all because they love pine cones !!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Calyptorhynchus funereus - I love how their latin name has the dark, sorrowful connotations. Their calls are fairly eerie though much more pleasant than the sulfur-crested's - my goodness they are awfully load when they have buffet time in the macadamia trees.
Araminta, though it is difficult to accept that you are totally right, I believe there is always hope. There has been small steps like alternative plantations, paper recycling...
But you are right, people continue to break their promises for their avaricious needs. And I know you know very well that's why we keep fighting :) no matter how long it has been
Taz
There was a few sulphur crested cockatoo nest in a old gum tree nearby. This year they are taking up residence in a different nesting site. I have a question: Do cockatoos use the same nest every year? I am not sure if they are the same ones from last year or not.
I hope one day the world will open their eyes to the destruction they are causing to these marvelous bird's home.
I'm not sure wether Cockatoos use the same nest year after year like BOP do because I have never seen them two years in a row at the same hollow.
Cheers, Owen.
Sorry, Araminta, I got a little off topic there in my enthusiasm about yellow-tailed black cockatoos. I agree that tree hollows are critical for their breeding & I understand that their hollow needs are rather specific: they like deep, vertical hollows so if anyone is thinking of erecting nest boxes for yellow-tailed black cockatoos they need to be long ones. Which reminds me. I must get into my shed & start making nest boxes to replace the tree hollows removed for vines & olive plantations near where I live.
With regard to my pine trees, I'd like to have more food available to the cockatoos via Hakeas & Banksias old enough to bear fruit before removing the pines otherwise the birds won't be as attracted to our property.
Great shots Owen......Love you Black Cockatoo shots especially. I have only seen one in the wild one day when I was loading in Gosford....Thanks for sharing mate.
*Your* was meant to be the word, I wish we could edit our posts...its a real pain at times. :)