I can't even remember for how long I have waited for the moment to get a photo of a Gang Gang?( Last year some landed in my garden). Well, my lucky day has arrived, here is one:
and one of these was posing for me:
...what a gorgeous head he has
enjoy, M-L
Wow, you are so lucky! :o
Beautiful shot of Mr. Gang-gang, that brilliant red head of his and love how the white-rimmed grey feathers came out in that photo!
The cormorant photos are majestic. Beautifully captured the pose and the detail of those glossy wet feathers!
Great shots M-L!
Taz
Wow! I have never seen a gang gang in the wild. Lovely sharp photos as always
That Gang Gang is superb! I hardly ever see them any more and you should be proud to call that shot your own.
Cheers, Owen.
Gang Gang fantastic Araminta
Neil
I have still never seen one in the wild, so nice to see such a good photo of one. Thanks.
Meave
I have had some every night now, they fly in and sit high up in the trees. Used to be only two at the time, and they never came down.( Not true, last year they came to have a drink as well.) Came back tonight, but not for a drink , there is no water left in our little dam.Hope they will come more often now. It's strange, how you get one kind of bird one year, but not the next. Last year we had Black Cockatoos with their young in our trees, none this year. We take it as it comes.LOL M-L
M-L
OMG Soooooo jealous!!! Great photos Araminta! ^_^
If I remember rightly a number of folk have posted about the low gang gang cockatoo numbers. Is this a general consensus (I suppose a consensus would have to be general in order to be a consensus)? If so, are there any ideas about why. And does this reduction in numbers apply across their entire range or is it a feature of a particular area or areas.
Hi Woko, you do remember rightly, I posted about it, I talked to a farmer here in Gembrook, he told me, about 30 years ago Gang Gangs and Black Cockatoos used to follow his tractor in large numbers when he worked his fields. They considered them as being a "pest". I have lived here for 20 years, and I have seen them in very small numbers. Just lately the numbers have increased. They mostly stay high in the tree tops, and hardly ever come down. What one would call a flock, now is not more than 5-6. Where we live is mainly potato growing area now, that would not what they eat. I am very intersted in other observations!! M-L
M-L
Yes, I do recall your posting on this, Araminta. (And a very good posting it was, too.) I'd be most interested to learn if this increase in gang gang cockatoo numbers is temporary or the beginning of a trend.
Any thoughts on why the temporary, at least, increase in numbers? Anything to do with after-fire regeneration/rejuvenation, perhaps?
To answer your question Woko, we would have to know a lot more about the range of territory Gang Gangs travel in. I do get the impression, when they come to my place late afternoon and sit for a while high up in the Gumtrees ,they are coming here to roost for the night. This is not where they feed during the day. I have never seen them during the day. And I only have seen them come down to drink twice. So it might depend on, how far they travel, and from where? I don’t think much has changed as far as the vegetation goes around here. (except for some stupid people slashing) Nevertheless this year there has been a minimal increase in numbers. On the other hand, last year we had at least 5 pairs of Bronze wings on the property, this summer there is only one. What happened to the rest? Nothing has changed around here. I would love to find out, if some research has be done, I would love to read it. I think some research into the effect the fires had on vegetation and wildlife has been done, I would be interested in that . Alison is always very good, finding out about results of research. M-L
M-L
OK now I am officially jealous of your garden and surrounds M-L
Beautiful stuff with all those shots and the Gang Gang..... well...what can I say...you are so lucky and it is so beautiful
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Don't be jealous, because you and I both know, there is beauty in nature everywhere you look. You just have to listen with your heart and open your mind, we are surrounged by it. It's the way you see things that makes the difference. That is, what makes life worth living. My garden is just like any other garden. M-L
M-L
Yes, it's complicated, Araminta, as I think you're implying. Perhaps there's a high degree of randomness in it all & maybe I'm looking for explanations where there are none. It doesn't stop me wondering, however.
This is not research just my observations (but I will have a look into this), the times I had Gang-Gangs at my Emerald property was when the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata) and Blackwood wattle (Acacia melanoxyl) were in seed and they would stay until the trees were virtually stripped. Both silver wattles and a stand of six Banksia spinulosa died over a period of roughly 4 years and I rarely saw them after that. I know Bansksia and wattle regenerate after fire so maybe that could be why the G-G have returned.
Alison
~~~~~~
"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."
Ah, hah! You might be on to something there, qyn.
HOw strange Woko, I just got the email notification for your comment from 4/12/2012. That is weird :)
I was reading the other day that in WA they are in danger of losing many of their Red Tail Black cockies and I think the Carnabies too as a result of clearing of pine plantations and loss of habitat as the city spreads..... it is a sad state of affairs , but I would say that they will definitely follow their food source and leave when it is finished, surely .
Sunshine Coast Queensland
That's the strongest hippo...hypothet....hypothesis (that's so difficult to type!), I think, birdie. The next step is to work out what brings about the change in food availability. Fire & rain are 2 factors.
In the case of the WA cockatoos I'm wondering where they'll go once their food source has expired. Into extinction, possibly, unless they can quickly adapt to another food source.
FYI :)
http://www.sciencewa.net.au/3786-perth-slowly-devouring-its-black-cockatoo-species.html
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Thanks so much for the link birdie, everyone should read this, most of all local governments and those who give the permits to developers to cut down anything (everything mostly). The comments following the article are very interesting to read. M-L
M-L
Yes M-L ... I was shocked to read this. I used to live in the hills where Jarrah and Redgum surrounded us. Each year the Red tailed Black ( not sure if they were any special kind) used to come and feast on the gumnuts ..they were a bit destructive but nothing compared to what land clearance does. I just took it for granted that there were heaps of them. Obviously so did the rest of the population It is hard to believe that the powers that be have let things get this bad I agree.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
It’s very sad what we consider these days as “a flock”. I just came back from doing my shopping, when a flock(?) of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos noisily dropped into a paddock next to the road. I turned the car and took some photos. I suppose there weren’t more than 40 birds, but it seemed a lot to me. I had 4 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos in my trees yesterday,(sad really, there should be hundreds), and at night about 30 Crimson Rosellas have chosen one of my trees to roost over night. Then we feel, o isn’t this great. No it’s not, there should be more of them. Birdie, as for the “Powers” that make decisions what is done to nature, those powers are only allowed to do what they do, because we (me and you and everyone else gave it to them), let them get away with destroying nature. How did all of us let it get to that point? When people say, it’s 5 minutes to 12 o’clock, for large parts of nature it’s been 5 minutes past 12 o’clock.
When I drive past these huge developments and read signs close to where I shop, I don’t know should I laugh or cry? On one of them there is one lone tree left, the enormous sign reads: " Live close to nature". Look around , where has it gone? There is no nature left, 400 houses will be build! They all will buy a 4X4 and dirt bikes, to come to the State Park next to where we live, to wreck the walking tracks and destroy the last bit of bush. I better stop now, shut up and go back to my kitchen. M-L
M-L
It's all very anger-provoking. We have a local developer who replaces eucalypts with plane trees & other ferals. Their promotion material features a small flock of rainbow lorikeets. What an absolute farce!
This week there was an article in the local paper (Berwick Leader), "Crackdown on people taking native birds from natural habitat". It tells us, that at the moment there are many Gang Gangs in our area, and that they are easy to catch while feeding on the ground. They go on saying that many birds are taken, put in cages and sold as pet, and that they will die in captivity. There are high fines of up to $30 000, or 24 months imprisonment, if caught. Ther obviously is a market for them,how tragic. M-L
M-L
Why do they have to add this bit "they are easy to catch while feeding on the ground" as that will just encourage some idiot who would not have thought of doing this to try it. I can only hope Gang Gang's have the usual cockatoo biting ability and those same people are then easily identified by their missing fingers. My blood is boiling right now from both Birdie's link and the content of M-L's local paper I'd better stop posting for a while.
Alison
~~~~~~
"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."
Unfortunately & represhensibly, the media collude quite a lot in all sorts of activities, including the capture of gang gang cockatoos. If ever there was an encouragement to arsonists it's the media's reporting of bushfires. Still, anything that makes a profit is fair game, I suppose.
I agree with both of you, living in one of the highest fire danger area,every summer I think, I would like them to stop declaring total fire ban days, for that reason. I hate to say it "the energency radio stations" are doing a very good job at hyping up the arsonist, by reporting and sesationalsing . Take my word, any hot and dry day is the same, but on the days declared dangerous, you will get the idiots out, lighting fires.
Alison, I thought the same as you, if I would ever had the idea of catching a wild bird, the press telling me hw easy it is, would encourage me.M-L
M-L
Sorry good people, I must have been shlightly shickered when I typed represhensibly instead of reprehensibly.
Araminta, you make a very good argument for not declaring total fire ban days. That there are such declarations makes me wonder what view, justified or not, the authorities have of Australians' commonsense.
If total fire bans are to be declared I find it strange indeed that on hot days in SA there's not a total fire ban everywhere, not just in certain areas.
Just some good news about the Gang Gangs, I just talked to a neighbour in my street,( I dobbed in some people that were clearing more trees and native vegetation,)when she told me,a pair of Gang Gangs and a young come in every nightto have a drink at ger birdbath. Great news. Unfortunately she didn't ask me to come over to take some photos. I should ask, but asyou all know, I'm a very shy person. I will work on it, M-L
M-L