Australian Birds

OMG, Hel. That's an awful lot of rain. The eastern states really seem to be in a constant state of feast or famine.

I know what you mean about birdsitting and it becoming permanent.

Hi Marg, I'm sure it is permanent.

Well, it looks as if they enjoy each others company.

It's only early day's.

Their beautiful Cockatoo's Hel!

hel, it looks as if it has been digging in the dirt. The Corellas and Pink & Greys that visit here are sometimes so filthy and caked in mud that it's hard to tell what type of bird they are.

Yes, old Cocko has a hollow log in her cage and she spends a lot of time in there digging with a rock till it is smooth and warn away then she find's another, she has worn away the bottom of the log.
Cocko getting a bath.

Oh what a wonderful picture. "Just going out to wash the cocky, dear".

Does your DH have a hard time, to bath Cocko? Does it try to bite?

No Burn he can do anything with her but hates everyone else.

DH or Cocko hates everyone?

Cocko, silly!!

hee. well if it were MY DH…

*snicker*

LOL

That is sweet!

Love your site hel....I will have to photograph some of the birds that we have here...mind you being in a new estate the birds mainly sit on the antennas...had a Kooka on ours a couple of days ago....plenty of black Cockies, Parrots and Galahs fly over..I love your Brush Turkeys...they must be characters....
Great shots Margaret.
Victoria is finally getting it's Spring rain.

Dianne

Hi Guy's, They certainly are characters. I miss them all, we moved last July from Coffs to Alstonville (between Ballina & Lismore) I identified over 60 birds in the 12 years we were there but I might add we were in an area with no neighbours and big gum & eucalypt trees. Sad to say we don't have that many bird's here. At least I have my pics to look back on.
This pic is of our previous home which the new owners absolutely love.

I don't blame them, hel. It looks absolutely beautiful.

It sure was Marg, this was our driveway.

I can imagine what the bird life must have been like. What a fabulous place. It must have been difficult to move. Did you get Lyrebirds there?

Hel , That's a gorgeous sight, I can see why, it would of been as nice for the birds. Hope those new owners appreciates it as much as you did.

What a wonderful place to have lived for a dozen years... I will bet that you will be turning your new home into as much of a paradise as you can and the birds will feel welcome there too.

Stunning photos of the birds Hel, Margaret and Seachanger. Thank You for sharing. I remember the Magpies being more than a little protective of their nests. I'd make a wide path around any tree they were nesting in. My cousins had a pet Magpie that used to peck my toes...I was afraid of that bird because I couldn't get away from it..lol.

I had forgotten how gorgeous the birds are in Australia, at least it has been long enough that your pictures showing the incredible colors startled me a little.

My Mum was from Toodyay, WA and my sister married and lives just outside of Perth. I remember what my Nanna called 28's, always in a mob, large birds and they loved to raid her fruit trees.

Would you know what kind of bird I'm talking about?

Thanks again for a wonderful thread. Hel the home you left is beautiful, how lovely to have lived there with your feathered friends. Your husband with his cocky is darling.

This message was edited Nov 25, 2009 1:44 AM

KJ, your recollection of Australian Magpies during the breeding season is very accurate. Lots of people feed the maggies and they recognize the people who feed them and these people are safe from attack. Some families of Magpies who have possibly not been tormented, especially by schoolkids, remain very placid, even during the breeding season. The family in our territory is like that. Posties on their little motorbikes seem to be fair game and I'm sure they don't go around persecuting Magpies.

Toodyay is the most beautiful little town. If it wasn't for the fact that it's inland and hideously hot in summer, I'd move there in a heartbeat.

Port Lincoln Ringnecks are the 28's you refer to and are still called 28's. They are one of my all time favourite birds. There was a small mob of about 6 or 7 flying from tree to tree in our yard this morning.

I'll post some shots I took last year. These ones were in a peppermint tree.

Closer shot.

Cropped shot.

I hope these photos have brought back some nice memories. (Forget about your toes being pecked)

WOW !! What beautiful birds ......I have enjoyed the company of my Umbrella Cockatoo, Cookie, since 1987 - she is great - loveable and talks very well.

I have been a volunteer at the Evansville IN, USA, Zoo since the late 60's.....we have an area that has Australian animals. My husband has learned to play the didgeredoo and plays it for the zoo visitors in the area. He really enjoys doing that and talking about the didge......it is quite uncommon to see/hear one here.

jrw, that's a long time to be doing volunteer work. Obviously very rewarding. Who taught your husband the didgeridoo? They are very difficult to master. I'm not familiar with the Umbrella Cockatoo. Does it have another name?

Great shots Margaret! Their such a handsome bird!

Thank you, Pelle. They really are very special.

Margaret K - yes, I loved doing the volunteer work....I presented programs to area schools and public television stations....I have soooooo many funny memories....my own version of animal bloopers. I also oraginized both an adult and teen docent program at the zoo -since I was one of 3 people who went to schools and did on ground programs, we could not meet the demand. I also served on the board of directors and raised a lot of $$$ for zoo projects...renovations and new exhibits.....many millions - guess I did pretty well...eh

As for the didgeridoo, he is self taught - between videos on youtube.com and utter persistance, he did it....goodness, in the beginning, he'd go through a set and then asked me "How was that?" My stock reply was "Not a bad as yesterday." He now includes that in his presentation. A few weeks ago, a fellow came up to him and told him that he was the first person who "does it correctly" Of course, Mike, my hubby, was thrilled !! The fellow then went to his car and came back with HIS didge....he then told Mike that he'd spent many years in Australia, near Perth most of the time. He learned the technique from the players while he was there.

The Umbrella Cockatoo is also called the White Cockatoo - in the USA, other than in the zoo world, I've only heard it called the Umbrella....check Wipikedia.com for great pictures and info. They have the "backward crest" that is all white rather than the forward yellow crest similar to a cockatiel. I love my birds !! I don't have any digital pictures of her on my PC - better do that !!...........jan

Wow, Margaret, those are gorgeous shots!!

Thank You so much Margaret for the fantastic photos of my dear 28's. They are so beautiful. In those days, 1959, they had very large groups that lived around Toodyay. I saw many wonderful animals. Once a group of Big Reds came thumping past me in the gum forest. What a thrill that was. What a sound they made from a distance, I froze not knowing what made such a sound.

I'm happy to hear Toodyay has retained it's unique character. I have many happy memories of my time living there. At that time it looked just like any town in an American western movie, complete with board sidewalks. Wonderful place. The roads were red dirt, unpaved at that time.

We need a forum of Australian reptiles, lizards etc. I was in heaven with the Bobbies!

If I were to visit I don't think I'd leave. I loved it, such a wild, beautiful place.

About the heat, 120 in the shade. Heat that made you prostrate or sent you loaded in the back of the Ute to the billabong. We would share it with the black and gray racehorse iguanas. Wonderful memories.

Thanks again.

Oh, another question if you don't mind. What bird is a Gallah? I believe there were a lot of them around as well..at least that's a memory I have, talk of Gallahs. I looked on the internet and there were lot's of names of birds, pink and grey being one. Are they all the same bird?

This message was edited Nov 25, 2009 4:00 PM

This message was edited Nov 25, 2009 4:17 PM

It's a beautiful parrot jrwbirds, your Umbrella Cockatoo.
We didn't recognize it because it's an Indonesian cockatoo..
from the islands north of Australia.

Galahs are such gregarious birds KJane..No wonder they stayed in your memory.
They are like rabbits they are everywhere....you are correct they are a very pretty pink and grey.
And that is their only colour....hel has a photo of them near the top of this thread...
I love the photo of the 28's in the Peppermint Gum....Margaret.






This message was edited Nov 26, 2009 7:29 PM

Thanks, Seachanger.

KJ, here are a few shots of the Pink & Grey Galahs. They are beautiful, friendly birds. At the moment we have probably six or seven pairs coming for supplementary feeds of black sunflower seed. I heard some babies close by yesterday. The racket when a whole mob of babies turn up is hilarious. They sound just like human babies crying and sometimes there will be several lined up along the front fence pleading to be fed. It seems that aunts and uncles will feed any random begging baby as well as there own. The come and tap on the door with their beaks to let us know they're there - not that you could miss them. We've had one particular couple, Mr and Mrs One Eye (the male has lost his left eye) for at least twenty years.

This is an adult female, distinguishable by the reddish eye.

Here's a close shot of an adult female.

Here's a male. Note the dark eye.

Along with the Long-billed and Little Corellas, the Pink & Greys will walk along digging in the grass for who knows what. At times all three species of bird will be so filthy dirty from the digging, they're almost unrecognizable.

And to finish, here's a really young bird walking along with its crest up. Their colouration is much paler, with considerable variation in the amount of grey.