Trees were still the focus for this Sunday so I did not go too far but I did have a quick look through Hughes and Garran. As you can see from the photo at the head of this post I was able to photograph a male Gang-gang Cockatoo. He was not having a good morning, in that he had a fight with another male Gang-gang, in the most intense struggle I have witnessed between two Gang-gangs. I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
A Yellow Box from this morning
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 500, 16mm, f/13 and 1/100 SEC])
The sun whinging through the canopy on to a Blakely’s Red Gum
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM [ISO 200, 16mm, f/20 and 1/80 SEC])
This male Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum) was moving between two trees before he settled on a high branch in a redgum. While he was in that tree a male and female flew in from the east, possibly from Garran or Red Hill, with the female flying through but the male landed on the branch where the initial male was. The two males started squawking at each other but before I could get my camera in position they had launched at each other, claws first. They locked claws, while spinning down from the high branch, coming down through the lower foliage before they broke apart and the recent arrival was able to fly straight off to the west, while this male grabbed hold of a branch that was almost at my eye level. He steadied himself, climbed up that branch a little and flew to another tree. He moved around the branches in that tree calling with twisting wood sound that Gang-gangs make. At the same time as he was calling he would raise both his wings. He seemed to be calling in response to possibly two other Gang-gangs who were making a similar call. There was one to the west, which may have been the other male, and possibly another Gang-gang to the south. This male inspected a hollow in the second tree but there was no female around and he did not stay in this tree long but flew back to the first tree where he became a bit quieter.
The male Gang-gang Cockatoo at the end of its fall after the clash with the other male, this shot was taken at eye level to me so the bird was getting close to the ground before it grabbed the branch
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 241mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
He was continuously calling and raising his wings
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
He checked out a hollow in a gall but, unfortunately, I doubt this was a breeding hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/640 SEC])