I was able to get out for my usual walk around Red Hill Nature Reserve on the morning of Saturday, 2 March 2019. After my days of looking at the Superb Parrots and water birds I decided to see what I could find by heading to a different part of Red Hill. The hill was very dry, with the vegetation showing how a good soak of rain is really needed. Because of the lack of water there did not appear to be much birdlife around. The large Sulphur-crested Cockatoos were dominating the Federal Golf Club with its sprinkler system. However, I was so excited to see the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos on Red Hill as they are not regular visitors to the hill. It was another lovely Saturday morning on Red Hill, I hope you enjoy looking at the photos below as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) were the dominant birdlife at the Federal Golf Club. They were on the greens, the fairways, the plants, everywhere, especially the trees. I heard them well before I saw them. I noticed the two below rubbing their beaks together. Sometimes, they would appear to screech at each other. It was interesting behaviour to watch. It was not mutual preening and I wondered if it was connected with their ever-growing beaks and may be this is one way they obtained relief.
I was happy to see a pair of Gang-gang Cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum), although I could not see any young birds with them. Both birds were doing their morning preening.
Towards the end of my walk I saw what I thought was a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in heavy shadow on a branch but when I had a better look I realised it was in fact a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus). I then counted four more. They were in a eucalyptus tree. I think some of them were juvenile birds. One bird was making their almost primeval call that I hear so regularly in the morning at a different location. These are not common birds on Red Hill so it was great to see them. They were moving around on the branches near the trunk before they flew off to the east.
This male Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) was in its resting scrape. It looked like it had improved an eroded area. There were a number of scrapes around it so I suspect this was an area the kangaroos used for resting. As the photograph shows this spot did not receive much early morning sun but may have received more afternoon direct sun. Normally kangaroos dig these scrapes to remove the hot upper soil to then rest on the cooler soil below.
Just a bit on from the kangaroo pictured above, I looked to the south of the trail I was on and there was a European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) resting on a burnt, fallen down tree, appearing to soak up the morning sun. It saw me before I saw it. The sun hitting the red of the fur drew my attention because of this sudden contrast in the colour with the black log. I was able to kneel down so as to steady myself before I took the shot below but when I unbuckled my camera pack the fox decided to go, not flee, but in a controlled way it climbed down from the tree before disappearing behind it. I am not sure if its den was nearby but I was interested in the fox being so close to an area where there appeared to be many kangaroos resting. The kangaroo above had been looking intently at something in some of the photographs I have and I wondered if it had seen the fox. A fox is not a threat to an adult kangaroo but it may be able to go after a young joey or a kangaroo may mistake it for a domestic dog, which often seem to chase kangaroos on Red Hill.