Some birds have characters that shine through. They do not just appear in the landscape, they liven it up. You cannot help but feel there are emotions and thoughts there deeper than normally ascribed to birds. To me, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos are just such a bird. I stopped to watch six of them go about their lives on Red Hill Nature Reserve. They each had their own lives, they were so absorbing to watch. I heard their cry from a distance, fortunately they were in an area near where my path was heading. It was just such a beautiful way to start a Saturday. I hope you enjoy the pictures below.
Trees on a south facing slope
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 18mm, f/18 and 1/60 SEC])
Dead and living saplings together on Red Hill
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 24mm, f/22 and 1/25 SEC])
The first birds I came across were two Galahs (Eolophus roseicapillus). One was spending its time in a tree hollow, chewing the wood inside. The other bird stayed on branches higher up the tree. The second bird did not try to move to the hollow, it stayed essentially where it was, often preening itself.
A Galah chewing around a tree hollow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/320 SEC])
A group of four Australian King-Parrots (Alisterus scapularis) flew into a small tree near where the Galahs were. They appeared to be eating the seeds on the tree.
A female Australian King-parrot
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/7.1 and 1/320 SEC])
I heard the call of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) but I was not sure where they were. After walking on further, I saw a black bird on the ground on the southern slope just below the summit, thinking it was a raven until I again heard the unmistakeable call of this delightful bird. I counted six birds, with most starting on the ground. There were two birds on the ground making a constant rasping, pleading sound. I do not know if they were young birds but I did not see any interaction with them from the other birds. At least two birds sounded like they were squabbling on the ground, with another bird, second photograph below, often making a call in response to their squabbling. That bird was enjoying stripping bark from the tree. It climbed up one small sampling, attacking the wood at the start of its journey. One of the birds appeared to have white patches near the yellow on the cheeks. The white patches appeared to have the shafts of the feathers obviously crossing them. One of the birds was eating something with a yellow flesh. The bird, with a yellow goo covering its tongue, was holding the food like a banana but the substance would have been too small to be that fruit. After a little while the birds flew to a nearby tree where one bird took control of a shallow hollow. It would occasionally call out or its beak would make a loud sound as it was dragged across the wood. On a couple of occasions another bird came from above in an apparent effort to dislodge the bird. I am not sure if the aggressor bird was the same on both occasions; or if these were the two birds which had been squabbling on the ground. After about five minutes the birds flew off to the west, where some of them were again in low trees on the southern side of the water tank on the saddle. As I approached they flew further west down the northern side of the summit ridge. They were such an enjoyable interlude to the morning.
The group started with several members on the ground
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/100 SEC])
Others were in small trees using their strong beaks to good effect
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/60 SEC])
One of them appeared to have some feather issues below its eyes
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/60 SEC])
One of the birds found something to eat, which almost looked like a very hard banana
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/60 SEC])
The six birds then flew to a tree, where some arguments were develping
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/640 SEC])
The disagreements became worse
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/640 SEC])
Everything seemed fine in the end
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/6.3 and 1/1000 SEC])
There are always Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) on Red Hill but I liked this photograph for the way it showed the kangaroo’s tongue as it was chewing away happily.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 214mm, f/6.3 and 1/320 SEC])
I also came across this Laetiporus portentosus on the north side of one of the trees along the Federal Golf Club. The fungus was about 1.5 metres off the ground and about 20 cm across.
Laetiporus portentosus attached to a tree at the Federal Golf Club
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/50 SEC])