The Baudin's (Long-billed Black Cockatoo) holds the large Marri nuts in
a notch in its lower mandible, winkles the seed out with its long upper bill
inside the nut and its tongue against it. A Western Corella,( its mates were
feeding on the ground nearby), was loosening the seed inside the gumnut with
the tip of its long upper mandible, then throwing its head back as if
tossing down a tot of rum, so the seed went down its throat The
Short-billed (Carnaby's) Black Cockatoo was feeding on smaller gumnuts,
possibly buds, crushing them and "licking" up the contents.
Four Baudins were approachable to about ten metres as they fed in a
tree beside the creek about 500m downstream from the road below Wungong Dam,
over from an old house site, and probably two hundred roosted in the
eucalypts above the road on the north side below the dam in the evening.
The Western Corellas were feeding in a paddock adjacent to a farmhouse
on the east side of and about 11km up a graded road off Muir's Highway,
north of the "lake", a couple km or so east of the turnoff to the road to
Walpole, and signposted to an Angus Stud. A couple of the Corella were
scoped feeding on large Marri nuts in a roadside tree. There were about 50
in the flock.
Two Carnaby's were scoped in a roadside tree on a graded road going
back to Muirs Hwy. just west of the "Corella" rd. We stopped at a tree with
many fallen nuts and leaves beneath it on the road, the Carnaby's were
feeding on relatively small buds of an adjacent tree whose canopy
overlapped.
Michael Hunter
Mulgoa Valley
50km west of Sydney Harbour Bridge
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