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Hi All
The weather has cooled significantly in Sydney and
here in Sans Souci, by Botany Bay we're experiencing nice, steady
rain. With this change the numbers of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo have
swollen from around the dozen or so regulars to 30 or more today constantly
screeching and whirling around the eucalypts and pines in the area.
I'd appreciate any help with the history here, but
as far as I am aware, our regulars are part of a flock of around 2 dozen or
so which frequented the Hacking River valley from Waterfall to Audley since
Black Cockies frequented anywhere and, after the fires which turned the Royal
National Park into a total moonscape in the early 1990's these gorgeous
birds moved across to the southern suburbs of Sydney, at least by day, in search
of feed. It seems that some have made the daily trip to Sans Souci (and
sometimes around Sydney Airport and even across to Maroubra at times) a feature
of their lives but where they go to at night, I am not yet sure. I plan to give
chase in the near future in an effort to find out if the flock returns to the
Royal National Park to roost.
Now and again, like today, the numbers swell as
these large birds scream and tumble about the air just over the roofs of our
homes. It appears that this group of occasional visitors comes from the Royal
National Park and this leads me to believe that the "locals" must return to
this group in the National Park in the evenings. (I imagine that it's the
same individuals who appear over here each day, but only tagging would
tell) It's an absolute blessing to have such beautiful visitors every day,
where they adorn the trees of our well planted streetscape and screech
their way across the skies above our otherwise quiet neighbourhood. Sometimes
when I'm out on my evening run by the local ponds and parks I'll come across a
group in low scrub by the ponds, face-to-face, literally. They just squawk and
slowly fly off to the next tree, leaving me stunned. It's a bazaar juxtaposition
to see groups of these large birds, which I generally associate with trips to
wilderness areas or drives along the Darling River, flying at low level over the
car parks as I exit the local supermarket or petrol station. It's often
impossible to study in the evenings with the constant temptation to run to the
windows as the flock wheels just above my balcony or they screech in the trees
across the road as their beautiful long feathers rustle in the
breeze.
A tragic summer may have brought them
here but with the Park now bouncing back and many birds raising multiple
broods in a good breeding year, I can see that sometimes out of disasters can
come blessings.
Regards - Ricki
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