Geoffrey, living within 400 m of Tobias, I can confirm that Corellas
certainly have been conspicuous in the Chapman/Rivett area for the past
month or so, and particularly over the past weekend. Most of these are
Little, though it very hard to tell as they typically fly over in groups
calling on their way to and from the Cotter and Woden/Mt Taylor. It's even
harder, if not impossible, to identify them from their call. The only time
you can be sure is when they're resting which they have been doing as they
come down to strip the ripening seed pods from the wattles, but even then
they can be tricky and usually only one or two can be positively identified
as long-billed. This was the case when there were 24 on wires early one
morning last week, but without binos it was a difficult task. The maximum
long-billed I have identified together here is 3.
However, unlike Tobias I have not noticed any begging young, though I
suspect that like the Galahs, Yellow-tailed Blacks and King Parrots the
young are pretty mobile and having noisy young around does not necessarily
mean the nest was nearby.
Interestingly when we were gathering at the Williamsdale servo to go to
Kelly Road last Sunday week a couple of Corella, possibly two pairs flew
over. Again I could not rule out the second sighting as Long-billed, as
there seemed to be quite a pink wash around the eye area. I was surprised
to see them there, as my previous experience has led me to believe they are
"town" birds.
Jack Holland
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