Brian Fleming wrote:
> Incidentally when I was a kid (1950s) the ONLY free flying
> Sulphur-crested Cockatoos or Galahs we ever saw in the suburbs usually
> said "Hello" when approached.
I reckon I can update this. Prior to 1974 (my father's long service leave
where he and mum dragged a car-load of screaming children around Australia
for six months) I had never seen either in the wild. Within a few years of
our return they suddenly appeared (so it seemed to me at the time) in
Victoria and then became more common in Melbourne.
Had a SC Cocky fly over the house (St Kilda) only last weekend, but the
Australian Hobby (Little Falcon?) perched on a TV aerial in Sth Melbourne
the week before was more impressive.
And just off-hand, the swans in Albert Park Lagoon are showing off their
most recent broods. As the lake never seems to get over-populated by swans,
where do they all go? Or is the mortality rate high at Albert Park? I saw
a similar suburban artificial lake in London (Walthamstowe) recently that
was white with swans, and the lake couldn't have been 1/10th the size of
A.Park.
Interesting also to see Black Swans and Aussie Pelicans in Green Park in
London.
--
Eric Hocking
"A closed mouth gathers no feet"
== Melbourne, Australia ==
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ehocking
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