Galahs in the morning sun
On my morning walks through the mallee scrubland and the nearby farming land I often come across or hear the beautiful Australian parrot, the Galah. This species is very common throughout most of Australia. They can often be observed in pairs or small flocks and occasionally very large flocks numbering several hundred.
On recent morning walks I have seen about 4 to 8 Galahs sitting on top of several wattle bushes (Acacia spp) on the side of the road I walk along. They are usually busy eating the seeds. The rising sun catches the brilliant colours of the breast feathers, lighting up the dull green leaves of the bush. On too many occasions I have not had my camera with me.
Yesterday I tried to creep up to get a good photograph. This little flock was very wary and flew off to some nearby mallee trees. I was able to zoom in sufficiently to get a reasonable shot of one of them.
In the paddock opposite there a few more Galahs busily searching for seeds in the grasses in the field. This is a common sight in Australian paddocks. Sometimes the ground seems to turn pink as hundreds of Galahs swoop down to the ground looking for a meal.
