Corellas with a death wish

Last Friday evening I needed to drive the 25 kilometres across to Tailem Bend, south east of Murray Bridge in South Australia. As I crossed the Swanport Bridge I noticed a flock of Little Corellas settling down to roost in a row of tall eucalypt trees next to the river and near the bridge. It was dusk and getting dark quickly. Despite that I was able to quickly assess as I drove by that the flock numbered at least 500 individual birds. They were all congregated in three or four trees and they made the trees look as though they were covered in snow.

I regularly travel this route at least once a week. Over recent months I have noticed some of corellas sitting on the lights over the bridge. These tend to fly around quite a deal and almost seem to be playing “chicken” with the passing cars, trucks and buses. From the heaps of feathers regularly seen on the bridge some of them obviously come off second best.

I do not have a photo of a Little Corella in my collection. This is surprising as they are quite common in our district. I’ve never seen one land in our garden or on nearby trees though occasionally a flock will fly over. I must wander down to the river and get a few photos. In the meantime I will have to make do with a photo of a very similar species, the Long-billed Corella.

Long Billed Corellas