Reporters chase a different kind of pollie
We are in the midst of an election campaign here in Australia. Politicians of all persuasions are being chased by reporters to get the latest breaking news.
In my home state this morning, reporters were chasing a different kind of pollie – an escaped parrot from Adelaide Zoo. A Blue and Gold Macaw escaped from the zoo and led the keepers on a chase through the parklands, with a string of reporters in their trail.
After a chase which kept reporters and zookeepers on their toes, an escaped macaw has been coaxed back into a cage in Adelaide.
The blue and gold macaw Tambo was getting some outdoor flight training at Adelaide Zoo on Wednesday when children frightened him and he flew off.
The two-year-old macaw faced attack from other birds in city trees which may have scared him even further afield.
Zoo bird keepers kept watch and called the bird as he took up roost in a 15-metre casuarina tree on the banks of the Torrens in the city.
To see photos, a video and to read the rest of the story click here.
There were no Galahs at Galah
Galahs at nesting hollow
Sydney Road Trip May 2010
Earlier this year we travelled to Sydney to visit family. Along the way I naturally looked for birds as we travelled along. Because we were on a tight time schedule I wasn’t able to do much birding, nor was I able to get many photos.
From home in Murray Bridge we travelled east through Lameroo, Pinnaroo and then over the border into north-west Victoria, heading for Ouyen where we stopped for lunch. Just west of Ouyen there is a locality called Galah. I don’t know the history of this “town”, or even if there ever was a town there. All you can see today is about 2 farm houses, some mallee scrub and a tall wheat silo for the surrounding farms. The railway line runs past the silo.
Interestingly, on many trips along this road, I cannot ever remember seeing any Galahs in the locality called Galah. I’m sure there are some around; I’ve just never seen any there. Just so you don’t feel left out, I’ve included a photo of two Galahs I took some time ago. These two were cleaning out a tree hollow ready for nesting – in my garden. Perhaps I should rename my garden “Galah”.
Happy birding
Trevor
This article last updated in August 2015.
Eclectus Parrots, Adelaide Zoo
Eclectus Parrot (female), Adelaide Zoo
The Eclectus Parrot of northern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland would have to be one of our most amazing birds here in Australia. Not only are they strikingly colourful as shown in the photos on this post, they are also rather unusual in the bird kingdom. The female is far more colourful than the male.
This species of bird I have yet to see in their natural environment. All the birds I have seen have been in aviaries or zoos. The photos on this page were taken in the walk through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo. In this aviary they are quite tame and therefore easy to photograph. I dare say that it will be a lot more challenging to get a good photo of one in the wild.
This species is also kept extensively in captivity, but it takes a very deep pocket to buy a breeding pair.
Eclectus Parrot (male), Adelaide Zoo
Injured bird – Mallee Ringneck Parrot
Mallee Ringneck Parrot
This morning I was busy at my desk in my home office when I was startled by a sudden loud thump on the glass of the window about a metre from me.
From time to time we are used to having birds fly into the glass of our windows. Usually the bird takes a few moments to recover before flying off. While it is stunned it is sometimes possible to get good close up photos of the bird in question.
I looked out the window but couldn’t see the poor victim. Grabbing my camera I raced outside. A Mallee Ringneck parrot was on the ground a few metres from the house, sitting quietly while it recovered from the shock. I quickly took the shots on this page before leaving it in peace to recover. I checked about ten minutes later and it had flown off.
I’ve always admired these beautiful parrots, but in examining the feathers up close in the morning sunlight highlighted the amazing colours of the feathers. This species is a resident breeding bird in our garden and nearby mallee scrub. This close encounter has given me a fresh appreciation of this bird.
Mallee Ringneck Parrot
Mallee Ringneck Parrot
Road trip to Sydney
Yellow Rosella, Balranald, NSW
We have just returned from a two week road trip to Sydney. In all we covered 2840 kilometres over five days. The remaining 9 days were spent in Sydney visiting family. We had the privilege of spending most of that time with our 20 month old grandson, so there were limited opportunities for birding.
On the trip over and back I listed the birds seen or heard whenever we stopped for a break: lunch or a cuppa. Because of the vast distances we needed to cover each day, birding time was limited. I’ll be sharing some of these times here on this blog in the coming days, including a few photos taken at the time.
In all I managed to record a total of 81 species, not bad for limited opportunities. One of the highlights was the beautiful Yellow Rosella shown in the photo above. He posed beautifully for me while we were enjoying lunch at Balranald in far western New South Wales on our return journey. You can read more about this species here.