I have been trying for a very long time to get some good shots of the Black Cockatoos (as Reflex said, they are very good at keeping their distance
) They have been flying over my house all week and some RTB Cockatoos stopped by for a visit! Here where I live, the locals view the Black Cockatoos as a sign of rain, and they were right this time. The Cockatoos had been flying infront of a bank of big black rain clouds, and now we are getting some most welcome rain. I am still trying to gain access to all of my photos, but thankful I can get my most recent shots. So here are some photos of the RTB cockatoos from yesterday
Elsie - you will have to viist Mackay, Qld. The RTBC are more friendly here.
Peter
I wonder if those big black rain clouds were accompanied by a swarm of large insects on which the cockatoos were feeding.
Lovely photos of the cockatoos Elsie.
Beautiful photos
, and a nice story too
I think Woko is right, there are always a lot of birds ahead of low clouds.The pressure brings them down. That's how you know when Swallows fly low to the ground to hunt for insects, there are rain clouds coming.
What kind of fruit are they eating?
M-L
Thanks for all your lovely comments
Gosh Pacman! I wish the birds would let me get as close as that! Lovely pic
Thanks M-L and Woko, that would probably explain why they always come before rain. I think that the trees are called White Cedars, I don't know if they are introduced or not though. They 'self prune' and are deciduous. They get lovely clusters of purple flowers and the little green fruit. All the cockatoos seem to love the fruit and all come to eat it when it's here. The trees fruited later this year than they have done before. Maybe because of the dry conitions? I also got some shots of the YTB Cockatoos the other day, so I'll put some up here soon
Thanks for the info Elsie
M-L
Well stone the crows & starve the lizards! White Cedar Melia azedarach is a native of Australia. I never knew that & always thought it was from west Asia. Check http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2008/melia-azedarach.html, particularly the part about its potential to become a weed - in locations outside its natural range where it should be avoided. It's grown as a street tree in parts of SA & I've certainly seen lots of seedlings. But I don't recall seeing cockatoos, rosellas or lorikeets feeding on the fruits.
I believe M. azedarach ranges throughout Asia to north and eastern Australia.
I've seen Sulphur-crested Cockatoos feeding on the fruits also, the fruits are generally considered highly toxic, as with many poisonous plants I assume some birds are resistant. Internet lore suggests some birds may become intoxicated from consuming large quantities.
Wow, Thats interesting to know Woko! I'm really glad that it's a native
All around where I live, the cockatoos an be found feeding on the berries ( in the appropriate season ). It really is a beautiful tree
Great for sufferers of hay fever in spring, too!
Zosterops, similar happens in Tassie with the Blue Gums Eucalyptus globulus, the cockatoos (Yellow Tailed Black) feast on the nectar, and allegedly become intoxicated. A well known tour operator says this is where the term "as pissed as a parrot" comes from. Interestingly our Blue Gums only flower about once every seven years, or so I have been led to believe.
Sorry I am late to post, been absent for a while.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
That's interesting about the flowering of Tasmanian Blue Gums Eucalyptus globulus, Dale. We have several on our property (had more, all planted by the previous owners) but they're gradually dying out because the rainfall is too low for them. They flower annually.
Unfortunately, the only hope I've got of snapping a RTC around here is during a visit to the Healesville Sanctuary!
Roly
Healesville
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36062443@N04/sets/72157632450588204/
Showing her colours at the Healesville Sanctuary.
Very pretty to watch her - but not as nice as seeing your wild ones.
Roly
Healesville
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36062443@N04/sets/72157632450588204/
they are great Elsie,
suberb flight shots as well Roly, great to get them from head height.
thanks
mike
Beautiful shots there Roly! Very clear especially for a bird in flight. Those tail feathers realIy stand out.
I must visit this Healesville Sanctuary one day.
Samford Valley Qld.
Beautiful photos Roly! I don't know why my photos come out so grainy here! They are actually alright photos when I look at them normally, however as soon as I upload them to here they come out all grainy!
Hmm. I'm afraid I'm no expert on this sort of thing, Elsie.
Are you loading direct from from Flickr?
Are you loading a small version which then looks grainier when enlarged on here?
Roly
Healesville
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36062443@N04/sets/72157632450588204/
I don't use Flickr, I do compress the photo straight from the folder and then upload it from there.
As I said, Elsie, I'm afraid I'm no expert on this but if the images appear grainier after uploading then I wonder if they haven't been compressed a bit too much. Perhaps you could try uploading one of your photos again but with minimal compression so that you can compare the two on the same page here.
They are lovely photos - but it's disappointing for you if they are not shown to their best.
Roly
Healesville
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36062443@N04/sets/72157632450588204/
uploading files to the birdsinbackyards website compresses the file to 500kb max size. The site then further compresses the image to display on the thread. If you click your image elsie you get a slightly larger image.
if you link a file from an external website such as flicker by 'adding url' Birdsin backyards links the file and displayes a higher resolution photo- there is still size compression but much more detail is retained.
i noticed this on my kestral thread - the images take longer to load in comparison to other images as they are linked to a wordpress site and are 800kb+ each. This should not be a problem but actually the browser loads all images at once, so if you have over 5 images in one thread it slows down.
- so for more detailed images here - upload them to flicker or another site in larger format, then link by adding url.
just dont add lots of images to one thread like i did!
hope this helps- i think this is what happens,
mike
heres a test -
first image is linked file - should be more detailed
Thank you both so much for your kind help
Roly, when I compress the files I always try to make sure that they are as large as possible (Sorry for the lack of tech terms). Sometimes they actually turn out alright, however my photos have always shown up on here a lot smaller than I would have liked. I'll try uploading some photos later this afternoon.
Miccro, Thanks very much for the info, I'll have to look into getting a Flickr account.