I spent 1 week of my annual leave in Western Australia, a target bird was the Wt BC.
I saw a Wt BC on day 1 as I was driving down to Mandurah, no pic as I was driving, but a great view becasu eof how close the bird came to the car.
I then had to wait until the evening of day 4 for my 2nd sighting, this was at Narrogin as I was checking into a motel.
Interestingly, a local farmer was also checking in and she told me how many locals regard the Wt BC as a pest becasue of crop damage.
I went for a drive and found the flock,
I am calling these Baudin's B-C as I can see a long bill in pic 2. Comments are invited.
I am a long way from finishing sorting my WA pics as I refuse to stay indoors when there are new Canberra areas to be explored.
Yes, the farmers would regard anything in their crops as pests and would have no hesitation in blowing them away, endangered or not. I understand where they're coming from but the birds were there first and it's what they do. (It's a bit like the American Indians, driven from their homelands by the endless march of the white man's migration west.)
I'm not seeing the long bill, possibly because of the feathers - I'd say they're Carnabys. (See rule of thumb ... if you "think" they have a long beak, they're probably Carnaby's.) Baudin's beaks are narrower and have sort of a ridge running down the top (looked at face on). This is a good article on them: http://wabirdingblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/id-feature-white-tailed-black-cockatoos.html
and
http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=592 (this site is great for pictures of Aussie birds in general). It mentions the differences in habitat/food preferences.
Wendy
Mandurah, WA
Peel-Yalgorup System Ramsar Site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlinoz/
Thanks Wendy
I had a read and listen and that clarified that I had got Carnaby's B-C.
I have found another profile pic that shows the beak better.
Looks like Baudin's will be a target bird on my next WA visit.
Peter
Check your pics thoroughly, Peter. Apparently, a flock may sometimes contain both species.
Wendy
Mandurah, WA
Peel-Yalgorup System Ramsar Site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlinoz/
Shirley, you should see what their beaks can do. They are so powerful, I have seen them many times rip big holes into trees with it. I have many photos of them doing just that.
M-L
Shirley, when I read your comments I immediately thought that I had to get to Tenterfield for a few days of birding as it seems to be a hotbed of species variation.
I then did some reading and my Slater guide says 'Juv: broader pale edges to body feathers.' and my Pizzey & Knight guide says 'Immature: pale feather margins more prominent'. Maybe the light on the day made the pale feathers appear white rather than pale.
Thanks for sharing your idea of a bird identification journal but I have a system and not enough time in my life to do the detail that you are suggesting. I also may not revisit the same areas again. Since Oct '10 I have collected identifiable pics of 340 Australian, 92 North American and 27 Samoan bird species. The 340 should reach almost 400 when I have had time to sort the balance of my WA pics and the NT pics and the Qld, NSW and ACT pics that I have got in the last 2 weeks.
Peter
Here in the south-west corner of WA, we only have whites (Carnaby's and Baudin's) and one sub-species of red (naso). We have other sub-species of reds if you go further north but those are the only black cockatoos here, so no yellows, dadnabbit.
Wendy
Mandurah, WA
Peel-Yalgorup System Ramsar Site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlinoz/
yes, sub-species, I have now added another column to my Birds database for sub-species, forms or races
eg Australian Ringneck has the Port Lincoln Parrot or Ringneck as the nominate race and then Twenty-eight Parrot, Eastern or Mallee Ringneck and Cloncurry Ringneck as other races. I have to get to Far North West Qld to get a pic of the Cloncurry R. (Shame I didn't do this in the mid-80s when I worked in Winton Q for 18 months and then Normanton Q for 6 months.
Peter