Tag Archives: Cockatoos

Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri)

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The Major Mitchell’s cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) also known as Leadbeater’s cockatoo or pink cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo restricted to arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia.  Regardless of what common name you use, it’s arguably the most beautiful of all the cockatoos and a real joy to see in the wild, especially in flight with the sun backlighting their pink wings.  These photos I took at Bowra Station don’t do it justice!  I noticed they always had a sentinel or two while most of the flock foraged on the ground.

IMG_8755a IMG_8854a IMG_8874a IMG_8965a IMG_8936aDon’t be fooled by all the green on the map, this highly nomadic bird may have a large range but it is really difficult to find them outside of the major birding hotspots such as Bowra Station (blue dot) in Queensland and Eyre Sanctuary in Western Australia.

MM2rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT MAJOR MITCHELL COCKATOOS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birdlife Australia

Birds in Backyards

NSW Environment & Heritage

 

VIDEO

One bird foraging in a tree.

Enjoying a paddy melon.

 

Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla)

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One of the birds you are most likely to see in Australia is also one of the most beautiful.  The galah Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, galah cockatoo, roseate cockatoo or pink and grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.

Notice how this first Galah’s crest (Nallan Station) is pinker than the other ones?

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IMG_0161Galahs are known for their silly, playful nature.  If an Aussie calls you a “galah”, they usually don’t mean it as a compliment!

You won’t have to try to hard to find them as they are pretty much all over Australia.  I’ve seen them around Perth, Nallan Station, Stirling Range, Tasmania, Melbourne, Brisbane, Bowra Station, Coolmunda, Karara, Girraween just to name a few.  They frequent the park a couple blocks from my house and I can usually hear them as they fly overhead in the morning to forage for breakfast.

Galah rangeLEARN MORE ABOUT GALAHS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

The Australian Galah

VIDEOS

Wild Galahs in  action – playing and foraging.

 

 

 

Kangaroos & Cockatoos – The Road To Yanchep

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After leaving Kalbarri, we drove through the National Park and met up with route 1 headed south going through Gerladton.  Here are some of the highlights we encountered along the way.

Kangaroos still within the park boundaries.

IMG_6379 IMG_6382Red-tailed Black Cockatoos just south of the park.

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Carnaby’s Cockatoos – not sure of exact location but about 2 hours before we reached Yanchep.

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Wungong Gorge & Bungendore Park, Western Australia

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Located less than an hour’s drive from downtown Perth, Wungong Gorge & Bungendore Park offer easy birding accessible to both eco-tourists and day-trippers.

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Admiral Road is one of the easiest places to see Baudin’s Black Cockatoos and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos.   You can see more details, GPS coordinates and a bird list here.

The one thing to consider is that they tend to hang around the trees on the left side of the road as you enter from the Albany Highway which is the east side of the road so if you go there in the morning, you are likely to end up with a bunch of silhouette photos!  The back-lighting did make the red tails glow nicely in a couple shots!  The trees are in private property so please respect the owner’s privacy and don’t disturb them.  You will be able to hear and see the Cockatoos just fine from the road.  Because of the morning back-lighting, I would make an effort to come here in the afternoon next time.

IMG_4291 IMG_4298 IMG_4325 IMG_4320 IMG_4330There are some picnic areas with an information board on Admiral Road.  I thought I had a better photo of it but looks like I missed.

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Not sure what kind of Fairy-wren this is but the 2nd pic is an Australian Ringneck.

 

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I have no idea what this was but it looked pretty cool!  Very creative to say the least!

 

 

 

 

 

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Wungong Gorge and/or Bungendore Park make a great introduction to new birders because it is so easy to get to and there are plenty of birds that can be seen easily.  The picnic areas are family friendly and there are a couple bed & breakfasts nearby.  If you’re in Perth for business, why not take an afternoon to come out here and connect with nature?  For very keen birders, you could make an easy stop here enroute to Dryandra Woodlands!

Baudin’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii)

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Baudin’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii), also known as Baudin’s Cockatoo or Long-billed Black Cockatoo,is a large black cockatoo found in Australia. The binomial commemorates the French explorer Nicolas Baudin.

I was lucky enough to see them early in the morning out by Wungong Gorge near Armadale, which is 45 minutes from Perth but unfortunately they had the sun behind them so all I got was a silhouette.  In the future, I would advise going here in the afternoon when the sun would be on the opposite side of the trees where the cockatoos are found.

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At least Wikipedia has a nice close up of this beautiful cockatoo.

BaudinThe Baudin’s Black Cockatoo is one of two species of white-tailed black cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia which were only separated taxonomically in 1948. It is closely associated with moist, heavily forested areas dominated by Marri and is threatened by habitat destruction.

Sites identified by BirdLife International as being important for Baudin’s Black Cockatoo conservation are Araluen-Wungong, Gidgegannup, Jalbarragup, Mundaring-Kalamunda, North Dandalup, the Stirling Range and The Lakes. Local birders also see them around  Margaret River.   In the map below, I have marked out a few of these places that are popular for birders.  Wungong Gorge is purple, Margaret River is green and Stirling Range is blue.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PARROT

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Biodiversity Australia

Murdoch University

VIDEO

Spectacular up close footage of some Baudin’s Black Cockatoos near Perth.