Tuesday, November 7, 2017

On the wing

A pair of King parrots


These two! What rascals. The red boy decided to dive bomb me, one morning, on route to feed the chickens. He's game, I thought. Upon leaving the coop, he dive bombed me, no less than four times. He wasn't aggressive, in fact he kept talking once he got me to stop. Apparently, I was supposed to give him my undivided attention. Or perhaps it was something else he was after?

I don't know if he's been tamed by another, but I figured, he's tamed me now. What a character! So I grabbed a handful of parrot mix, my daughter has for her pet cockatiel, and put it on the rustic chair, under the clothes line. As soon as I did that, he called his girlfriend over.

This picture was taken the following morning. It's the same handful of seed. In the decade we've been here, the King parrots have mostly kept their distance. These are the exception to that rule. Maybe I'll leave another handful of seed out, tomorrow?

15 comments:

  1. Ha! I loved that post!

    I have a King Parrot coming regularly now. They were never here when we first came. I wonder if the Black Saturday fires in Victoria in 2009 had anything to do with it? After that, we got a lot of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos here because their habitat further north had gone. They've never left and now we have the King Parrot as well.

    Anyway 'mine' has become a regular so I bought a big bag of sunflower seeds for him. He comes to the kitchen or laundry window and calls for me. I put the seeds on the deck railing, but the local Bronzewing Pigeons harass him for it. He's a big woos; he lets them chase him off the seed, so I have to stand there and chase the pigeons away till he's finished.

    Last year he brought his mate; she's a bit more timid than he is and then came a couple of kids. Of course all the cherry tomatoes in the wicking boxes on the deck suffered; they thought they were a good snack to finish off after the sunflower seeds. I had nets all over everything, but it was worth losing a few tomatoes to have these beautiful birds visit. He didn't come much during the winter but is back now and I'm ready with the tomato nets this year.

    You're trapped now :-)

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    1. I see you've been tamed too, lol. They are full of such character though. How amazing, you got to see his family too. I love seeing fledglings (it's Kookaburras, for us) suddenly arrive on the scene, trying to be as proficient as their parents. More often than not, they're just plain awkward at feeding themselves, lol.

      It's one of the absolute joys, of living where we do. The bird life, is amazing. And I suspect you're absolutely right about me. I've been trapped by their sweet-talk negotiations, after being dive bombed. Okay, I'll bring you seed!! Just a LITTLE bit.

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  2. I haven't noticed any King Parrots here, Chris. They certainly are beautiful. Looks like you have some new pets in your garden :-)

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    1. They like to hang out where there are plenty of acacia seeds. They've also taken to the pigeon peas we plant, which aren't native. I've seen them as far as Mt Kynoch, on the way to Highfields. I wonder if the population of domestic cats, is why they aren't seen more often in suburbia?

      I suspect this brightly coloured pair, see me more as "their" pet though, lol. I don't mind. ;)

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  3. They are truly beautiful birds. Many a time their brilliant plumage has held me mesmerized while they eat fruit from my trees.

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    1. The boys are easy to spot in the trees, the girls are a little harder, if their back is facing you. I haven't noticed them eating fruit from my trees, but they do like the pigeon peas.

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  4. We have no parrots on the loose, but I do know that animals can be quite the characters! Maybe you've been assigned to feed them treats. :)

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    1. I was amazed by his antics, to get me to notice him. I've never had that experience with a wild bird before. I'm guessing this is not his first rodeo with humans, lol. But I'm happy to have been selected. :)

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  5. They are really gorgeous birds, Chris, I love the vibrancy of their colours. We see them here in the neighbour's olive trees when they are fruiting. These are really close to our back deck so we get a lovely look at them. They never stay still long enough for photos though!! Meg:)

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    1. I'm learning the extent of their diet, by reading the comments of others. I thought they were predominantly seed eaters, but it seems they like fruit on trees too! Which the neighbour's olives would classify as. I planted one in the garden this year, so I might see it for myself, one day. And they're pretty quick at leaving, once they know they've been spotted. Which is what surprised me about my avian stalker, lol.

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  6. Last week I was in Gippsland Victoria, sitting on my sister's back deck and watching the King parrot family coming down to the bird feeder. Truly special. We don't get them here in the Barossa Valley but we have other amazing parrots.

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    1. It's great to hear their birdsong too, no matter the variety of parrot. It's comforting to know life is out there, thriving. To see it up close, is a true privilege. :)

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  7. Beautiful! I want to set up a bird feeding area here. Not too much that they rely on it, but nice to see them up close too.

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    1. Thanks for letting me know it's you Liz. :) I can relate to not wanting them too dependent. They're best foraging on their own, with the occasional treat from us humans.

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