On a September morning I headed down out the front for a surf. The surf had been quite good for a number of days I was keen to get some midweek waves with little to no one else out. I chucked the wetsuit on and started running towards the fun empty waves ahead with board under arm.
As I jogged through the last of the Casuarina trees, I heard the distinct harsh screech that I knew could only have come from a black bird with a red tail. Before I looked up I could already hear the beaks of birds clicking as they busily extracted seeds out of the casuarina cones. When I did look up, I was delighted to see that my ears hadn't deceived me, and I was now staring at a small family group of Glossy Black Cockatoos. To say that I was happy is an understatement, I had seen Glossy Blacks before, but not locally, and these were no more than 2km from my front door.
These birds are known for being quite relaxed when feeding, but it was still surprising to see them drop down and feed on branches 4 feet above people using the adjacent walking track. I decided it was too good of a chance to pass up, and that I had pretty much filled my wave quota over last couple of days anyway. I made the jog back to the car in a dry wetsuit and drove home to swap the freshly waxed board for my camera.
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| Mum having a feed. Prominent yellow patches distinguish adult females. |
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| Dad collecting Casuarina seeds |
I did cringe a couple of times when I turned to see a fun set roll through, but never regretted my decision to watch and photograph the Glossy's, which are listed as Vulnerable, feed happily.
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| The fun little empty peak I gave up. |
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