A chance encounter with Red Tails in the forest
A couple of weeks ago, I came across the tell tale signs of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos in the forest, and thought I’d stop and take a few photos to share with you.
The first thing that caught my attention was the mess on the track!
Notice the dark patch on the track?
On closer inspection, there was a lot of evidence that Red tails had been busy, with the shredded fruits and branchlets of this crop of Brown Stringybark clearly visible on the ground, below where the birds had been accessing this seed – which is an important component of their diet.
Quite a mess!
Look for the half-chewed fruits, which show just how much work the birds have to do to access the tiny amounts of eucalypt seed within…
And then, just as I was about to hop back in the car and was thinking to myself – “this looks really fresh” – I heard the distinctive call of a Red tail only a short distance away.
It turns out that there was a mum, dad and fully grown (but still squawking) juvenile still feeding nearby. As you can see below, bird photography is not my forte, but you get the idea…!
Thankfully, the culprits made themselves known – a family group of Red tailed Black cockatoos.
If you come across Red tails, then don’t forget to report your sighting to the recovery team for the species by clicking here.
