Author: David Cook Wildlife Photography
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Ahh, the Black Cockatoos.

As I sit here writing this, they are welcoming the bad weather by with what has to be the best horror-movie sound made by any bird, as they hang around the top of ridges looking for pine nuts (of which there are plenty in Wentworth Falls) and banksias (also available in profusion).

Since there aren’t pine trees on Bunjaree Cottages, it’s the banksia that brings the Black Cockatoo here. They don’t live on the property, but they are frequent visitors, always identified by their calls.

They are the largest birds you will see roosting on Bunjaree trees (as much as 65 cm in length), making their agility truly impressive: they seem completely unfazed at the aerobatics required to fly through spaces barely wider than their wing-span!

While they snack on large nuts, the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos’ main diet is wood-boring grubs – which means they can do considerable damage to tree branches while feeding!

These are truly magnificent birds, a wonder and a treat to see.