Thursday 24 December 2015

1,000th POST - The Story of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

I am delighted that this is my 1,000th post on my blog and so today I want to share the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo Story.   The cage being the fence!

About eight years ago a wild Australian Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flew into a car and broke its wing. The motorist took it to the Vet in Nerang, Queensland, who had to amputate the wing. We adopted her - for which we needed a National Parks and Wildlife permit - and kept her in a cage outside where she was often visited by wild Cockatoos.

One of the things that impressed us was how she would push lettuce leaves through the bars of the cage, offering food to visitors. Last Sunday she again had a visitor.


As usual he spent a lot of time sitting on the cage with a tamper proof  latch.


There was a lot of talking and grooming. A bloke has to look presentable
when courting


Things got interesting when he approached the front door...


The clever fellow figured out how to undo the tamper proof latch!


He opened the door for a lot of mutual grooming and food sharing..


Oooh that's nice!  Scratch a bit more on that side, dear...


He was not shy to get into the cage and would go in and out a number of  times.


They mated! We are looking forward to beautiful baby cockatoos. Will keep you posted.


Later on, the whole extended family came visiting but the special mate was back every day so far.


We leave the door open during the day but if we forget, it doesn't matter - cockatoos have intelligence that rival primates.
Because she has only one wing, she stays inside or just sits on top. Guess what happened next...

The  Babies.
At first it seemed as though he was annoyed because she did not fly off with him and he would squawk a lot.. He soon came to understand that she could not fly so he just stayed. However, she was no longer returning to her cage.. The two of them would stay in the trees in our garden and because the yard is well fenced, they were safe from dogs but the neighbour's cat is not kept indoors at night and we often have to chase it away. Chances are the cat would come off second best in a confrontation  with a Cockatoo but at night cats remain a danger because they could stalk a sleeping bird on the ground..

Cockatoos  make their nests in hollow logs but we noticed the male hard at work digging a hole under a clump of Lilli Pilli trees.
We put down a hollow log for them but they just ignored  us. The nest he dug was a hole with a short tunnel leading off to where she laid her eggs. 
Once  there were eggs in the nest, the male became extremely aggressive.
You better not get near the nest or he will take chunks of flesh from your foot.. It was difficult to take these pictures because I literally had to steal them while running away from the male.

We kept a vigil to see how things were progressing. They took turns incubating the eggs and covering the tunnel. After about three weeks, the eggs hatched. Have a careful look at this picture and try to spot the bit of  yellow fluff.

Whenever Mum & Dad Cockatoo leave the nest, we try to get a look but you have to do it while running because Dad Cockatoo is chasing you!

Second lap running around the Lilli Pilli trees!

Well, I hope his mother thinks he is pretty and eventually I might think so too but at the moment, both of them just look like pink balls with a bit of yellow fluff.


How's that for a true Aussie Love Story???? Definitely has the aaawwwww  factor!

Permission has been given to me by Julius Bergh. Click here for link.

I am linking it with GOOD FENCES.

Now wasn't that a lovely way to celebrate my 1,000th post. 

Many thanks to all you who follow me in blogland, Facebook and Google + and also to the many who leave comments. I value your support and encouragement.

22 comments:

  1. I remember this and yes it definitely has the awww factor. And then some.

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  2. PS: Apologies for being so rude. Congratulations on 1000 posts. That is a big achievement.

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  3. Congratulations.
    Good to see the little chicks.

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  4. Congrats on 1,000 posts. What a nice story, the Cockatoo's are beautiful birds. The chicks are just adorable. Great post, thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!

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  5. Beautiful love story ;-)
    Ave a Merry Christmas.
    Céline & Philippe

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  6. Congratulations and we wait postings in the same way, interesting and beautiful! Nice story and pictures.

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  7. Awwww that was such a sweet love story with lovely photos of the family - perfect for a bird nativity!
    Many congratulations Margaret on such an amazing blogging record of 1000 posts!
    Happy Christmas to you and your loved ones!

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  8. What a fabulous story and wonderful post! Happy blogging! Hugs, Diane

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  9. Congrats on 1000 posts... That is awesome... Glad you are enjoying blogging so much...

    I remember this cute story--but love seeing and reading about it over and over... Such a wonderful story.

    Merry Christmas.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. Lots of good wishes on successfully reaching an important milestone!

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  11. WOW! That is a sweet story. Those little ones lack a little in the looks department,but I'm sure that will change.Merry Christmas to you.

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  12. Wonderful post! Congratulations! Merry Christmas, Margaret!

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  13. Congratulations on your 1000th and Merry Christmas Margaret.

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  14. Congrats on 1,000 Margaret, and Merry Christmas!
    ~

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  15. Here's to the next 1000 hope you are having a lovely Christmas.
    Wren x

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  16. Beautiful story and congratulations on your 1K post! Wishing you a blessed and merry Christmas!

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  17. What a wonderful love story, and with great photos. These are really beautiful birds.

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  18. Congratulations on your 1000th post! What a fabulous achievement. The cockatoo story was lovely!

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  19. how cool! Love your story and the images. And the chick...amazing.

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