Black Cockies take time out at my place.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) are a regular bird around Robertson. Scarcely a day goes by when I do not hear them, or see them (except in mid-spring when they are nesting in the huge Gum Trees which they need for their nests). At that time, they are down in the tall Eucalypt forests around Belmore Falls - just 5 kilometres away. But I do not see them for that period.

As soon as they youngsters are able to fly, the parents bring them back up the hill to Robertson where there is abundant food for them. The fact that they love Pine Trees, and seedling pine trees become 20 metre high weeds is another story.

Today the Black Cockatoos came into my yard.

By saying they came into my yard I mean they came right in amongst my Blackwood trees, instead of just flying over - from one Pine Tree to another.

These birds always seem to me as if they are born (hatched - but that's not the right expression) - "born with a spanner in their face". They chew on things because they can. In fact they seem compelled to chew on things.

Click on this image to see the enormous beak in action.

Black Cockatoo chewing on dead wood of tree (click to enlarge)

Two Black Cockies flying over

A family of these birds can make an awful racket. I have come to like their weird howling call (listen here) - as it is so preposterous, so incongruous. But when the young birds are around they make a combination of seemingly incessant low croaking or moaning calls. But when they are begging for food, or being fed by regurgitation, by the adults, they make a fast repetitive noise (eh,eh,eh,eh,eh).

It is a noise only a parent Black Cockatoo can love.

 At last a half-way decent overhead shot.

Fortunately, Zoe was with me, and called out 

that they were flying over my head.

Click to enlarge this image.

Male Black Cockatoo - with red skin around the eye (click to enlarge).

The red eye is a surprise (that one can see it so clearly). It indicates a male bird.

Two Frogmouths in Bowral Pine Tree

My friends Bernie and Dorothy have previously sent me a photo of two Frogmouths roosting in a small pine tree in their backyard, in Bowral.

Several days ago, the birds were back, and Bernie rang me to let me know. As they are nocturnal birds, I knew they would stay put until I drove there, and got a photo.

When I arrived, one bird was clearly visible, and it was looking straight at me. You can clearly see how wide the mouth (beak) is.
Seconds later, it "assumed the position" which they use to pretend to be a stump or broken branch in a tree.
You can see the little tuft of feathers in front of the beak. which forms an integral part of their camouflage. as the "freeze" into the "dead stick" pose, those few feathers help break down the solid outline, and blur the appearance of the bird.

In a close-up of a freshly dead "road kill", you can see how these feathers are in fact a very specialised group of feathers - simple tufty feathers, not at all the normal "barbed" body feathers. There is nothing accidental about this little tuft of feathers. Looking back at the photo above, note how prominent these few small feathers are.
This is generally what one sees of Frogmouths in a tree - two lumps.
Thanks to Bernie for ringing me to let me know about these fascinating birds.

Black Cocky - close enough to get a photo

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) are commonly seen around Robertson, but usually they are high in the tops of old Pine Trees (Pinus radiata) and are either in the heavy shade, or silhouetted against the sky. Either way, they are not worth trying to photograph.

Several days ago I heard a young bird making its incessant creaking and groaning sounds, from relatively low down in a Eucalypt tree.

I stopped to take a photo (from out the car window).

Once I had got my shot, three birds flew away. I had only seen the one on the open branch, but clearly the other two were in dense cover of a low-growing Blackwood Wattle.

Female Black Cocky has a white beak
and dark skin around the eye (not a red eye ring)

My bird is an adult female, and so I assume the others included at least one juvenile bird, for their noise is diagnostic.

EDIT:
Dear reader - Please do yourself a favour and read the Sequel to this post, on my Colleague "Mosura's" Blog - The Nature of Tasmania.

Frankly it is a hilarious "comedy of errors" - but Mosura recognises the folly of his impromptu response to grab a few photos - in retrospect.

It is nice that I inspired him to try to photograph some Black Cockies of his own. He ends up giving us some stunning Insect photos, though.

Hope the Ant Bite has stopped throbbing, Mosura!

Cheers
Denis

Black Cockie playing around

Several days ago, a mob of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) came past my house, and squealed and squawked and carried on for ages, in the local Pine Trees.

Once again, these are not good photos, for these birds love to land in the very tops of Pine Trees (Pinus radiata), their favourite (introduced) food trees. That means that although one can see them clearly, and hear them very clearly indeed, with their amazing noises, they are in fact pretty much at the limit of my camera lens.

Still, I cannot resist publishing these images.

Three Black Cockies on Pine Tree

A weird but interesting shot of a Cockie flying low over my head.
These birds flap very slowly, but they are so powerful that they fly at about 30 Kms per hour with no trouble at all.
So, they can travel 100 metres in a few seconds, in about 3 wing flaps.
That makes them deceptively hard to capture in flight.

This shot shows the yellow panels in the tail.
This shot shows the slight crest on the head,
and the yellow patches on the side of the head.
This bird has launched itself from the highest branch on the tree, and is falling/flying out of the tree.
As usual such behaviour is accompanied by the tell-tale screaming call.
You may listen to the call (in MP3 format) from this site.

Spring Babies

I mentioned the other day that the Spring season has transitioned to a stage where birds are busy feeding their babies. Here is a family of Wood Ducks, with 6 ducklings going for a walk, a bit close to a main road, but the parents seem to know what they are doing.
I now know a bit more about the responsibilities of parenthood. I have adopted a baby Magpie.
I was aware of the nesting pair of Magpies at the back of the CTC building. Indeed I mentioned the presence of this Magpie's nest in the minutes of the CTC Management Committee, in case the parents got a bit "protective", and started swooping passers by. They didn't, as it turned out.

However, on Saturday, when we had huge winds here in Robertson, one of the chicks fell out of the nest. It was fully feathered, but not yet able to fly. Close, but not yet ready.

Anyway, I found this little chick on the ground, under the Pine Tree where the nest was located. The branch was a long, nearly horizontal branch, and the nest was flung around in the wind, and one of the chicks fell out. I found it, and tried to let the adult birds know the baby was "down". No success. I decided to throw it up and over a low flat branch of the Pine Tree - hoping the youngster could land on a platform of pine branches. That worked, eventually.

However, the next morning the chick was down on the ground again. As this area is popular with people walking their dogs, I figured the chick had no chance of survival, without intervention. So, I brought it home, and stuck it in foam box. As it is quite well feathered, it can self-regulate its temperature, and so has a pretty good chance of survival.

I have since added an old lamb's wool slipper, for it to sit on.
Feeding this bird has also been a learning experience for me. For some silly reason, I expected the bird to peck at the food in my hand. That's didn't work. Then I realised I needed to think like a Magpie chick. It is used to having food presented to it, from above. So I put some mince on my finger, and brought it down from above. Bingo! It opened its beak wide to receive the food. Not exactly a passive action, but it cannot "hunt" or even "peck" at food. But when food is presented from above (the position where Mum and Dad arrive and present it food) then it knows full well what to do.

So that's the arrangement we have at present. I provide food. It opens up, squawks a bit (which Lena the Schnauzer thinks is very interesting) and then it swallows the food.

In this next image, you can clearly see the tongue structure of a typical "perching bird", with the tongue being relatively hard (almost plastic-like), and triangular in shape, with two strong points pointing backwards. This helps the bird to swallow food. As much of the food which birds eat is "live", it helps ensure the prey does not escape. This linked article explains this, and mentions that some other birds have different specialised tongue shapes. I know that Cockatoos have a thick, rounded, blunt tongue, which allows them to position a seed against the tips of their bills, to "shell" the hard coatings.

It is worth watching a Cockatoo eating, if you get the chance. However, if you have a friend with a pet Corella, watch out. It will try to eat your fingers. My friend George has a Long-billed Corella, "Pierre", who is very keen on biting my fingers. But it means you can see his thick, blunt, grey tongue. It is very flexible. Quite unlike the Magpie's tongue.After every feeding session, the baby Magpie lifts its tail feathers, and delivers a "fecal sac". This is its "poo", but perching birds have evolved a system of packaging the excrement in a coating, which allows the parent birds to remove the sac without it fouling the nest. My baby Magpie is doing this for me, and it means there is less "mess", provided I get there quickly enough before the skin of the sac breaks down. If I am too slow, then I have to clean up the mess.
Interestingly, the Magpie also regurgitated a "pellet" which is made up of insect shells. I did not examined it in great detail, but I was surprised. It is well known that Currawongs and Owls both "throw up" indigestible material in this way. But I had not heard of Magpies doing this - but it makes sense. This is regurgitated through the mouth (beak), and is quite dry, and "clean".

I am not sure what thrills lie ahead for me with this baby Magpie. Can I teach it to fly? I hope I do not have to jump off the back deck to show it how to fly!

Some new images of Robbo Nature Reserve Pines

A few people liked the Bush Stone Curlew, yesterday, even though they were old photos. That's nice, as it is one of my favourite birds, for sentimental reasons to do with the early taste for the Aussie bush - listening to them calling at night, when I was a kid.

Today I went down the Belmore Falls Road, to check for Greenhood Orchids, but I found only one group budding up. No flowers to show you, unfortunately. I am guessing, from the shape of the leaves, that they will turn out to be Pterostylis curta.

However, while I was sloshing around down there, in my gum boots, I did find this Orange-peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia) which might help Junior Lepid at Flowers, Frogs, Fungi and Feathered. This fungus is clearly NOT stalked, whereas his little orange fungus clearly was on a stalk. So, one option we discussed on his blog is clearly ruled out.
I decided to come back to the Robertson Nature Reserve, to report back on the previous posts about the pruning of some of the huge Pine Trees. See below.

On the way back across the rich green pastures below the Robertson basalt country starts, there was a pair of White-necked Herons (Ardea pacifica). One was conveniently stretching one of its wings, revealing both the slight purple tinge in its dark feathers, but also the distinctive white spots on the leading edge of the wing.At the front of the Robertson Nature Reserve, there were a number of huge Monterey Pine Trees (Pinus Radiata) growing. I have reported before on some of the work done to remove the most dangerous branches of these old trees. I would have to confess that it is not clear if this work is regarded as "finished" - for there are a great number of branches just lying on the ground. While they no longer pose a safety hazard, they are certainly going to create a maintenance problem for the volunteers who weed this Nature Reserve, to try and keep down the Privet seedlings, and other weeds which thrive wherever the canopy is opened (as is now the case, here).These logs on the ground averaged about 25 cm in diameter (one foot approx) - obviously thicker as they got closer to the trunk. The huge forked trunk in the background is about 3 metres in diameter, (10 feet at least). It is huge. The cut branch is about 45 cm in diameter. I do hope that the NPWS contractors will be ordered back to finsh the job they have started.

Below is another trunk of a Radiata Pine, cut at above my head height. It was felled, and the trunk lying on the ground, came up to the height of my pocket (approx one metre). Serious trees. You can make out the natural forest from this I took this photo, looking out towards the roadside edge of the forest. Vines and dark rainforest vegetation predominates, so it is good that the Pines be removed. Hopefully the others will go some time. But, as previous readers will have seen, removing there trees is a huge task. There is nothing like dealing with weeds which are 30 metres high, and have trunks in excess of 3 metres to make you realise why seedling weeds ought be removed, when they are still manageable.
While in the Nature Reserve, I walked the circuit pathway, looking for fungi. In view of the reasonable amount of rain which we have had (not a lot, admittedly, but there has been some), I was surprised that there were not many fungi in evidence. The leathery "Ear Fungi" which are more-or-less permanent are all shrivelled up. I did find these tiny little orange ball-shaped fungi. They are on a branch, a mere stick, which was lying on the ground. The branch was no more than a finger thick. So, using that as a scale, you can see that these little fungi look like tiny "pustules". They are in fact tiny stalked fungi, but there is no evidence that they open up like "mushrooms". Frankly, these are so tiny that i cannot identify them from any web or book references which i have at my disposal.I have been trying to upload several more photos, but the normally reliable Blogger uploading system is failing to night. I give up. Time to go to bed.

Robertson Nature Reserve - pine trees removed

At the entrance to the Robertson Nature Reserve there is a stand of about 10 huge old Pine Trees (Pinus radiata). They dominate the north side of the Reserve. As you can see, they tower over my little car, and the other native trees near the roadside edge of the Nature Reserve. One of these trees split and dropped a huge branch across South Street on 2 November 2007. I reported on this at the time.

Now the National Parks and Wildlife Service which manages the Nature Reserve has contracted for the removal of some of these trees, and the pruning of the limbs of some other trees which have been assessed as a safety risk. This work has commenced today, and is scheduled to last all week. Judging by the size of these trees, I am not surprised.

They are operating with an operator working from a "cherry picker", and with a 20 tonne crane, which is being used to lift and swing down to safety the large branches, as they are cut. This is a good process, which will minimise risk to workers, passers by and also to the rest of the vegetation in the Nature Reserve. Naturally the road (South Street) is subject to periodic closures, and "tidal flows" (Stop/Go signs controlled by workers) at times when half of the road (only) is open.
This work will result in some reduction in the Pine Cone feed supply for the resident Black Cockatoos, but as an environmentalist, i would have to declare that a good thing. We all know the Black Cockies love to chew the Pine cones, but in so doing they spread the seeds. Robertson does not need any more Pine Trees (25 metre high weeds) being spread about by the Black Cockies.

The NPWS Press Statement is as follows:

Robertson Nature Reserve Pine Trees
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has recently had a safety assessment done on the large introduced pine trees in Robertson Nature Reserve. A number of these pines were found to be in a state of significant decay and they may pose a safety risk for the public.

The Service also commissioned a heritage assessment of the introduced pines that included historical research and interviews with a number of Robertson residents with knowledge of the trees.

As a result of the recommendations of these assessments, the Service intends to remove some trees and prune the limbs of others that have been assessed as a safety risk.

A separate environmental assessment found that there would be no negative impacts on native species of flora or fauna in the Nature Reserve by removing the pine trees. There was some concern that the pines may have had a population of tree orchids growing on them, but it was found that these are actually a type of small fern that is common in the Nature Reserve. After the pines are removed, the site will be monitored for new weed growth due to increased light reaching the forest floor after the removal of the trees.

If possible, a disc of timber cut out of the trunk of one of the trees will be presented to the Robertson Museum.

The Reserve will be closed to visitors from Monday 23/06/08 to Friday 28/06/08.

If you require any further information please call the NPWS Highlands Area Office on 48878244.

End of NPWS Press Release.

Introduced Fungi in Robertson

Robertson is a moist-climate zone on the top of the coastal escarpment, behind the Illawarra Region (35 KM south-west from Wollongong, and 100Km south of Sydney). It is an area of rich red basalt soil. See my early blog posting: "Where the hell is Robertson?"

The early settler's (God bless their ignorant souls) did what early British farmers did elsewhere in Australia, and cleared the "scrub". In this case they cleared the dense cool temperate rainforest known as the "Yarrawa Brush" - a combination of tall trees, growing together very densely, with vines and Tree Ferns, and then ground dwelling low ferns.
Below the rainforest lies the answer to why the settlers wished to clear the rainforest - rich red basalt soil. Here is my daughter, Zoe, celebrating a big day of planting. Note the rich red soil.Having cleared the native forests, (in the 1860s) the settlers discovered the need for windbreaks, and they planted the Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata).

In the process they created a wonderful environment for the various introduced fungi which thrive in association with these Pine Trees.

And that is the subject of this blog entry.

The Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) is the most common "Pine Toadstool" in Robertson, in Autumn. I have written about these previously. Local kids go around kicking the heads off these fungi. I have a plate of these, preparing them for dissection, NOT FOR EATING (I stress).
These were being prepared for dissection for educational purposes, to compare the structure of boletes against gilled fungi.

Amanita Muscaria (young specimen) cut in half,
to reveal the cap structure, and the gills.
Note how the bright red colour penetrates into the cap.

The Boletus edulis shows the pores (not gills) underneath. It has a smooth, sticky brown cap on the top. Slugs, snails and small animals routinely eat the top of these caps.When the bolete is dissected, it reveals that the sponge-like structure actually is not a random series of holes, as in a marine "sponge", or even the domestic plastic washing-up device of the same name, but rather the pores are the external tip of very long narrow tubes. In cross-section you can clearly see these long tubes, almost resembling the structure of a gilled fungus (except when viewed from underneath). Below is the less common Lactarius deliciosus the "Saffron Milk Cap" or "Red Pine Mushroom". I have a local friend of Russian origin who delights in cooking these, although I have the typical Australian suspicion of anything other than a bought mushroom (when it comes to eating them).I love the bright saffron colour of these mushrooms, which is immediately obvious if one breaks even a small section of the gills, or cap. It is really obvious when the entire cup is dissected.

Clapping for the Thunder Claps!

Dramatic results of storm in Robertson!
I took this photograph this morning, about 10:00am, in Robertson. See story below***

Robertson had a heavy thunderstorm last night, just for about 15 minutes. Subsequently it rained steadily for several hours. I was having dinner with some of the locals, and when the first thunder was heard, followed by heavy rain - the farmers in the room broke into a round of applause. Wonderful, but a very "Robertson" thing to do - clapping for the thunder claps!

Anyway, the Bureau of Meteorology says we got 40mm of rain up till 9:00am this morning, which is great. We need more, though.

During the night a huge Pine Tree (Pinus radiata) split in half and a single branch as large as a normal large tree fell across the road. I would estimate the branch to be nearly a metre in diameter, and at least 30 metres tall. And that is less than half the tree. We do big trees in Robbo!This is just part of the branch, lying on the ground. You can see the ferns and lichen on the branch, showing how wet it is in Robertson.

Strangely, the tree did not split during the thunder storm. I drove home past this point last night (after the storm) but while it was still raining, and the road was no blocked. Clearly the tree fell after I went past, and some early riser trimmed the tops of the branches, so cars could squeeze past. I'm glad I was not blocked by it last night. I would not have fancied walking home in the rain, and I do not carry a chain saw in my car (as some Locals do - for good reason).*** Confession time: The top photo is this same image, cropped, rotated, and "cleaned up". I couldn't resist.

After the rain, I woke this morning to a typical Robertson fog. It has hung around all day. This was taken late this afternoon, from the back deck.

Compare it with the normal view, on a clear day. One can see in the very far distance, the far side of the Shoalhaven Valley, 50 Kms away.

Grey skies and Grey Goshawk

Today I was doing some work in the garden, with the help of Kim and her offsider, Damien. We were moving some plants around, and doing some clearing of trees and shrubs which had been damaged by wind.

While doing some of these chores, I suddenly realised there was a chorus of Magpies making those distinctive calls they make when chasing away an intruder. Magpies are such good "alarm" birds, and always tell me when a hawk or eagle is around. Listen to your local Magpies - they have many different calls, and some of them will lead you to an interesting sight, such as happened today.

High above, a Grey Goshawk was being chased round and round by three Magpies. Today's sky was grey and dull, unlike the clear blue sky from two weeks ago, when I walked along the track to Clover Hill Falls (half way down Macquarie Pass). I also saw a Grey Goshawk then, circling high. Not a good photo, but it is distinctive with the round tail, wide grey wings, and large white body. The Grey Goshawk is a classic bird of the rainforest, so Clover Hill Falls is absolutely classic habitat for this bird. Robertson, just a few kilometres away, is easily within foraging distance from this bird's main habitat.


The Goshawk looked at first glance, like a White Cockatoo, but Magpies would not bother to harass a Cocky. Not only are Cockies no threat to the Magpies, but also, a solitary Cockatoo is almost an oxymoron. They are a flock bird, and seldom fly by themselves.

The Grey Goshawk is a powerful flier, and soon outpaced the Magpies, and it flew off out of their territory. The Maggies lost interest and tailed away, heading back to the Pine Trees on the local ridge. Here is a photo of a Grey Goshawk, perched in the Redwoods in the "School Forest" here in Robertson. The yellow legs, the high stance, and the large size of this bird are all distinctive.
Here is the same bird doing what one mostly sees a Grey Goshawk doing - flying away from you. In this case it was landing, so the tail and wings are wide spread (to lose speed, as it comes in to land). But the shape of the wings and tail are diagnostic features of this bird.

The other "white" birds of prey (in the local district) are very different. The Black-shouldered Kite is a much smaller bird, with pointed wings, which either sits on power lines, or hovers (stationary in the sky) with a heavy flapping motion, while hunting for mice or large insects, like Grasshoppers. The other local grey and white bird of prey is also very different - the White-breasted Sea Eagle. It is huge, by comparison, and could not be confused with the Grey Goshawk.

Cockies love the Grubs in Kangaroo Apples

KangarooApple Shrub.
If that topic headline does not mean anything to you, have a look
at these photos.
I do not have a photo of a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo in action on a Kangaroo Apple shrub (Solanum aviculare), but I have known for a long time that they love to chew Kangaroo Apples "to bits" chasing after the grubs which eat out the pith in the centre of the stems of these plants.


Chewed branch
I published a blog entry on 25 April about the Kangaroo Apple (Solanum aviculare). In that entry, I commented upon a hugely productive plant which appeared to be flowering itself to death. Well the Cockies have since shown me that it was being eaten to death by the grubs.



Thicker branch
snapped in half
The Cockies caught me by surprise, because I walked down my driveway, in the half-light of evening, suddenly these two huge birds (as big as Eagles, they seemed) flew out from where they had been chewing on this shrub.
Now, as a Robertson resident, I am totally used to seeing (and hearing) Black Cockies in the tree tops, or flying overhead. But, although I had often seen their tell-tale signs of damage, I had not ever "caught them at it", so to speak.
And another shot.
I would have to say that the Cockies do a huge amount of damage, but then, as I commented in the previous post, the shrub was clearly dying anyway. The loss of leaves was what made the shrub at my place stand out. This particular shrub in tonight's post looked more healthy than the one I mentioned as "dying" previously.
The thing to notice is that they go half-way into the branch till they find the grub which is eating out the core of the stem, (where the pithy centre is).
Cockie up a Pine Tree
shredding a Pine Cone
Local Robertson residents know the power of the beaks of these great birds, which can pick a pine cone off the tree, shred it and drop the finished cone, more easily than most of us can eat a Sweet Corn Cob. It is hardly surprising to see how they can tear apart the branches of a soft and brittle shrub.

But remember this. Cockatoos are parrots, and are supposed to be seed eaters. Vegetarians, right? Here is evidence that they love to eat fat grubs or caterpillars (moth larvae probably).
The only other Cockatoo which I know to have a similar carnivourous habit is the Gang-Gang Cockatoo, which loves to chew on "Spitfires" (the larvae of Saw Fly insects) which devour tips of Eucalypt trees.