Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 3 March 2013

Sunday Selections #110

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.

Like River I generally run with a theme. For something completely different I am going to post photos of birds (again).  They are one of my obsessions, and make me smile every day.   Just two types of birds this week - corellas and king parrots.  I am sorry - the photos of the king parrots are not the best - this was a very flighty pair and I didn't want to stress them out too much.  The corellas are ALWAYS cheeky chappies and are quite happy to have their photos taken.







100 comments:

  1. Your gorgeous birds keep me coming back again and again! You have such interesting birds there.

    I hope the SP is feeling well and that you're getting some relief from all the stress.

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    1. Jennifer: Thank you - we love them too. The skinny one is slooooowly getting better I think. Which helps me.

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  2. Your birds are such a pleasure. As are their antics, when you have time to tell us about them.

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    1. Joanne: They are a daily delight. Despite spreading seed husks from Christmas to breakfast, necessitating daily sweeping.

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  3. Do you find yourself crooning 'pretty bird, pretty bird' at them?

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    1. Mybabyjohn/Delores: Of course. And other similar inanities.

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  4. These are beautiful. When I was young I had a budgie, and he always looked like he was smiling. These fellows are the same way!

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    1. jenny_o: Anthromorphism perhaps - but I do think that they are happy birds. The corellas in particular seem to have a sense of humour as well.

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  5. I don't see what the problem is with the parrot pictures. They are just fine, and MUCH better than any I could ever take (since I don't see them anywhere around here). :-)

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    1. DJan: Thank you. I would have liked more light on them, so their glorious colours were better displayed.

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  6. these are making me long for spring here in Minnesota, when the birds hang out on our deck more often! Lovely.

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    1. Kathleen: Our winters are mild, so we get avian visitors all year round. Which is wonderful.

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  7. Oh my gosh, so these are wild birds that just show up at your feeders? Amazing!!! I got interested in birds after high school, when I lived in Central America; I can only imagine the exotic birds I'd have seen if I'd been more interested in my surroundings and less interested in boys...

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    1. Ms. CrankyPants: We are lucky enough to get up to five or six different species of birds visiting every day. And no, just after high school they wouldn't have been my priority either. Making up for it now though.

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  8. They're so beautiful. You have wild birds like the ones we have at our zoos! :)

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    1. BECKY: Thank you. There are the birds the world over that I would love to see as well though. Everywhere...

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  9. My, my, my, how beautiful they are--and you too, kiddo.

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    1. Snowbrush: Thank you. The birds are beautiful. Me? Not so much.

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  10. I love your birdies. It's always a nice break to see them, even on a screen.

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    1. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): We love your birdies too. And I am very glad that they give you a nice break as well.

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  11. What absolutely gorgeous birds! You think those aren't fabulous photos?! What an amazing garden and view you must live with. I'm coming to visit...with Jezebel. :)

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    1. Laura Eno: They are beautiful birds. You (and Jezebel) would be more than welcome to come and visit. And Jezebel could join Jazz n Jewel in lusting after the birds I will not allow them to have.

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  12. They're just beautiful!
    I recently saw some members of the corella family, white, but with red around the eyes and red feathers on the front of the neck, not quite low enough to be chest feathers. I didn't have my camera with me and when I went back they weren't there. Do you know what type they might be? I still haven't bought a bird book.

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    1. River: Your corellas were probably Western Corellas. They could also have been long-billed corellas - but their bills are very long indeed. The ones I have posted today also have a little pink under their chins - but it is not always visible. And these are (we think) Western Corellas - despite the fact that the bird books tell us that we don't get ANY corellas. Idiots.

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  13. Beautiful. I love the corellas. I'm looking forward to being in Adelaide and Melbourne in the school holidays - I hope I see some of the lovely birds I've seen in your photos!

    Take care of yourself, as well as the SP...

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    1. Alexia: Thank you. I hope while in Adelaide you also see the magnificant Major Mitchell cockatoo (which we almost never see).

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  14. Wonderful pics of your feathered friends, they are a delight aren't they?

    We don't get Corellas up here in our patch of the forest, but I see them down the mountain on the grassed roadsides picking for seeds when we drive into the city.
    The Kings are always a delight!

    The little Rainbow Lorikeet 'couple' have been bringing their baby around lately. It's so funny to see he/she as big as his parents, yet still badgering for food. So sweetly coloured they are.

    And as I type, the Sulphur-cresteds are screeching at something they are finding disagreeable on "their turf" not too far away :)
    Like your place, never a dull moment.

    Hope you are both well on this newly Autumn day - yay :)

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    1. Vicki: Autumn is more than welcome isn't it? We have had blissfully cool days for the last two or three. I might even head out into the garden again. Joy.

      We very rarely get Rainbow Lorikeets, but welcome them when we do. The bird books say that we shouldn't get corellas either, but no-one has told them that. All of the birds give us immense pleasure - despite their less than melodious voices and their messy eating.

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  15. I kind-of have an obsession with birds myself, so I REALLY enjoy your shots. If you want take a peek at Canadian birds, you can visit my photo blog (http://pixelposts.blogspot.ca/2013/02/the-view-from-here.html) and search "wild bird wednesday".

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    1. Karen: I have been and had a look. I will be back again and again. Thank you.

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  16. Now can these fellows say your name...?

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    1. John Wiswell: It is much more important that I can say theirs.

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  17. What lovely shots of these birds! I'd love to have visitors like these in my backyard.

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    1. ladyfi: We are so lucky to have them - and appreciate them every day.

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  18. The Kingies are such beautiful birds...we've got quite a lot of them here, as well...amongst a variety of others.

    I love birds...in the wild. I'm not fond of them in cages and would never have them caged.

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    1. Lee: We feel so privileged to have them drop in on us, I cannot imagine having them caged. They are too beautiful flying free...

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  19. Lovely photos, EC, and the kingies look pretty good, even without the sun shining on them. We occasionally get the kings and the corellas but mostly black cockatoos, sulphur-cresteds and hundreds of rainbow lorrikeets. The noise is sometimes deafening but I would never complain about them. I think the black cockatoos are my favourite and I have great respect for the strength of their beaks as they hack off very thick branches of pine cones and banksia. I hope you get some nice autumn weather now and that you and SP get some relaxing time in the sun.

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    1. Carol: We saw the yellow tailed black cockies when the drought was at its worst. They have now gone back into the hills and while I miss them I am glad. We get the sulphur crested cockies, many galahs, corellas, crimson and eastern rosellas, the king parrots and other treats like the wattle birds. Very, very rarely the rainbow lorikeets.
      Autumn is here (for the moment) and is WONDERFUL.

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  20. I am in awe that you live so close to such magnificent creatures.

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    1. Birdie: We are very, very lucky indeed. And know it.

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  21. More pics well up to your usual standard - i.e. perfection. My grateful thanks for all your delightful posts.

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    1. Dave King: What a flatterer you are. Thank you.

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  22. Well, I say. I loved the contrast between the white-only plumage and the colourful one of the last couple of pics. Loved them. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  23. So beautiful! I think I would spend all my day just sitting and watching the bird feeders!

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    1. Cindi Summerlin: We do spend a lot of time watching the feeders. Mesmerising...

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  24. Surely the Corella's are parrots as well. They certainly look it, though lack the bright colors. They are beautiful as are the Parrots. I hope all is going well for you and the SP. I know recovery is a slow process and hard for everyone involved. I think of you often and appreciate hearing from you ... especially given how busy you are. I am glad you liked my elephant ... I knew, by virtue of your blog name, that we shared our love of them. They are indeed magnificent beasts that share in many of the good human qualities (that are hard to find in the humans these days). Be well, my friend.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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    1. Andrea: Thank you. I don't think that there are any animals that I don't respect, admire, love (or all three). The big cats and polar bears might be my first loves, but there is plenty of room for more.

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  25. Terrific photos as always, E-Child. I keep saying that I'll shove a deckchair somewhere in the local park and keep still enough to take a few snaps of the birds but ..... lack of patience, my constant need to make noise and a dog obsessed with squirrels makes that one pretty difficult!

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    1. Kath Lockett: As you know, our birds are not noted for being quiet (or musical on the whole). I think you could talk to them all you liked and, so long as the food was there, they would remain. A neighbour (disliking cockatoos) ran across our lawn bashing on a metal garbage bin lid. The birds scarpered - for nearly five minutes. Which is a long winded way of saying I would love photos from your deck chair.

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  26. Beautiful! How wonderful to see parrots in the wild :)

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  27. Very, very nice and some splendid colour on those parrots. I wish I had a parrot. I also would like to be a pirate. Oooh arrrr...:) Thanks for these photos and your kindness.

    Gary

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    1. klahanie: Thank you. I think I would rather be a parrot than a pirate.

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  28. Those are great shots! I can't believe they're in the wild and not at the zoo.

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    1. Riot Kitty: In the wilds of suburbia. I am very happy to see them, and very glad that they are free.

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  29. In our end of Winter grey palette, I see your gardens and birds and think, "I could give up the white christmas deal for that."

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    1. Austan: In an ideal world, you could come to visit and have a white christmas and our birds.

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  30. Such beautiful birds and thanks for those wonderful photos. Sadly today I learned the long beaked corellas as in plague proportions in some Perth suburbs. It is said they are descendants of birds that people have released from captivity but I also heard someone say they had come in the the goldfields. Not sure which story is correct...perhaps both. There is talk of culling them but nothing decided it seems. We also have lorikeets which do not belong here and of course unfortunately these birds compete with our local birds. Our black Carnaby cockatoes are under threat from both expansion of our suburbs and birds from elsewhere taking over. It is all so sad really.

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    1. Mimsie: We are caught between a rock and a hard place. We severely reduce the habitat of our native birds and animals and then wonder why they come into the suburbs and why they compete for food and nesting sites with each other. Sometimes I despair of humanity - and in our treatment of people too.

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  31. You are so lucky to have such beautiful birds stop by your feeders- or are they the lucky ones to have you feeding them :>)
    Either way I love seeing these beauties.

    be well and Happy ~:)

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    1. Pam:): We are the lucky ones - not the birds.

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  32. I could never have a bird feeder like that the squirrels would eat every last drop. Do you have squirrels there?

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    1. Linda Starr: No squirrels here. We have possums, but they are largely nocturnal - and nothing like as agile as squirrels - or as light either.

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  33. Amazing....nice to have pics of these birds

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    1. Kim @ Stuff could...: We are so lucky to have them. And they brighten every day.

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  34. Your bird friends are just such a treat to see - I love that you never grow complacent about having them out your windows. It's obvious you always appreciate their company and find them as special as we do!

    I love the vibrant colors of the king parrots, and the corellas look like soft cotton candy. :-)

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    1. Laloofah: No, not complacent at all. They give us far too much pleasure as that. All of them.

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  35. Your birds are a delight. I love the corellas. They look angelic, though I suspect they are not.

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    1. Susan Kane: Far from angellic, the corellas are bullies and see other birds off the feeders regularly. And it doesn't matter whether the other birds were there first, or are bigger. When the corellas arrive in the afternoon they clear the decks. And I still love them.

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  36. You are not the only one obsessed with birds and nature, I am also addicted to Earth's beauties. I think it's my favorite obsession in the world :). That parrot is so cute I would kiss its beak :).

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    1. unikorna: While I do understand the temptation, kissing any of our birds would be risky. Mostly their beaks are very powerful. And sharp.

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  37. I love it when you post birds - don't stop. Yours are so very different from mine and I really enjoy seeing them.

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    1. Ron Dudley: My happy snaps simply don't compare with your photographs.

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  38. You have much more colorful birds there than we have here. Mostly around my place there are starlings (non native) mourning doves and a few scrub jays. It's kind of barren. Then I see your beautiful colored birds! I can't wait for spring, so gray and dreary here for so long.

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    1. Stayer: Spring is on its way. And there are people (not me) who get bored with many of our birds. And indeed dislike them for the noise and the mess. Again, not me.

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  39. Large and colourful, these birds are gorgeous.
    I’d spend all day watching them if I had anything as interesting as these fellows round here.

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    1. Friko: We spend a LOT of time each day watching them. Wasted time? No.

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  40. I like that the corellas are cheeky. :) Lovely of you to feed them.

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    1. Lynn: Many of our birds are cheeky (and sometimes destructive). Just the same (except when they are digging up my tulips) I love them. Feeding the birds has added so much pleasure to my life.

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  41. Just a quick note to let you know you won a copy of Carol Kilgore's "In Name Only,: by leaving a comment on my blog. My contact e-mail is in my blog's profile, so if you pop back over and let me know your e-mail address, I'll give it to Carol so she can arrange to send you the book. My blog is at http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com

    Your photos are stunning, by the way. I'm going to spend some time here to look at all your work.

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    1. Patricia Stoltey: Welcome and THANK YOU. I loved the sound of Carol's book - and lusted after it.

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  42. They get even lover with a second look see :>)

    Hope all is well with you and SP!

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    1. Pam:): Thank you. We are going fairly well at the moment.

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  43. As someone who loves birds I truly enjoyed your photos. You have such fantastic birds in your country.

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    1. Carola Bartz: Thank you. There are wonderful birds everywhere but we do feel very privileged indeed to see our daily visitors.

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  44. cheeky fellows....i love it:)
    i feel warmer just looking at these
    feathered guys who don't look one bit bothered
    by cold or ice.
    thanks for the grins,
    Jennifer

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    1. Jennifer Richardson: We don't get a lot of snow and ice - but the birds are not bothered at all by what winter we do get. In summer they come to see us early (just before first light) and late. Wonderful. Each and every day.

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  45. Dear EC, I so like your bird photographs and the words you use, like "cheeky," to describe them. I'm wondering how you and your other half are doing. Is recuperation going well and are you getting some rest and laughter? Peace.

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    1. Dee: Thank you so much. Thr corellas (and the cockatoos) are cheeky. Very cheeky. The skinny one is finally showing signs of improvement - and so am I.

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  46. I always love your bird photos, such an interesting variety over there.

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  47. ooooooohhhhhh.... they are just so beautiful... where do they winter?

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    1. Nicky HW: Around here. The King Parrots leave us for a while (go into the hills) during nesting season but the corellas are with us all year round.

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  48. They'd be an obsession of mine as well, if I had such beautiful birds outside my window! I'm grateful that you have a camera and a blog and a willingness to share! :-)

    Photo #'s 3, 4 and 5 are my favorites of this delightful bunch. And I applaud you for taking the birds' well-being into consideration and not stressing them in order to get a desired photo! I doubt many people would consider the birds' point of view!

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    1. Laloofah: I love our birds and do quite a lot NOT to stress them out. Which has an element of selfishness to it - I want them to keep coming to visit.

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