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 usually run with a theme. And this week I am going back to my birdy obsession. Early one morning this week this cockatoo was sitting in the camellia outside the front door obviously as interested in me as I was in him. As always, click to embiggen.
And, because I am nothing if not consistent, another begonia. This one flowered for the first time this year, and I love it.
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 usually run with a theme. And this week I am going back to my birdy obsession. Early one morning this week this cockatoo was sitting in the camellia outside the front door obviously as interested in me as I was in him. As always, click to embiggen.
And, because I am nothing if not consistent, another begonia. This one flowered for the first time this year, and I love it.
What a handsome, contemplative looking sulphur crested cocky. ♥ ♥
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed that they stay so clinically white, given their table manners :-)
Marie: Every so often we see one with a grubby tail - when the weather has been unusally wet but mostly they seem to be admirably self cleaning. If only my whites were..
DeleteRight. Fine. I shall now crawl away and hide. Definitely not posting the picture of the cockatoo.No way. pouts and slinks off...
ReplyDeletedinahmow: Go on. The more the merrier. I do love them despite the noisyness and destructiveness.
DeletePeople here pay thousands of dollars to have cockatoos as pets and you have them in your own backyard! How awesome is that? It is awesome to see them in their natural environment instead of locked in a cage with their wings clipped. That always makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteBirdie: A bird in a cage is such a sad thing. And I do love our cockies - and some days we have forty or fifty of them visit. Noisy - but welcomed. By us anyway.
DeleteThose white cockatoos make you feel like putting your hands through their feathers. They're such a beautiful-looking bird...but they can be also very destructive if they get a taste for PVC piping and wooden railings etc. They fly about here mostly in the mornings...and when certainly budding or flowering trees are doing what they're meant to be doing, they hop from branch to branch and fly from tree to tree telling the world about it as they go! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Birdie above...I love to see birds in their natural environment, not in cages.
Have a great week, EC.
Lee: Our cockatoos have, fortunately, limited their destruction to the garden. I don't like them beheading tulips - but they could do worse. Much worse. They ripped apart one of my brother's shade sail. Just because they could. And I still love them.
DeleteHave a great week yourself.
Beautiful Cockatoo, I love it.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: So do I. Rather a lot.
DeleteThat is indeed a very pretty begonia EC. What a surprise when something flowers for the first time. Do you know what colour this begonia would be or was it pot luck like cactii?
ReplyDeleteCarol in Cairns: If I did know what colour it was going to be I had forgotten. So it was a treat.
DeleteBirdies are always interesting and the cockatoo has a great personality.
ReplyDeleteMerle.............
Merlesworld: Some would say that cockatoos have poisonalities rather than personalities - but I disagree. Charming, albeit cheeky chappies.
DeleteExcellent shots of this bird! They can become rather tame can't they? I know they are "pets' over here. I hate to see them in cages. Lovely begonia, it's so delicate!
ReplyDeleteKaren: They can become tame. This one isn't, but is certainly not bothered by me. And no, I don't like birds, or anything really, in cages.
DeleteAs with most cockys, it has that naughty and mischievous glint in its eye. Well captured.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: Thank you. They do seem like 'happy' birds, and mischief/destruction certainly seems to give them pleasure.
DeleteGorgeous fellow. I hate seeing them in cages - this one obviously has tons of personality..
ReplyDeleteAnd that is the prettiest begonia! I have been looking at them longingly in garden centres but haven't got a suitably sheltered spot.
Alexia: Our front veranda is full of them. It seems to be a begonia 'sweet spot'. A little morning sun, and shade most of the day. I don't think I have anywhere actually in the garden where they would be as happy.
DeleteAlwaqys love the shots of the birds. Strange to think that something so exotic to us is a 'backyard' bird for you.
ReplyDeleteDelores: You see some birds (and other critters) which are exotic to me. Magic of the blogosphere that we can share.
DeleteBeautiful photos. You live in a place that provides such an amazing opportunity to view wildlife.
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: We are lucky here. Very lucky.
DeleteBeautiful big bird and beguiling begonia blossom.
ReplyDeleteYour photos always delight, EC.
Vicki: Thank you. I am a very happy taker of 'happy snaps'. Some day (perhaps) I will get serious about photography.
DeleteExcept for size, remind me very much of our chickadees. Cheeky little guys, hop around the feeder to watch me passing by.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon: Cheeky chappy is a perfect description of cockatoos.
DeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteI'd be stunned to see a cockatoo outside my front door. A wayward hedgehog, perhaps, but never a cockatoo. Your bird pictures always fascinate. And blooming begonia, a very nice pictorial post, indeed!
Gary :)
klahanie: I would LOVE to see a hedgepig. Very, very occasioanlly I have seen an echidna and they were red letter days.
DeleteAha, you helped me learn something new today, EC :) (echidna)
Deletejenny_o: Echnidna's are amazing animals. Reclusive and rarely seen but magic. We do have some decidedly odd native animals, and echidnas and platypus are right up there.
DeleteHe looks quite interested in you, doesn't he! It's so neat when a "wild" animal decides to risk interaction with a human. Well, the wild animals I've seen anyway. I suppose it would be somewhat different with a lion or tiger or grizzly bear ...
ReplyDeletejenny_o: Such a privilege. And part of me would like to be able to interact with lions, tigers. bears... A friendly interaction of course. But I would love to see them in their natural habitat.
DeleteSuch a pristine looking bird. Outside? Is this a bird that is native to where you live then? I have only seen them in zoos.
ReplyDeleteBookie: Cockatoos are native to Australia. In the city I live in there are hundreds of them flying around the suburbs sharing the space. Farmers often loathe them, and they can be destructive. They are also very, very noisy. And I love them, and welcome them anyway.
DeleteI love the white cockatoo, and love the white corellas. Haven't had much luck with begonias.
ReplyDeleteSusan Kane: We have found a spot that begonias are happy in. Not game to try them elsewhere in the garden. And I too love the corellas and the cockies. As you know.
DeleteThey are pretty. Pretty noisy. Pretty destructive. But pretty pretty too.
ReplyDeleteJ Cosmo Newbery: Some days they are very noisy and very destructive. And very pretty too.
DeleteThat begonia is so gorgeous and looks so delicate. The cockatoo could be a brother to the one in the pine tree near my flat, he squawked at me this morning as I went to the shop, so I whistled at him and we had quite the conversation until my whistle dried up.
ReplyDeleteRiver: If not a brother, then a cousin. I remember someone telling me that he said 'hello cockie' to one in a tree - and it said 'hello' back. An escapee I suppose, but it would have been a shock.
DeleteThe inclement weather kept me indoors and our resident family of magpies hungry I thought, declining my offering of miscellaneous scraps then,uniting in chorus and i believe it was their "I want bacon fat" song. sent me off to get their bacon rind fat..And I thought it was only cats that had servants.
ReplyDeleteVest: Birds have servants - cats have slaves. Ours at least pay no wages and allow no holidays. Or days off. My father had a magpie he used to feed bacon rinds to. One morning he gave it the rinds and came inside - followed by the magpie who obviously didn't think it had got enough.
DeleteYou are so fortunate to have the sulphur crested cockies over there. They are such cheeky birds too.
ReplyDeleteThat is one truly beautiful begonia.
Any news yet on the SP's op? Thought you would have heard by now but I guess you have to be patient. Hope you are both keeping as well as can be.........
Mimsie: No word yet. He will ring them again next week and give them a bit of a nudge. Sigh.
DeleteIt is a beautiful magnolia isn't it? Not one I had seen before.
Cockatoos always look like they have a secret which is particularly amusing to them I find. Which tickles me. This ones has it's beady on you for sure, and the begonia is a joy. Lovely photos x
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming: That secret almost certainly relates to bad behaviour - executed or planned. Which tickles me too.
DeletePast.....not related at all, but have a peek at this - due out this year, and it's all hand drawn apparently
Deletehttp://www.handleproductions.com/productions/moomins/
All Consuming: Ooooh.
DeleteThat is so amazing! I only see those in pet stores. I suppose I thought those only lived in dark jungles and no civilized person could have them in their yard or neighborhood.
ReplyDeletePractical Parsimony: I am not sure how civilised I am - but we have cockatoos visiting every day. Which I love.
DeleteWhat a curious and cute-looking cockatoo! :-) Many thanks. I really enjoyed those shots.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
A Cuban in London: He was definitely interested wasn't he? Which seems only fair - I was in him too.
DeleteOh, he is magnificent. I'll be saving this for my daughter, she is obsessed by cockatoos. How did you get such beautiful shots, were they taken up close or do you just have a very good telephoto lens? Lovely.
ReplyDeleteJackie K: I stood on the veranda and he stayed in the camellia - only a few feet away. And when he moved it was just into the next tree to get a better look. I share your daughter's obsession.
DeleteSuch a pretty, exotic bird. And the begonia seems to be just as exotic, that delicate color around its edges. Happy March, EC! :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: Happy March to you too. And thank you,
DeleteWhat lovely photos! Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteMildred Ratched: It is a fun meme.
DeleteI love the pictures. We had wild parrots come to our yard once when we lived in Florida and I always thought it was so amazing that they came. Any time you come across an unusual, exotic, or beautiful bird it's really awesome. Yours here is a beauty. :)
ReplyDeletemail4rosey: We are very, very lucky and get a variety of beautiful birds visiting each day.
DeleteVery impressive fellow! The begonia is beautiful too. I've never grown one before. Can't imagine why not. I'll have to rectify that oversight. Of course, I have been known to kill cactus...
ReplyDeleteRiver Fairchild: There are plants I have given up attempting to grow because I am ashamed of how many I have murdered. We got lucky and found a spot the begonias love - so they do the work and I get the benefit. A win.
Deletesuch a sweet bird, in spite of that very strong beak!
ReplyDeleteKathleen Cassen Mickelson: Their beaks ARE very strong. And they have been known to use them for evil. So far, we have been lucky. Beheading tulips has been their worst crime here.
DeleteI love your photos of the cockatoo, always so neat to see them in their own natural environment. I have only ever seen them in zoos or as in my last trip down to Florida, at a wildlife bird center.
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: Cockatoos enjoy their freedom so much, it would make me sad to see them in a zoo.
DeleteA beautiful flower also.
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: It is a charmer isn't it?
DeleteHow wonderful to see such a stunning bird in your garden. I've only seen them caged. So sad.
ReplyDeleteThe flower is beautiful. Thank you for sharing the beauty you encounter throughout the week. Hope next week brings even more beauty your way.
Myrna R.: I am glad you enjoy them - and am sure I will find beauty this week.
DeleteI was going to say that I presume that you have wild cockatoos and domesticated begonias, but I decided to read through the earlier comments before composing my own and received a horticultural and ornithological education thereby.
ReplyDeleteLovely photographs!
rhymeswithplague: The cockatoo is not tame, but not very wild either. And the same is probably true of the begonia.
DeleteThese pictures fill my heart with joy (though I have to tell you that I am thinking it is just not fair that you can have this gorgeous creature sitting in your yard interested in you). I see these birds here in America ... they are pets, and well taken care of, but it is like I feel about my rapture friends that we keep in captivity .... they derserve to be free. How I wish I could do that for them, but in the case of the Raptors, anyway, they wouldn't survivie. I abhor mans need to make pets of everything, we steal the lives of so many creatures for our entertainment. Anyway ... I love that your beauties are free and that is why I so enjoy your pictures of them.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
Andrea: Free is always better in my book. And I am sad that so many birds and animals have to be caged to survive. Often because of what we (as a species) have done.
DeleteAnd yes, the birds that visit us are indeed free. And a delight.
Beautiful. Both the bird and the begonias.
ReplyDeleteWendy: Thank you.
DeleteFantastic Cockatoo
ReplyDeleteI wonder what he calls himself, for I am sure he doesn't think he's a "Cockatoo" Maybe "Big Handsome Me" (It's what I always use for myself :)
Andrew Maclaren-Scott: Does a supreme being NEED to name itself? Possibly not.
Deletewhat a beautiful series of photos on the Cockatoo. Like Andrew wondered: what name do you think he calls himself? I stood by the bank of the bayou which skirts the blood center in which I work and watched a flock of Mallard ducks swim gracefully by, irritating the lone white egret to no end who just wanted them to pass so he could go back to fishing!
ReplyDeleteRoland D. Yeomans: I watch the cockatoos with delight each and every day. And they are birds of character, and undoubtedly all consider themselves number one. Certainly not Cockatwo.
DeleteRe the ducks swimming by - they look serene and graceful, but out of sight under the water their legs are going hell for leather keeping them moving. A bit like life, concealed effort and/or struggle. I find it a comfort when I admire ducks (and people) who seem to have an effortless life to remember that.
Beautiful bird and I love the flower. I take nature snapshots whenever I have a chance.
ReplyDeleteMedeia Sharif: There is a LOT of beauty in nature isn't there?
DeleteThat is a gorgeous begonia! The bird is a pretty fellow, too. Mr. RK is an amateur photographer (and a good one), but I still take better flower pics than he does. He says it's because I have more interest in shrubbery.
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: As you know I have a passion for shrubbery too - and they don't move as much as some of the other things I try and capture.
DeleteAh, the lighting on that flower so beautiful. It's filling up with luminescence.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: It is a little gem isn't it?
DeleteHi EC. I love the SC Cockotoo. This is the 1 st bird that my grandson learned when thy were in Sydney. the the edging on the Begonia.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Adamson: They are charmers aren't they? Noisy, but charming just the same.
DeleteDear EC, that white cockatoo is regal. Sure of his own self. King of his universe. Sitting tall and straight and inspiring me to do the same. Thank you. Peace.
ReplyDeleteDee: I am pretty certain that the cockatoo considers himself to be King of every universe. And I admire his confidence.
DeleteThe last picture of the cockatoo made me laugh. He's awfully full of himself, isn't he? With good reason, of course...
ReplyDeleteMs. CrankyPants: How I would love some of his confidence.
DeleteAre they friendly? Or flighty. What I wouldn't give to have your front yard, trees, flowers and birds. Kind of makes up for the scorpions, spiders, snakes and poisonous lizards.....or not.
ReplyDeletelotta joy: Guarded interest. And knowing that we put food out for them helps. Snakes I don't often see. Spiders? Yes, but I treat them with respect and only one poisonous one has ever fanged me. It snuck up on me while I was in the shower which I thought was sooo unfair. It died, I didn't.
DeleteA deadly shower spider....EVERYTHING has a downside.
Deletelotta joy: The downside was for the spider that day. I was more poisonous to it than it was to me.
DeleteThat cockatoo really enjoyed posing for you - that's so cool! Love the begonia!!
ReplyDeleteCarol Kilgore: It I looked as good as the cockatoo I would enjoy posing too.
DeleteI like your friend. He was obviously drawn to your sweet spirit! And your flower knocked me OVER! so pink!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=
Cloudia: I think sunflower seed and apple might be more attractive than my spirit - but it is lovely to see him (and all his family). That begonia is special isn't it?
Deletewhat an otherworldly beautiful creature....those soft dreamy feathers
ReplyDeleteand the warmth I can feel from here.....oh it soothes this winter weary soul:)
thanks for the gorgeous share,
Jennifer
Jennifer Richardson: It seems only fair. When our summer was at its hottest I was getting relief from cool images from your hemisphere. Lots of relief - tinged with jealousy.
DeleteWhat a delightful visitor!
ReplyDeleteladyfi: A delightful - and regular visitor. Which is wonderful.
Deletesuch a pretty birdie!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myunfinishedlife.com
My Unfinished Life: He is, isn't he.
DeleteWow I wish we got birds like that visiting our garden. Love the cockatoo shots.
ReplyDeleteLL Cool Joe: Despite the fact that we see the cockatoos every day, we always welcome them.
DeleteThe parrot tribe all seem to have that naughtiness about them. We have a mountain parrot here called the kea. Tourists may stop to admire the view and go for a walk in the national parks and come back to find the car vandalised - windscreen rubber stripped out, mirrors cracked or ripped off, and woe is you if you have a soft top on your car!
ReplyDeletelynners: I have seen documentaries about the kea - and am very, very grateful that our cockatoos do not have their intelligence. Intelligence and dexterity are a dangerous mixture in an inquisitive bird.
DeleteIt still boggles my Californian mind that parrots come visit you. I love the cockies--just amazing! A bit of wonderful to end my day on... thank you. These are lovely pictures.
ReplyDeletePaper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): I hope your day has been ok. I have been hoping for the best for you. And I am very glad that the cocky gave you a lift.
DeleteBeautiful pictures of the white parrot.
ReplyDeleteWeekend-Windup: Thank you - it is a very beautiful bird.
DeleteI only ever see these birds in cages - how wonderful that they can just fly around like that. It must be amazing to see.
ReplyDeleteAnd gorgeous begonia!
Lynn: Sometimes they are caged here too, but many, many, more fly free. Which is wonderful.
DeleteI know why they are called cockatiels now...
ReplyDeletebecause they are cocky and oh-so-beautiful!
Xxxx Kiss from MN.
My Inner Chick: Cockatiels are another bird entirely - just as beautiful, not as cocky. Hugs.
Delete