All posts tagged: Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

Forest Red Tailed Black Cockatoo Kalamunda National Park Perth Hills Western Australia

Cockatoo Sunset

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Kalamunda National Park has been amongst my favourite hangouts lately after a couple of sightings of the elusive Western Brush Wallaby (Macropus irma). I have been back several times over the past few weeks, and although I haven’t been able to capture it on camera successfully yet, I was pretty happy to run into a flock of Forest Red Tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii naso) feasting on nuts from nearby Jarrah trees (Eucalyptus marginata). Smoke from a prescribed burn off that took place a few miles away lent a soft orange colour to a dramatic sunset; a perfect backdrop for this high- perched bird.

Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Beelu Perth Hills Western Australia

Karak – Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

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Most people who escape to the wild hail from urban settings, eluding traffic jams, office jobs and all trivial temptations generally on offer in a city. I’m afraid we have done it the other way around, as last January we moved ‘downhill’ into the Perth Metropolitan area. Although still relatively close to the immense natural beauty this vast state has to offer, the constant immersion in Australian bush and wildlife has ended now we swapped our beloved ‘Tree Hut’ for an ordinary suburban dwelling. No more morning or evening walks in the adjacent National Park, or regular visits from residential King Skinks or Brush-Tail Possums, but leisurely strolls in nearby Kings Park or along the foreshore of the Swan estuary – still pleasant, yet a vague reminder of the ‘true’ nature that once surrounded us. As a result I now feel as a visitor to the places that once felt as a part of me. Nevertheless, my everyday surroundings might have changed, the wildlife that used to be so nearby is still there! And how …

Forest Red Tailed Cockatoo Karra Perth Hills Korung National Park

Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

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The call of the Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii naso) is a sound you simply can’t miss. The discordant ‘ka-rark’ resembling screech is so high-pitched you normally hear this bird before you even see it – no wonder the Forest Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo is aptly called Karrak in Nyungar language. But in case you would’t recognise its call, this Cockatoo is easily identified by its spectacular red and orange tail feathers – a feature that makes them one of the most beautiful Australian birds in my humble opinion. Endemic to the forests of south-western Australia, the Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (FRTBC) is one of the five subspecies of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos present in Australia. It has a distinctive larger and wider beak than birds from the other subspecies – perfect for cracking its favourite Marri (Corymbia calophylla) and Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) nuts. Marri and Jarrah trees dominate its habitat, not only providing food but also hollows in which the birds can nest. But as these hollows are becoming increasingly scarce by deforestation and competition from …