King Parrot & Cockatoos

I was out in the garden early this morning & look what I found at one of the feeders- a beautiful male King Parrot. The colours on these parrots are just beautiful & although wary & watchful I did get some nice shots of him before he flew away......now hopefully he'll call again & we'll see the return of the rainbow lorikeets & rosellas.

Once they get used to the feed being out we can have 30 or more of these birds in the backyard at once ,they make a lot of noise ,but oh, so worth it.

The cockatoos seem to know when I fill the feeders- it's almost like they have a sixth sense that seed is about-this morning there were 4 in the yard, swinging on the feeders, sitting in the trees & dive bombing across the backyard- they even get in the covered feeders that are really too small for them! There have been times when we have 8-10 of them in the yard- the noise level is horrendous with them all squawking & fighting over the feeders. I did notice that one of my geraniums has been be-headed again. I'm not sure what it is with my geraniums this year, but the cockies have taken a like (dislike) to them & keep stripping them!

I took a couple of pics of the one cockatoo coming down the rope of a feeder- sneaking down, thinking I wouldn't notice that he was heading for the seed- talk about a poser- he stopped half way down, more or less to give me a photo op with him!

After he made the move to the feeder his mates all flew in for a go as well-no doubt now that I have left the backyard it will have many more out there!!!

Yesterday we had our DD's dog, Ella with us for the day. DH picks her up & brings her around for the day- I'm not sure who is keeping whom company but they have a mutual adoration society going! Ella hates cockatoos. You only have to say "there's cockies in the yard Ella" & she's outside chasing them out the yard-doesn't bark- just bounds about frightening them. Mind, if one bit her she'd know it! Funnily enough she leaves the other birds alone for the most part- it's just the cockies she chases!

Here is Ella- with a flower on her ear! LOL no telling me she hadn't been in the flowers!LOL For all her size she is a big sook- although you wouldn't want to come in the yard on your own! her size alone is enough to frighten most people off.

Today is our GS's 4th birthday. We have spoken to him this morning- they are flying up from Melbourne tomorrow & we are having a bit of a get-together to celebrate. We've also promised a trip to Symbio to see the animals & a visit to Toys R Us to buy a birthday present!

GS was explaining to me how he could stop the kangaroos from scratching him.....you see the last time we were there an over zealous wallaby wanted all the grass clippings GS was holding & scratched him to get at them- mind you it didn't really hurt him ,but, not being used to them it frightened him. All the while Grand dad is saying move out the way- what a great pic this will be- not realizing poor GS was being 'attacked' by the wallaby! You can see where his priorities were! I told GS that he was a year older & a year taller now, so he'd be bigger than the wallabies this time! He has a plan, no doubt he'll want to try it!LOL

Yesterday I made GS a pillow case for his stay here-this may become a regular gift as I remember doing this the last time for his arrival, then another one where he picked the fabric. (see previous blogs)

Now he is into space & astronomy in a big way so I found some suitable fabric, in my stash,a design & made him another one-he can take this home with him. Pillow cases make a great gift for little kids I've found.

I have a chuckle to myself when I look at the pic-all you see is a snippet of the bed- the rest of the bed is waiting for me to tidy up before they arrive & looks a mess!!! No pics though!LOL