Cockatoos for Attila

[mo]

Again with my Olympus digital but I think these are worth sharing

These are at my backdoor about 8 metres away
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[rbelyell]

i like the color rendition a lot. i didnt know you had an olympus digital--what is it? do you enjoy using it?
t

[Attila]

Oh my GOD!! Like my best friends in Zoo, how lucky you are!! I am green from envy Many thanks!

[my_photography]

Are these wild or yours?

[mo]

They are only mine until those berries run out ,The Rosellas come in first then the Cockatoos come and destroy(literally)the rest of the berries.They are very jumpy so if I move a lot they fly off.This is where I love my little Olympus NOT a DSLR,it is probably what you call an above average P&S
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/sp510.html
I have to take a lot of time with the manual SLR's and lens to focus, set up and usually the birds have seen the movement and I loose the shot
The King Parrots are next on my list as their favorite tree is seeding at the moment in the middle of town so I don't have to go bush and find them we also have a colony of flying fruit bats visiting the area....guys I am really blessed for the wildlife around me so I will try and share as I go If you don't mind me using the Digital P&S until I get some decent film shots

[rbelyell]

my first digital camera was a 2.1 mp olympus super zoom--i still miss it! had the best color rendition ever!

[mo]

I am impressed with this one but it sadly lacks at hunting for images and can not quite get the infinity when used at long distance....hence my SLR interest then next the DSLR.

[rbelyell]

well, i have 5d, which i love. but if i had to buy crop cam, would greatly consider pentax k20d...

[mo]

already in that decision making zone...because I have the M42 lens and some K mounts some form of Pentax Digital will be mine!....one day

[martinsmith99]

Great shots. How tame are those birds?

[mo]

These are wild and not very friendly they see you move and they are off.I think you tell the age by the length of the top beak (I may be wrong here) so I would say these are older birds enough to know to be weary of humans....they also flock together in large flocks,This group hanging around town is about 30+.
They have moved on now as all the berries have been eaten.

[pat donnelly]

I have one as a pest. He eats keyboards, especially those on laptops...

The upper beak will pierce skin on its own...... I may upload the scars to prove. It is constantly kept sharp. So although it may grow, it does not appear to measure his age. They grow until about 2 years or so and telling age after that is a vet matter! Sunshine is 11 years old and I am his second keeper. He killed the first one and the widow sold him for $100. He went a little insane, having been kept in a box they call an aviary. So we get on quite well.

He will out live me despite his bad diet.

[Attila]

?? Pest ?

[mo]

[Attila]

[pat donnelly]

He is all over me, walking and even sleeping on me. He loves meeting new people, but if I am out of vision, he will call Rebecca! I presume she was a daughter of the first owner! He is beside me all day long.

You decide!

[Attila]

I guess our bird behavior basically same I have an African Gray. My bird is strongly bounded to me she loves people, but nobody able touch same than me. Even my wife, bird did choice me ... I hope finally your bird will forget Rebecca and will loves you. How rich is her vocabulary ? Perhaps your bird don't know your name and every human is Rebecca for her? My bird can say my wife is sleeping , because when my wife is sleeping , bird need to bee in silence. So bird frequently say 'MOM is sleeping' bird use this expression too when my wife not at home and bird is miss her, due bird can't say 'I miss my MOM'.

[Orio]

I remember when I visited Attila in 2007, shortly after I entered his home, his bird Kakapo flew and landed over my shoulder, that was quite an emotion for me, I did not expect her to do that as she never saw me before

[pat donnelly]

He will speak, using English, but I and he have such a bond that he chirps to successfully obtain a drink or food. He has asked that while driving, (he loves to get the wind in his feathers) I put on my seat belt; uses my wife's name appropriately; and chatters and gossips in English and cockatoo, with one of my daughters, in a very excited way after a short absence. "Hello" is frequently said when we meet strangers but he often hisses at men. If I am grooming him too roughly, he will ask "OK?" for reassurance and to get me to be more gentle. He is learning not to eat wiring. He is strongly bonded but willingly sits with all my family, despite some rough treatment from my youngest daughter. She loves to tease him and he knows what to expect, but is a sucker for company, being easily bored with a mainly sedentary male like me.

If the dogs get to barking at one another then he says "get out of here!" And screeches. He has super acute hearing. No real empathy with wild birds, but can play a little with pet cats and dogs but tentatively, as he is small beneath the feathers, as you know.

My bird never learned to fly, when young, so when he flys now he is unable to land successfully. He ends up in a tree for days at a time, fighting off crows, until he is tired thirsty and hungry enough to climb/fall back to the reach of his useless master. I should cut his flight feathers on one side, to enable him not to fly much and to retrieve him, avoiding the distress of separation, but I think he should fly as he does like to.

A far more interactive pet than a cat or dog they are also more demanding. Not a commitment lightly to be undertaken.

[Attila]

He seems a nice guy, perhaps he was caged always when he was younger. Thank you for your story!

[my_photography]

Interesting pets you have there, pat donnelly and Attila. One that can talk back instead of bark.

[pat donnelly]

Sorry, Attila, not speaking for your African Grey!

Sunshine has been playing with boxes and polystyrene packing. The debris surrounds my chair. Any family that approach, he jumps down onto me and moves between us. But that is because he needs all my attention.

He will be taking tea off my spoon after I post this.

This way, those of you without have all the benefits of being with, sans repair bills!

Pat