Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Wicked White Birds!

This post is for World Bird Wednesday.

I am always intrigued with accounts from others about their backyard bird feeders with several different foods and seed mixtures to attract birds. It certainly wouldn't work here! All I'd attract would be these Wicked White Birds - a.k.a. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos! There are far too many of them around here for comfort and they are so destructive!
However, if the natural balance of the environment is disturbed you must expect birds to take advantage if they can. Just west of here there are large commercial pine plantations (Slash Pine - Pinus elliotii - not a native!) and the cockatoos definitely like the pine cones. However, they fly over the houses here night and morning and also take advantage of anything they see!
There's a pine tree next door for them to explore. They break off whole branches - not just the cones.
They sit in the tops of my neighbor's palms and chew the new fronds to pieces.
They cling to the electricity wires - when all else fails - and screech and play on them for a while.
What has made me cranky with them at present is that the Passion Fruit vines have a heavy crop on them right now and the Cockatoos sample the fruit. Passion Fruit is a vine that has a round fruit which is sweet and "yummy" when nice and ripe. The fruit is 2-3inches in diameter (50-70mm). The pulp of the fruit can be eaten 'as is' or used for flavoring in fruit salad, or flavoring for icing (frosting) on a cake, or for flavoring in cream for a pavlova - (and here's a recipe for pavlova)
This is the flower.
This is the green fruit almost hidden in the leaves.
This is what the ripe fruit looks like - cut open to eat.
And this is what the Cockatoos do!
I wouldn't mind sharing SOME - but the Cockatoos come down and pick anything they see and try it by making a hole in the side. When it is green and not pleasant to eat they just spit it out on the ground. You come out to find the ground littered with discarded green fruit and not much else left on the vine! So far I am relying on my dog to chase them off before they do too much damage. I have a friend who - in desperation! - has covered some of her fruit with paper bags.
So, blogging friends in North America and Europe - can you imagine how much the cockatoos would LOVE your bird feeders! Not sure how much would be left of the feeder by the time they had finished!

28 comments:

  1. Oh my! They're beautiful but I know they're big and loud too! And in flocks such as you get there, they'd be extremely destructive! I think I'll be grateful for the 'flocks' of squirrels at my feeders!

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  2. Wow are they ever something though!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  3. They sound worse than our Starlings Mick; but very handsome.

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  4. Almost hard to believe that you find these beauties as a problem.
    Nice post and great shots.

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  5. But how beautiful! At home we do have some only in cages. So we never see them free! But I understand your frustration, but as you take so nice photos of them, I believe you like them just a little bit. ?

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  6. they are pretty but that is to bad about the damage they do. we have the same problems with squirrels here in Florida USA they eat our grapefruit and avacodos, and eat a hole in each one, doing much damage, just like these birds

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  7. I can feel the frustration Mick!!

    Similar problem here with the Ring-necked Parakeets hogging the feeders and any other available fruits.

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  8. Great birdphotos! I am not so sure I would like to have so many of them in my garden, it sure sounds stessful :-)

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  9. Too bad such a beautiful bird has to a nuisance! I loved them since the moment I saw them at the zoo as a kid. We have Passion fruit here too(introduced). You can make a nice juice of it,just need water,sugar and a little salt. Great to serve cold on a hot day!

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  10. So nice photos of the beautyful birds! :)

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  11. Oh my I wish they are here hehehe. Your passion fruit looks very yummy!! Thanks for sharing the photos love it!

    WBW

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  12. Your cockatoos sound like our squirrels. They ravage our feeders. They sure are beautiful, though.

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  13. I can't imagine dealing with that many large and LOUD cockatoos. I'm sure they can be entertaining at times, but the destruction would get to me after a while.

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  14. Beautiful birds, didn't know they could be such a problem. Nice shots :)

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  15. Hi Mick - both of us went with birds that are not that out of the ordinary for us - but it nice to see the reaction from elsewhere.

    As I say "Its never just a parrot" - because parrots are splendid.

    Cheers - Stewart M

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  16. Beautiful birds to see in the wild.
    A lovely "pest" to share with us all

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  17. Great captures Mick! It's a shame that such a beautiful bird is so destructive.

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  18. Goodness! You make me feel silly whining about Cowbirds and Grey Squirrels at my feeders.
    I really enjoyed the post and your photos!

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  19. Too bad such beautiful birds have to be such a nuisance.

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  20. That would be quite a sight to see them flying over. Great pictures.

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  21. Never knew that such beautiful birds, that are kept her as pets, could be so destructive. Your pictures of them are lovely though!

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  22. Wow, how can a bird so pretty be so destructive. I am sorry about yoru passion fruit. But, I just love those birds. Great photos.

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  23. This reminds me of the way I feel when the squirrels bite the flowers off the rose bush yet they dont eat it!! Grrr
    Awesome photos of your white "gang"

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  24. Hi Mick -- I loved this post for several reasons. First, I am happy to hear a birder say that sometimes there are too many of a species, for whatever reason.

    I actually cringe when I see someone talk about how beautiful cormorants are -- that species have destroyed great sections of greenery on the coastal river in Oregon where we like to boat.

    And starlings. A non-native species here that cause mess and kill other birds etc etc...

    Anyway, that being said -- those cockatoos are absolutely beautiful and I have to say that your destructive birds are much prettier than my destructive birds.

    Thank you for the post and for your honesty.

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  25. How cool to see parrots like this in the wild -- lovely captures!

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  26. I love those birds but I also understand what you mean. Although not that destructive we also have problems regarding pidgeons which are a plague here. I can't have a bird feeder either!

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  27. They are beautiful birds, but I can understand how you come to despise them. Having tried passion fruit a couple of times I know what you'll miss. Can't you cover the wines with netting or do the birds tear it apart?

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  28. Crazy! I'd like to see them fight with the Steller's Jays for supremacy.

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