14 November 2012

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

Hearing distinctive, weird, wailing 'wee-you' (aptly described in my Birds of Australia reference book), alerts me to get my camera and head outdoors. It was just after 6 p.m., and with tele-conversion lens screwed on somewhat hurriedly ... yes actually, a lot hurriedly, and settings adjusted to suit, I'm peering next from a partially-screened position wedged between the garden-room and back boundary fence.

It's far from the ideal spot for a photographer-with-a-mission at such short notice, and I stand my feet on a couple loose paving bricks for a nudge of extra height to aim the lens over the brush-fencing and into the bush-corridor beyond.  Anything (well ...almost), for a photo.  Especially of these fine cockatoos, said to be 'patchy in distribution and numbers', and heard only occasionally around here.

It's quite the buzz isn't it when you suddenly find your prize in the lens, waiting on you to get it right.  There's the challenge, how long will it stay there I wonder ...and hoping, surely out of all the attempts at a snapshot, something will be worth sharing.

ahah!  You.. little beauty.  

oh, and there's another



what next?

oh .... so it's feed time!



and it was at this point that Mum took off, with big-little-one following

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday

29 comments:

Joop Zand said...

Hi Carole

Never seen this black bird..... you have made a few good pictures.

Greetings, Joop

Carletta said...

You were able to capture some truly wonderful shots!
I like the subtle yellow and it is quite lovely when the feathers are spread.
Lovely series Carole!

Findlay Wilde said...

These birds look really interesting. From Findlay

Evelyn S. said...

Definitely worth sharing, Carole! I would think it would be exciting to be able to capture an image of these fascinating birds!

Horst in Edmonton said...

Great photos of a beautiful rare bird, way to go Carole.

Phil Slade said...

It looks like this species is a real "goodie" and you are spot on with your description of the bird sitting there and putting the onus on us humans with a camera - I'd never thought of it like that until now. You got some good shots Carole.

i stora drag said...

Really good pictures! I'm so amazed by how many different birds there are in our world! :)
Greetings Pia

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Wow! These are great. Hand-held, using a teleconvertor and standing on wobbly bricks, you continue to impress me.

eileeninmd said...

Cool bird! Very neat it displayed the pretty yellow tail feathers. Awesome shots!

TexWisGirl said...

glad they showed off their tails for you! cool birds!

Jan Castle said...

Quite a display! The yellow on the black is so striking!
Paper Hugs,
Jan

Larry said...

Nice shots of these elusive birds Carole. Aren't you the lucky one to have them in your yard?

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

You got some wonderful shots, Carole! I loved seeing the yellow tail feathers.

mick said...

Great photos of these beautiful birds. They fly over here quite frequently but unfortunately don't stop for photos.

Vores have said...

Nice pictures you show a black cockatoo - believed actual only the white cockatoos.
Thanks for the comment on my blog.
Hanne Bente

diane b said...

A great series of shots you managed under difficult conditions. I have never seen a yellow tailed cockatoo Ared one but not yellow. Wow. You were lucky.

Anonymous said...

wunderschön diese schwarzen Papageien!

Lieben Gruss Elke

Anonymous said...

Beautiful collection of shots, Carole. What an awesome bird. Its such a delight to see a bird such as this.

Anni said...

Perfectly named....and I appreciate that you captured the tail for us. Beautiful bird.

Hope you can find a bit of time today to stop by and visit to view my collection of feathered friends this week!!

Irma said...

What a beautiful bird you have photographed Carole, compliments
I have never seen this bird.

Wally Jones said...

Timing is everything! And yours was good. What beautiful birds! Very nice images, thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Die sind ja putzig, die beiden und sehr schöne Fotos.

LG Mathilda

Mary Howell Cromer said...

How very wonderful!!!

Brian King said...

What handsome looking birds! I've never seen these before.

Stewart M said...

I love these birds - and I always go outside when I hear the as well! We get them around (and mainly over!) our part of Melbourne in the winter.

Great set of pictures.

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW - Stewart M

Red Nomad OZ said...

The black cockatoo's strange, sad cry will stop me in my tracks, whatever I'm doing!

Liz said...

Not one, but two!!! How wonderful!! Great captures Carole!

Anonymous said...

Pretty blackbirds. Love the tails.

We have ugly black ones.

So never seen any like this.

Judy said...

That is so cool!! I have never heard of this species! I wonder why the black cockatoos do not make it into the pet trade...