Saturday 7 May 2011

Parrot Deja Vu

While I was sorting out my moth traps and photographing a couple of the more interesting "first for the year" moths I heard a loud, unusual but some how distantly familiar sound. When I went out side a fairly large longish tailed parrot flipped out of the Silver Birch tree in the side garden and disappeared. I hadn't identified it and though that that would be the last I saw of it.

Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)

A couple of hours later Pam asked me what the noise in the garden was and I immediately recognised the call of the parrot. It was in a different tree and this time stayed there while we looked and photographed it. I know the winds have been quite strong from the south east but I hadn't expected an Australian visitor. It's three and a half years and 10,500 miles since I last saw a Crimson Rosella and the two photos bear an uncanny resemblance, although today's one doesn't feature a Gum (Eucalyptus) Tree.

This one was taken Near Melbourne, at Grant's Picnic site in Sherbrooke Forest, 14/10/2007. I must admit that I was not aware that Rosellas are often kept in captivity, certainly in Australia they become very tame at picnic sites and other place where they can benefit from human activity.

4 comments:

Susan said...

They are entertaining birds, aren't they? The owner of the pub where we lived in the UK kept various Australian parrots. I could hear them from the platform when catching the train for work. It was a bit of a mind bender. (BTW, your Australian one isn't sitting in a gum tree.)

Tony Morris said...

No, it;s not a gum tree, but a bit of poetic licence, can you ID the tree for me?

Kingsdowner said...

I saw one by the NT car park and Steve Ray saw one (maybe two) by the lighthouse - wouldn't it be great if they bred :-(
Perhaps they could take on the parakeets.

Tony Morris said...

No it wouldn't!!