Unusual bird sighting at Nightcliff foreshore

On Sunday afternoon the family and I went down to Nightcliff foreshore for a picnic after a fantastic rainstorm. The sky was clearing and the atmosphere charged with activity as the birds all came out to take advantage of the pleasant conditions and abundance of food. We parked the car under Casuarina trees bursting with Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Lorikeets, Friarbirds and Torres Straight (Torresian) or (Pied Imperial) Pigeons. There were Bar-shouldered and Peaceful doves all over the ground and a variety of Honeyeaters in the bushes. Amongst the squawking of the cockatoos and the screeching Lorikeets I heard the familiar gentle whistle of a Cockatiel (I used to breed them in cages). I looked around for a while and before too long found one solitary bird picking at the cracked Casuarina nuts that the huge black cockatoos had dropped.

The Wild male bird perched close to where we were sitting



The Male and most likely a Female feeding on the ground (the second bird appeared to be immature).

I gathered that the bird was an aviary escapee but who knows how long an escaped Cockatiel could survive so far from any wild flocks. Soon after I could hear another one in the trees nearby. I watched for a while and discovered them feeding amongst the Barshouldered doves on the ground right at the edge of the cliffs. Wow I never expected to see two of them! They were both grey birds (The natural colour of wild Cockatiels) so I'm still not sure if they were wayward wild birds or escaped pets.

Since I have lived in Darwin I have seen quite a few stray Cockatiels and I often wonder if they could possibly all be escapees. Generaly speaking pet birds don't last too long in the wild but it could be possible that these birds are able to survive for extended periods if the conditions are suitable. Having said that their natural habitat is in arid regions and these birds are in the Tropical North during the Wet Season! They must be recent escapees!????

Bowerbird update...


Chicks wait


Mother approaches


Feeding success

Last week the 2 eggs hatched and the mother bird has been very active keeping the chicks well fed and clean. When I visited this morning I was lucky enough to see her feeding the two plump chicks and removing all their waste from the nest. Unfortunately it's a little dificulut to get a decent photo of them because my camera doesn't have much of a zoom and I find it dificult to focus when shooting out of a grubby window.