Our Love Hate Relationship

....... with Cockatoos

The beautiful and quite large (48-55cm) Sulphur Crested Cockatoos ( Cacatua galerita) give us much pleasure watching their antics when they arrive at our deck overlooking the trees. They squabble and preen each other, kissing and carrying on, particularly mothers and babies.

They sometimes arrive with such a raucous screech that quite frankly it makes me jump. At other times, they somehow manage to push my buttons and I find myself getting into a screeching match with them whereby we loudly screech at each other in the same tone until one of us gives up, usually me. I don’t know what anyone would think if they could hear me.

However, the most important reason we don’t altogether approve of them visiting is that they pick at the wood around the window sills with their very strong beaks. The cedar window surrounds are irresistible to them and in the past we have returned to our place to find awful destruction. We had taken to putting barbed wire there but they find a way around it. They will also suddenly take a dislike to a particular plant and pick it to bits.

I am happy to say they have settled down a little now and rarely attack the windows or plants…..famous last words I suppose.

There is this particular “Cocky” who must live in a real dirty hole somewhere because invariably when it rains she arrives looking like a real mess. The next day she will be a little cleaner and then by the next day if there hasn’t been any more rain she is clean and you can’t tell her apart from the others.