![]() I have noticed since July and August ,it seems that the birds have spread out over the Gelliondale State Forest, Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park and Alberton West State Forest. I am hoping that ‘my little birds’ will stay and find a nest here in Hedley. It is important to ensure that the water is fresh as these little birds can suffer from a beak and feather virus. ![]() Part of my plan to help these little birds is installing some more water baths high off the ground on the storage shed roof. I have also seen the birds drink from cattle troughs. It is thought that the parents continue to feed the young bird’s water, as it is a high risk for the young birds to drink at ground level. I have watched them come to my two birdbaths, but I have also watched them drink from my second storey gutter. So far no luck.Īccess to fresh water is very important, as this is where the bird is most vulnerable. I am constantly looking to see if I can see where they are nesting. Therefore, it is critical to protect our nesting hollows. Nesting boxes are being trialled in East Gippsland but so far, the results are not encouraging. Parents feed the fledglings for 56 days, then another 4-6 weeks after leaving the nest. It is usual for a small community of birds( that is 2 families) to be in the same area. Both parents share the nest duties, usually 2 eggs are laid with a 30-day incubation period. The site is well chosen, usually 6-8 metres from the ground with a clear view of the hollow entry with a branch close by ,acting as a watch out position. They come to the lower grounds and find or return to the same large ‘live hollow’ year after year. Gang Gangs breed between October to January. Before too long ,I found myself talking to them. They are unlike the other cockatoos who can separate the seeds from the pods in their beak. Forever chomping away at the gumnuts, holding the foliage in their left foot to eat. I would look up and there they would be perched in their favourite tree. In the afternoons I would hear the ‘creaky door ‘greeting and smell the eucalyptus and feel and see the chewed gumnuts and branches gently fall to the ground. But with the 2019-2020 fires, their food source was destroyed. Insects and sawfly larvae are also included in their diet. They also enjoy some introduced species of Hawthorn bushes, Cotoneaster, liquid amber and cypresses. They eat over 200 types of native bushes, seeds, fruits and cones, of mainly wattles and eucalyptus species. They live in the mountains and hills during the summer months and travel to the lower ground over the winter and spring period. However, the 2019 -2020 bushfires scorched and decimated their habitat of South Eastern Australian. The bird emblem of the Australian Capital Territory is the Gang Gang Cockatoo. I want to protect and assist these little birds to survive. Maureen didn’t win, but I know we did win, as we both got to talk about the Gang Gangs. She drew an amazing portrait of me and entered the portrait in the local ‘Archies’ exhibition. During this time Maureen took my photo while I was counting the gang gangs for ‘Birdata’. Maureen would sit quietly waiting for them to arrive. Maureen Harley, a friend and a talented photographer and artist, was also smitten with these funny little birds. I told my friends and they came to experience what I had been so lucky to see. Yes, ‘Gang Gang this’ and ‘Gang Gang that’. Pretty soon that’s all I could talk about. With the trademark ‘creaky door’ greeting ,I was overwhelmed by their presence. Up until August a small flock of 15-20 Gang Gangs would arrive in my back yard every evening between 4-5 pm. I immediately enrolled.įrom the first sighting of the Gang Gang in April ,I fell in love. I wasn’t ready for that! I also noted that Bird Australia had a ‘Gang Gang Cockatoo Recovery e-learning Course’ to help us learn about how we can help these little birds to survive. ![]() After the fires, a further 10% decline in numbers was expected. Gang Gang Cockatoos have had a 69% decline in their population over a 30-year period prior to the 2019 -2020 bushfires. I visited the Bird Australia website to read more about these funny little birds. I also knew that they had recently been listed as a threatened species, but I really didn’t know that much more about this little bird. I also knew that they were more an inland bird, up in the foothills. I had heard of people seeing this little fellow but more as an infrequent visitor along these coastal plains. ![]() I have lived here all my life and I can never remember seeing this little bird, but I instantly recognised the Gang Gang Cockatoo. Back on the 24th April 2022, I looked out my kitchen window and saw this little bird. ![]()
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