Black on Blue The Lament of the Black Cockatoo

The White Tailed Black Cockatoo is a large, raucous and conspicuous bird well known to the residents of Perth and the south-west. To some they are a pest but to most of us a treasure. They are such as integral part of our landscape that it is easy to take them for granted and most people have no idea that they are endangered or else do not believe it. They are so conspicuous and travel such large distances that a small number will be seen by large numbers of people. The fact is that there are not many left and of those many are old birds well past their breeding prime. Unlike us a bird in its 60’s looks much the same as a 2 year old.

There are two types of White-tailed black Cockatoos. The seed eating Carnaby’s Cocky which has a short beak and the Long-beaked Baudin’s Cockatoo which is a fruit eater that is being shot to oblivion by orchardists and is really in trouble. The main problem for Carnaby’s Cocky in particular is a shortage of ancient Wandoo trees with suitable nesting hollows within about 6 km of Kwongan Heath feeding grounds. The other problem is that many of the suitable nesting hollows have been taken over by feral bees. These are issues that must be addressed as a priority for us to have any chance of securing a long term future for these beautiful birds. Can you imagine the sky black with flocks of thousands of White Tailed Black Cockatoos as the Nyunger People and the early settlers used to witness?

Lonely black against the blue
Once so many now so few
Once the black obscured the blue
When the flocks of thousands flew
Across the land the Nyungar knew

The nesting hollows in the trees
Are now most often filled with bees
And where to find good seeds to eat
With the loss of Kwongan Heath
Turned to paddocks full of beef

Is there a way to bring them back?
To once again coat blue with black
To once more hear the forest ring
With their chorus as they sing
And shriek and squawk like anything

Scarlet Robin

Early in the morning
There’s a flash of brilliant red
And a tap upon the window
While we are still in bed

He’s not there to say good morning
Or to stop us sleeping late
He is there in all his glory
To fight his mirror mate

He arrives early to greet his reflection in our northern windows. We hear a scratch on the window and there he is in all his glory. The vivid scarlet breast and white patched forehead mark him unmistakably as a Scarlet Robin. This inhabitant of the Jarrah and Wandoo Forests of South Western Australia is an Old World Flycatcher and not related to its English Robin Red Breast namesake. Apart from his good looks he has a beautiful trilling, warble. The female is not as gaudy but is also gorgeous with a pale red breast and more subdued colouring.