CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

This little guy - yep, it's the male - came to visit in our tree. I've since seen him with a little harem of females, but never been able to get close enough to them for a photograph. Watch this blog. Eventually, I manage it. In the meantime, please enjoy the shots I *did* manage to get as he sang (or chirped merrily) in my backyard. He was pretty wary, and hard to get close to, and  He very stubbornly stayed behind a screen of leaves. Occasionally, he turned his back, giving me a clear view of his red rump. And his yellow tummy. Eventually, I managed to move around enough to get this hot. He watched every move, so I went back inside and left him in peace.

This is one of the noisiest of the Australian birds - or, at least, the one most people notice. I found this one grazing on his own, completely unperturbed by the end of a nearby soccer game, but cautious of a nosy woman with a camera. Known most broadly as a galah, they are also called the rose-breasted cockatoo. Their crazy antics while flying in flocks is the reason that humans exhibiting crazy or stupid behaviours are also called 'galahs'. I got as close as I could to start with. The raised crest means he's aware I'm there and watching me. And then I got a little closer. And closer still.  I was really missing my longer lens, but it was back at the house, so the short one had to do.  The wind was blowing, which is why the feathers are so ruffled in the shot above. In the shot below, the bird is giving me another long look, before it decides the grass is a better option than flying away.