No Loons or Canadian Geese?

This is a post about birds.

The first thing that I noticed was different when we got to Canberra were the birds. Not the magpies, I didn't know about those horrors yet, but their rather colourful counterparts. These are bonifide tropical-type birds! On any given day, walking to school or to the shops, we will see mostly all of these birds. Its become pretty commonplace now, but i still think they are beautiful and blog-worthy This guy is called a Gala. When I first saw a bunch of them milling around on the ground they reminded me of the pigeons on Animaniacs because of their pink and grey colouring. They seem to be pretty chill birds- no squaking or swooping from these guys.

This is a King Parrot. Yup, a parrot! There are a couple that like to hang out in the tree just beside our front door. They are gorgeous, and a little more skittish then some of the other birds. Its tough to get close, but you definitely don't miss them in their bright reds and greens. They also fly overthings with a very small amount of clearance. This, in our magpie-paranoid state, can cause you to think you are being swooped when you are really just below the flight path of these colourful fellows.

I think I was most shocked to see flocks of Sulfur-crested Cockatoos on the side of the road. I mean, at home these things are only seen in expensive pet stores! These cockatoos win the award for most terrifying noise. Their squawk is SO loud and SO grating that I have sometimes mistaken it for a scream. It will certainly make you jump!

This is a little guy we don't see very often. The picture doesn't do it justice, because the Blue Wren's colourning is an almost flourescent, electric blue. He is probably only the size of a tennis ball. We have seen him a few times flitting around our back porch. But he is far too skittish to ever catch him for long!