Cockatoos are frequent visitors to our garden, especially when the almond tree flowers and the almonds grow and drop onto the ground.
They spend a lot of time collecting the almonds from the ground, cracking open shells, and eating almonds on the carport roof, while socialising…
They are pretty good at putting on a show for the camera too..
The almond tree has beautiful flowers and is much loved by many birds.
However, there is seldom harmony amongst birds and gardeners in spring.
Recently a couple of the cockatoos hopped onto the almond tree and started shredding the leaves and the flowers. Earlier this year, they had successfully shredded our flowering Eucalyptus tree of many of its smaller branches, so we hoped this wasn’t going to start a new trend…
Paul waved the broom at them and politely said ”shoo!”
Well! We’ve never heard that tone before!
For our resident cockatoos, even implied criticism is hard to take…they collected their almonds and flew off to the neighbouring telephone wires….
and turned their backs on us!
….. and if you think you are going to get a photo opportunity from us…you can go sing for your supper…
They disappeared for a few days, but, sadly, the plot thickens.
Last year, I took most of these perfectly good tulips out of the front garden and put them in pots on the deck in the back garden.
Cockatoos frequently fly over the deck to get to the almond tree, and very occasionally they behead a daffodil or two along the way, usually the ones that have the temerity to flower early.
However, sometime after our falling out with the cockatoos, we came home one evening to find some of the early flowering tulips, and some crocus had been pulled out of their pots, and half eaten…. what a mess, what destruction!
The culprits had very large beaks…
Cockatoos are known to be curious and intelligent birds…so, were they sampling new bulbs for taste or bearing a grudge?
As my neighbour said, perhaps….”Revenge is a dish best served cold”
The cockatoos did not come visiting for a while, but we enjoyed seeing some of the other springtime youngsters…
Recently we went to Sydney for a wedding, and this time I hid my (remaining) flowering bulbs behind the camellia on the deck…better safe than sorry…
All quiet on the home front when we got home…
At least we have a few surviving tulips for the deck, so all is not lost.
There is not much chance to enjoy anything in the garden at the moment, because the rain has been tumbling down all week.
Except of course if you are a cockatoo. Word is out that the almond shells are lovely and soft, and have been lying around on the ground for some time now.
Well, okay you’re forgiven. We’ll just sit here in the rain and enjoy the bounty ….
I guess every gardener has some challenges, and at least ours are mighty big personalities!
Since I started blogging and reading gardening blogs, I’ve learnt all about a the hazards of nearby rabbits, possums, deer, squirrels and other invaders in the garden…do you have yours?
Copyright Geraldine Mackey. All rights reserved