Noisy neighbours

[Grumpy John]

A flock of about 20 SCC's flew in to the parkland running beside our place this morning. They are a noisy destructive bird, but they are fun to watch.

#1 I don't know what the attraction to bark is, maybe it helps keep the beak from growing too long.


#2 I tried to drop in a nice blue sky in this shot, but Luminar would not cooperate. Maybe it only works on what it percieves as "landscapes".


#3 What's that big black thing you're pointing at me?

[Isac]

Great shots John. The SCC's are probably after the larvae or grubs that are under the bark. Our black cockatoos here do the same thing. Luminar is mainly for sky replacement in landscapes so this one would have to be done in PS. Pretty easy with the sky that's in the pic. #3 is a cracker!

[Grumpy John]

You're probably right about the grubs under the bark Isac, your experience at the Kaarakin Centre has come in handy
What do they do to keep their beaks under control, I've seen some shocking pictures of pet cocky's with horribly deformed beaks?

[Isac]

I've seen the Black Cockatoos get grubs from under the bark and they are huge like 10cm long and they are a real delicacy for them. Cockatoos don't "Trim" their beaks, they do - now and then - give them a rub on a hard surface just to tidy it up but they don't need trimming. Their blood supply and nerve endings go right near the tip so they manage that themselves. Deformed beaks (or avian keratin disorder) is caused by numerous things but mainly poor nutrition or trauma.

[avkomp]

I have seen flocks of these guys chopping small saplings down. not sure why, but always felt it may be to keep beak under control.
not sure what they are up to here though.
shot 3 is my fav too. good work

[Isac]

Blue sky with just a mask.