Gumnut bombardment
Parks Ambassador David de Vos writes…
Just finished a walk in Kings Park where I was bombed with gumnuts and leaves. Vandals destroying the peace, you’d think. And you’d be right. Sort of.
My walk was through the Botanic Gardens where every visit reveals something new.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo | Credit: Birdlife Australia
A blue, warm day had brought out a few punters, but suddenly there were cockatoos flying with purpose through the Jarrah Forest section. I had never seen so many. Black with flashes of white as they screamed to each other.
It does your heart good to see them in numbers.
I went further into the jarrah where branches were shaking and gum nuts falling. Black cockatoos of course, so I stood underneath the bombardment to take a photo of the vandalism.
Ten metres above me I could see the shape clearly. I could see the beak. I could see the black.
And then, so unexpectedly, a flash of red – Calyptorhynchus banksii – a red tail.
The photo was useless but it still made my day.
