Anthony's Blog

A week or so ago, Dennis told an unlikely story of one of our cats, Oscar being excited to discover a Cockatoo on our balcony. I didn't see it, so I dismissed it as a figment of both their imaginations. Bear in mind that the only birds we see with any regularity in the city block bounded by Swanston, Collins, Elizabeth & Flinders Streets are pigeons. Our friends who live in slightly posher Spring Street tell of seeing kookaburras and rosellas and all sorts of other natives lured in by the vast expanse of the Gordon Reserve but we don't see natives like that down our way. (If they start boasting about lyre birds and swans, I'll get suspicious).

But this morning I woke to a loud "caw, caw" noise. And, on getting up I discovered not one, but two cockatoos wreaking havoc with the bushes on the balcony belonging to our neighbours, D and E.

In fact, they were really ripping away at the pot plants. As well as nibbling, they stripped off branches and blithely dropped them over the edge: to fall seven storeys onto somebody in Centre Lane: (See plummetting branch, below.)



Then, one of the cheeky cockies flew across to the balcony I was standing on, and landed right next to me, as if to say "So, what do you think you're doing?" and "Do you have a few more of those branches for me to nibble on?"



After a bit more cheekiness they both flew off into the distance. I've no idea why they came here, but this is the first sign that native plants (on our neighbour's balcony and along the seventh floor hall garden) might be attracting native birds. I'm going to have to ask D & E what sort of plants they've got so I can go and buy some similar ones. These guys were much more interesting than pigeons.

Bye bye cockie....