I thought the other day when I was out communing with the berry bushes that I should have called it the Day of the Parrots because I think I saw or heard every kind of parrot we have locally while I was out. We of course had the noisy cockatoos who occupy our neighbourhood in flocks of about 30. They are especially fond of the nuts on the juniper tree in the front of the house and after a flock has been munching, my entry area is covered in half-eaten juniper nuts and sprigs of foliage. Charming. Mix in some possum poo.They screach and squawk and generally fly around making a racket. So welcome outside your bedroom window at dawn.

Then we have king parrots who sit and call to each ither (they travel in pairs). Their call is essentially a very piercing "CHEEP!" We didn't have king parrots here when we moved here so they are new to the mix.

We have both Eastern and Crimson rosellas, which are medium sized with long tails and a more musical chirping, chortling call. They are very colourful but they do like to eat my pears. Cheap entertainment for the Imp who likes to watch them eat pears.

Galahs (called roseate cockatoos in the San Diego Zoo) fly over on their way from one grazing area to another.. They travel in pairs or in a flock and eat seeds. I see them almost always on the playgrounds near here. They are not all that bright and frequently get run over because they stand in the road.

Also flying over are red-rumped parrots which are small, mostly green parrots which twitter rather than shriek. They also are seed-eaters and are found on the playgrounds.

On occasion we get black cockatoos and every now and then we have a stray corella. Despite the fact that the gang-gang cockatoo is the symbol of Canberra, they have not been seen aound here. I have seen them in the gum trees behind the NLA but never in our neighbourhood.

One of things the Bear promised me when he was courting me was parrots in my backyard. I thought that sounded very exotic and it would be a wonderful novelty. I have to admit that the novelty has not yet worn off even after 15 years. The Big White Birds are the only pests I'd like fewer of, even though they can be real clowns, doing somersaults on the phone lines and jumping up and down, but the noise and the mess have gotten boring.

To look at more pictures of back yard birds look here.