Down under

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic put a kibosh on a panoply of things. It brought destitution and depression to many. Those times, a byword for disaster, incontrovertibly left an indelible mark in the human history. 

But, like the yin-yang, or a more contemporary expression - 'agathokakological' world, people witnessed and experienced some positive aspects as well. For me, it slowed down my pace of life. The morning 9'o-clock-dash to hop on to a train to be transported to a hectic day fraught with a flurry of activities - meetings in glitzy office, dining out, placating a colleague's belligerent mood - was suddenly stalled. With the onset of the pandemic, I was cloistered up at home to work remotely like many others round the world. With the weariness of travel eliminated, I was energetic throughout the day. As if to share and invigorate it further, my neighbours from across the street - feathered denizens of a coppice of juvenile eucalyptus and bottlebrush - flocked to my balcony every morning and afternoon.

The cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets, noisy miners, magpies, ravens took turns to alight on the broad ballustrade of my balcony. It wasn't long before they blended into my life as an integral part, so much so that if I was away for grocery, they'd patiently wait for the balcony glass doors to slide, letting them in.

Guests, in any form, should be fed. Who doesn't like free food? Birds, of course, if it's not their type ! Muted they were, but nevertheless these feathered critters spelt their own preferences pretty categorically - actions definitely speak louder than words! 

Thus when I offered what I thought they ate, premised on my belief birds love nuts, the bright little lorikeets examined them closely, chit chirped between themselves, and turned their heads away from almonds and walnuts! Like what! I read up a couple of web pages only to discover their brush like tongues allowed them to consume just succulent fruit flesh. Bingo! There they were, nibbling away at little apple and grape chunks I cut for them! Nobody could stop admiring how immaculately they ate every dollop of pulp, leaving behind the think skin! What peeler on earth could beat that? 

What about cockatoos? Well the sunflower seed packs in the retail outlet's pet shelves unemphatically declared their epicurean delights. I got them and put them in little bowls. The cockatoos deftly detached the seeds from the chaff and devoured every handful I offered. But as the pandemic peaked, those packs disappeared from the shelves. I had to make do with what I had at hand - apples, pistachios, wholegrain bread or simply the handmade Indian flat-bread. They didn't deign to compromise with smaller round grains available for cockatiels, trills, budgies, and galahs. Once I got a mixture of such seeds and grains; to my dismay, they sifted the sunflower seeds from the mix, leaving behind those miniscule round seeds to be dusted and binned. Their penchant was pretty pronounced for their type of food - none of them moved a muscle or spared a glance if these were supplanted with the likes of pepitas.

We say bird brain, but I'd happily borrow the element that helps them to spoor people who welcome them home, meaning no harm. Once the trust in our relationship was established, there were days when cockatoos appeared in a large flock of up to twenty and the dark grey balcony tiles were suddenly punctuated with smooth white feathery spots. It was then a pleasure to espise in them a smorgasbord of characteristics that are common among people like you and me.

There was a shy one that ate only when fed by a human hand and felt it beneath its esteem to pick up food from the floor. There was another that was jittery and walked up to the alluring food only when it was kept at a safe distance from others; it often ended up getting nothing. It was out of empathy for this bird that I tried putting portions apart, but then no species is exception to the old adage 'survival of the fittest'. I simply couldn't help that hapless solitary soul. Thankfully it had the wit to come early and wait until all its 'tree-mates' were gone, so I could help it with an extra 'beakful'! Alarmed at the slightest of movements, it would splay its majestically curved yellow crest in an instant and was palpably scared of the most dominating one, the bellicose cockatoo! You'd know it had arrived as it landed on the ballustrade of the balcony with a thud and made no effort to muffle its 'talonfalls' - clang clung clang - it imperiously strutted up and down like an irascible villainous antagonist. The rest of the flock fluttered around it, waiting for a chance to ditch it and grab a morsel. It allowed its partner to peck at its share while it bullied and scared away others. Though they accosted each other over food occasionally, in general, the cockatoos were playful and curious. They didn't dither to walk in to indoors and peck at the packets or receptacles that held their food, sit on soft sofa, explore my belongings like they were theirs. Experimenting the laundry drying rack was by far their most thrilling activity - going up or along a rod like a veteran gymnast or simply remaining perched as if in meditation. One of them took great pride in grabbing hangers by the hook with its beak and dropping them on the floor with a clang, one at a time. Once all the twelve hangers were assaulted, it busied itself with a sundry of other items like, clothes pins, doormats, slippers, feeding bowls, dustpan. When such things went missing, there was no telling why!

Smooth white feathery feathery spots - The shy one wouldn't come down

The shy, the jittery, the belligerent with its partner in a row

Propensity for apples is pronounced 

Segregation for safety 

Kinda bored!

Feasting on bottlebrush across the street

The jittery one - uncertain whether to stay or fly away

Indian flat-bread  - the last resort 

Apple slice delight

Hello there!

Pistachios, yum!

The shy one in Attention!

Ensconced itself on my sofa

Home Alone

Curious cockatoo moment with clothes pins 

Play mat

Toying with a sundry of items 

Dining time peppered with sporadic row over food

Aliferous Denizens of a coppice of juvenile eucalyptus across the street

Allopreening

Wing power - landing and taking off 

Rainbow lorikeets, true to their nomenclature, are chirpy little birds that display a resplendent plumage of indigo-green-yellow-orange-red variegation. The iridescence of their pinions under the sun is a beauty to behold. Their hook like bills are a dark red as if to bring out the colour of their feathers. Of the ones that frequented my balcony, I found a quite aggressive individual. At times, it put up a show that could be conveniently named: 'Size doesn't matter'. It ate bits of apples with its partner and fiercely guarded all the pieces that were proffered. If a cockatoo dared to venture within the periphery of its food, it hopped and warded it off, even gesticulating to peck at it. Often the partner of this intrepid one reaped the "fruit" of this courage, obliviously nibbling away at the juicy food. Not taught to not touch other's stuff, they pretty much considered everything beneath the sun as theirs. Why would it prick their conscience to hop through my window and stomach a sliver of an apple that was supposed to be my snack?

Size doesn't matter

Whose snack was that apple?

The intrepid one

Apple chunks for the pair

But if I didn't intend to scour the tiles immediately, the furtive noisy-miners scavenged what they could. Contrary to their name, I'd laurel them for cleanliness and quietude. They often came alone, picked up the tiniest bit left, and carried it swiftly to a safe place to gulp. Peace of mind was apparently pivotal for these light-brown feathered ash-bellied birds that spotted bright yellow behind their eyes and from the hock to brighten the brown-ash ensemble.

The furtive scavenger

The elegant moves of these birds, the flexible twisting of their neck and body when they weren't flying left me enraptured! I envied their smug way of scaling the precariously thinning and often swaying limbs of trees, effortlessly sure-footed. No amount of yoga brought that balance in me! The lorikeets hopped and often looked like toys that bounced around on springs when keyed. Noisy miners were too fast for me to decide if they walked or hopped.

Of course each of them possessed a distinctive way of declaring their arrival! The solemn cockatoos cawed only with a little intensity to apprise us of their arrival, reminding us that the diners were earnestly waiting! Outside however, in the wild, the evenings were often resonant with their raucous caws and screeches of homecoming after a day's arduous foraging for food. Those caws were shrill and coarse to the edge of being ear-splitting like revels of revellers revelling and relishing the success of a ponderous project. Lorikeets, on the other hand, softly chirped away all the while they were eating or idling and lollygagging! Noisy miners were the quietest with just a 'chirik-chirik' before taking off with the food between their beaks!

Judging by the way they ate, the cockatoos were embodiment of patience. They used their left prehensile talons to clutch on to the food, like a child grasps a coveted stick-candy, to finish it with perfection before picking up the next piece! Lorikeets were much messier eaters giving the cleaner a hard time. Noisy miners were well-mannered and left no mark if they happend to dine at our doors.

The days all of them convened at once, the balcony was an aviary of a menagerie. It was a delight to take the role of an adjudicator and crown one of them the wittiest the silent ones of course! Noisy miners noiselessly swept in, picked up the food with contemptuous ease and flew off to their leafy abode even before the others started contemplating on the day's menu.  

Magpies rarely condescend to fly down to mere apples and bread crumbs! I called them the majestic motley of sable black and snow white. Mesmerised by the span and strength of their remiges, and sweetness of their calls, I recalled a poet's depiction - they appear to walk around elegantly like dignified men in tuxedos at a dinner party but turn fractious over food!  

Rare visitors

Ravens - I only captured them a couple of times in my lenses. But they made sure they were heard -  'awww awww awww', each one in lower tone than the previous and in the same pattern always!

Back to where we started - the agathokakological world. The delight of beholding these beauties was only one side of the coin. The flip side was filthy - the detritus of tittynopes and poop which if not attended to proactively turned to a squalor of congealed vestiges, wrinkled apple skins, and hardended bird poo. If I gave cleaning a wide berth for a few days, I fervently prayed for a super rainy day for a natural wash!

For an immigrant, these birds were pretty unusual to be found around in common places. As I got familiar with the wont, their eating habits, friendliness, and their antics fascinated me. It was even more intriguing to differentiate one from the other based on their individual behavioral traits. What I penned down was not from any research or reading from any website and I'm no more an ornithologist than a core AI engineer or a shipwright. I collated my observations. The facts and behaviour might differ widely from what researchers studied or surmised - just a caveat for the readers. 

Outside my balcony, my evening constitutional treated  me to remarkably unique cackling laughter of kookaburra, scurrying away of bush turkey, parading of ibis, loving galahs, crested pigeons, fleeting view of rarely seen black cockatoo. 

In one such instance, my son and I bumped upon a fledgling rainbow lorikeet that fell from its nest and was dozing off under a tree on a sun baked ledge, blissfully unaware of predation. Luckily the local library was in the propinquity and they provided us with a cardboard box in which we carried the helpless bird to a local vet two blocks down the lane. We were relieved it would be safe under vet's ministrations. Unfortunately, there are a few that aren't as lucky. Sometimes they are beyond our reach to capture and treat. It brings me to tears for one that was terribly unwell, was unable to eat, and would pass its final few days in the sun of my balcony. 

Saving the helpless lorikeet fledgling 

Beyond our reach to treat

Passing the final few days peacefully 

Australia being an island, is home to many other endemic birds. Avifauna of down under includes little curious emu, ratite cassowary with stark red-blue neck, and many others that aren't commonly seen in the urban areas. Little blue penguins swimming to the shore and waddling back to their nests are a wonder to watch at Phillip Island.

The unique fauna embraces egg laying mammals like echidna, amphibious crepuscular platypus. A range or marsupials like koala, kangaroo, Tasmanian devil (what a misnomer considering their shy nature), and wallabies call the grasslands and eucalyptus branches their home. It's a pleasure to explore who I share my space with!

The captivating flora encompass lavender farms of Tasmania during summer, mauve jacaranda in November, bright purple tibouchina in April, ice-cream like banksia, Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans), delicate acacia, dangling wisteria, gymea lily, giant flowers like Alcantarea imperialis, swan like Agave flowers, and list goes on. 

Following are pictures of local flora fauna collected over several years. 

If this piqued your interest in these aliferous allies feel free to learn more, or even better, visit down under!

Lavender farm at Bridestowe, Tasmania 

Jacaranda by Gordon station 

Grevillea at Berowra

Quince, Hornsby 

Roses at Chatswood Station premises 

Agapanthus,  Wahroonga 

Bee on wisteria at Chatswood 

Poppy, Chatswood Public School 

Bromeliad, silver vase, urn plant

Aloe vera on a walk from Thornleigh

Azaleas 

Purple mist 

Agave

Black tulip at Bowral 

Gum tree flowers

Bear's Breeches at Chatswood Oval

Fox Gloves at Queenstown, Tasmania 

Canna Lily at Hornsby 

Canna Lily at Sydney Uni

Casava at a short walk from Waitara 

Gymea lily

Azaleas at Asquith 

Jasmine

Elaeocarpus reticulatus 'Prima Donna', Blueberry Ash, Fairy Petticoats at Waitara

Camellia at Gordon station 

Three leaf clover, Wood Sorrel, Shamrock at Gordon

Bee on Gordonia or Fried Egg

Nasturtium 

Bush sage

Gardenia

Hickey Mouse flowers at Asquith Station

Lilly pilly

Flame Tree

Shrimp plant by Peats Ferry Road, Asquith

Persian Silk

Gum Tree

Cherry blossom 

Spear Lily

Red Hot Poker

Magnolia

Hydrangea, Bahai Temple, Monavale

Grevillea at Asquith Station 

Hydrangea 

Tulips at Bowral

Lilies

Fuchsia

Anemone

Anemone

Blue poppy, Chatswood Public School, Bush Campus

Fortnight Lily, Chatswood Oval

Monstera, Epping

Bird of Paradise 

White Magnolia, Gordon

Rondeletia amoena, Chatswood 

Pride of Madeira, Asquith

Trumpet Flowers

Cherry blossom 

Bird of Paradise 

Tulips, Bowral

Wooly congea

Acacia, by Chatswood Oval

Bottlebrush, Asquith

Australia Umbrella Plant, Gordon

Sea Lavender 

Cherry blossom, Auburn

Crepe myrtle, Normanhurst 

Agave flower

Acacia

Crested pigeons

Galahs 

Bush turkey 

Kookaburra 

Ibis

A stranger's unusually friendly pet, Botanical Gardens 

Pelicans during Pelican Feeding at The Entrance 

Magpie, by Galston Road

Australian female King Parrot, Melbourne 

Australian male King Parrot 

Crimson Rosella, Melbourne

Rainbow lorikeet, Chatswood 

Noisy miners, Waitara

Preening

Heron

Emu,  Melbourne 

Noisy miner, Wahroonga Park

Black swans, Narrabeen

Rainbow Lorikeet 

Cockatoo feeding on gum tree flowers, Gordon

Cassowary, Wildlife Sydney 

Echidna, by Dove Lake, Tasmania

Kangaroo in the wilderness of Tasmania

Dona, Sydney