Canberra birds
For the love of birds, here are few goofy versions of some of my favourite native Australian birds commonly seen around the Canberra region.
You will most often find gang-gang cockatoos in large trees quietly nibbling away on seeds, nuts or fruits, or snuggling together. They seem very gentle. When they fly they tend to make a distinctive croaky screech. I am always excited to hear or see them.
You will usually see wood ducks on the ground eating grass near water. Or, on the water. But you will also find them perched up in tall trees! When they are in trees, they make a particular sort of scratchy, staccato, clucking noise. They seem to make very good parents and the male is particularly dedicated to protecting the family. He will certainly hiss and get upset with you if you come too near.
You will find most often find these fluffy little golfballs in small, dense bushes or tall, dense grass—always flitting around, always chirping. It's such a delight to see the striking colours of the male fairy wren as he darts out from the bushes on a mission, but I believe the subtle colours of the female are equally as beautiful. I can watch them and their antics for hours!
You will usually see red-rumped parrots in the grass, eating and sweetly chirping away to each other. Amazingly enough, despite how brightly coloured the male is, both the male and the female can be hard to spot in the grass as you're walking by. If you don't notice them (or if you don't look directly at them), you can get very close to them before they fly away. These are my all-time favourite Canberra-area bird—so much so that I refer to them as: 'Faves'.