The King Parrot takeover

I think maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong parts of Canberra. King Parrots and topknot pigeons have both been pretty common around Weston Creek, at least for the last twenty years.

Beautiful plumage…

I remember seeing fairly big flocks of them in Canberra before but years and years ago. After that I only saw them occasionally and only in pairs or small groups.

They really do look rather royal, don’t they?

There are a few large groups in Campbell at the moment at well. Rosellas do the same thing too – mostly hang out in pairs for much of the year, but get together in bigger flocks around this time. I wonder if they are hanging out in sizable groups so that last season’s babies can find a mate?

I like to imagine the parents are in there, doing deals to arrange the marriage of their teenage child, offering up things like the secret location of the best snack tree in the city in order to secure a good match for their offspring.

They like skiing and they know something we don’t?

At a guess I’d say relatively mild winter (this morning excepted) plus plenty of rain equals lots of food.

I think Top Knot pigeons are also a relatively new arrival. Apparently they never used to live in Canberra but were forced in by the drought, liked it and have never left.