Galahs on Guard


This morning while out in the garden I saw about eight Galahs fly in quietly and settle on the tall mallee tree near the house. I observed them watching me carefully as I tried not to look too conspicuous as I casually went inside to fetch the camera. they were still there when I came out but were very cautious.

I managed to get a few shots of them before they flew off squawking in their usual manner. Perhaps they didn’t like me pointing something up at them. Maybe they were heading off to join the flock I heard calling in the distance. The flock seemed to be quite large; sometimes they can reach into the hundreds.

The shots I managed are not very good photographs. The sky was overcast and the light conditions very poor. Somewhere in my collection of slides I have a magnificent photograph of a pair of Galahs sitting on the remnant of a tree sticking out of the water in one of the lakes at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in Victoria. The photo was taken with the last rays of sunlight lighting up the rose coloured feathers. I must find that slide, scan it and post it here.

It is a magnificent sight to see a flock of two to three hundred Galahs all gliding and wheeling through the air in unison, the setting sun lighting up their breast feathers like so many rose coloured beacons flaming against the deep blue Australian sky.

Less attractive are the sneaky groups of half a dozen or so that slip under our radar in the early morning light and proceed to demolish the crop on our almond trees weeks before they are ready to pick. Or the brazen individuals that sit atop the pear trees, nibbling around the stem of each piece of fruit, again, only weeks before they are ripe.

Updated Nov 2013.

 

4 Responses to “Galahs on Guard”

  1. poet says:

    i really like galahs tho i call them pink galahs…i watch them feeding in a park near me.

  2. Tamara says:

    Hello,
    Galahs make the best pets. I have a Galah called Whally originally from Kangaroo Island. When he was a baby a shearer found him with a broken wing just under his hollow nest so he took him in and asked for people to look after him. I have now had him for nearly 9 years and he still knows he is a Galah. They aren’t too loud and are extremely intelligent. I highly recomend them as family pets.

  3. Trevor says:

    Hi there Tamara. Welcome to my birding blog. Galahs certainly can make good pets and very good company. While I prefer to see them flying free, I appreciate that sometimes they do get injuries which prevent them from living a natural life in the wild. So glad that you have taken good care of your Galah otherwise he may have become another sad victim at an early age.

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