Friday 19 April 2019

Gang Gang Cockatoos in Geelong

Gang Gang Cockatoos are seasonal visitors to the Geelong region. They usually arrive in autumn to feed on the ripening 'gum-nuts' of several eucalyptus species.


Gang Gang Cockatoo (adult males), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens
195 mm, ISO 200, 1/200 second @ f/8

Gang Gangs are sexually dimorphic, i.e., (adult) males and females look distinctly different. Males have the bright orange-red head, females have grey head but have beautiful cream and orange banding on the breast and belly.

Gang Gang Cockatoo (adult male), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens
400 mm, ISO 400, 1/640 second @ f/8
Gang Gang Cockatoo (adult female), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens
400 mm, ISO 200, 1/100 second @ f/8

Like all cockatoos, they have large, powerful bills and highly dextrous feet, which they use in combination with a hard, rough tongue to manipulate food.

Gang Gang Cockatoo (adult female), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens
400 mm, ISO 400, 1/400 second @ f/8
Gang Gang Cockatoo (adult male), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds
Panasonic Lumix G9 with Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 lens
350 mm, ISO 400, 1/400 second @ f/8

In this video I discuss how to photograph birds high in trees in bright, sunny conditions.


2 comments:

  1. A great bird to see and photograph. Thanks for all the tips. Have a great Easter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Margaret. Happy Easter to you too! :-)

    ReplyDelete

Apologies for the inconvenience but I have had to turn on word verification to avoid spam (I was getting 10-20 a week)

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Birding and Natural History Blogs - Australia

Birding Blogs - Worldwide