One of the ‘many’ amazing things about our patch of land is that we seem to be within our very own micro-climate. As you walk the trail behind the property you find yourself in rainforest vegetation which attracts some of the more exotic wildlife and birds. One of our most frequent visitors, that happen to like this rainforest vegetation, is the King Parrot. The male King Parrot is striking with his brilliant redhead and cheeky expressive nature. The first time we ‘met’ the King Parrot was when we first came to look at the property. He literally escorted us up the long sweeping driveway as if to say “look this is where I hang out. Isn’t it fantastic?”
Once we actually moved in his visits became quite frequent and it wasn’t long before he was keeping his own stash of ‘special blend’ Parrot Food in a jar on our back deck. He got so cheeky that he would come round and start pecking at the jar – no doubt hoping to access his seeds somehow. One day he managed to knock the jar over and well you can imagine after the initial fright – the joy of hitting the jackpot! Suffice to say that was the last of his stash being kept outdoors.
Nowadays The King brings his family and friends to visit. He (and his brood) are pretty healthy – no sign of any of the diseases that can befall Australia’s beautiful parrots but we do have to be mindful not to feed them on an ongoing basis. They need to forage for food and teach their young to feed naturally if they are going to thrive and be healthy independent adults.
Sometimes I will overhear a huge conversation going on – a back and forth of chirps and happy ‘chatter’. It’s quite special to see this cheeky redhead sidling up to Fergie. She is perfectly calm as he sits beside her and has a good old chat.