Apology to the cockatoo

It seems I was mistaken when I accused the cockatoos of munching away at my sunflower in a recent post.  On my usual jaunt to feed the chooks in the morning I stumbled upon the real culprit sitting atop the flower stem supping on sunflower seeds.  I raced back in to get the camera and managed a quick shot before they wised up to my whereabouts and were off.

Pale-headed rosella (Platycercus adscitus) sampling the sunflower

So my humblest apology to the cockatoos for my wrongful accusations.  I should have picked on another parrot instead.  Although in a way I'm glad I was wrong; I haven't seen these beautiful birds in my backyard for a long while.

Don't you steal my sunshine

A few months ago a sunflower sprouted from some of the scattered bird seed and somehow managed to avoid the avid raking and digging of chicken feet.  With a little sprinkle from the hose every now and then it gradually grew taller and taller, even outgrowing me (not that that's hard though).  Eventually it started to bud and the anticipation climbed until the day someone decided they'd have a munch.  I didn't manage to catch the culprit red-handed (or yellow-beaked and sulphur crested for that matter) but given their track record I'm going to blame the cockatoos.  Luckily it didn't damage the flower too much and it's still managed to put on a good show. As soon as the seeds start to form they'll be back and all I'll have left to admire is this photo and the beautiful sunshine stealing birds.

Maybe one of them is in love and thinking to herself "he loves me, he loves me not" as she munches her way around the flower.