Wild Bird Wednesday 507 - Pink Cockatoo / Major Mitchell's cockatoo

I took these pictures earlier this year when I was in the North West of Victoria in the area called The Mallee.  The Pink Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) is generally a bird of the arid or semi-arid parts of Australia, and The Mallee is the closest Victoria gets to having a classic 'outback' kind of environment.

I took these pictures on a very grey day, and if there was ever a time when I have enjoyed being able to see the images I am taking straight away it was on that day.  I was able to mess with the exposure until I could get it more or less right.  I also was surprised how close I got to the birds - using the car as a hide - and in fact I ended up with 'too much' lens.  That is a situation I am not used to!

So, the Pink Cockatoo is about the same size as the more familiar Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, and also much less vocal.  

They are truely wonderful birds.

There is a visiting Galah in two of these images.

This final image relies on a bit more manipulation than normal.  These two birds would not look off to one side at the same time, so I took the chance to try a method of blending two images.  I like it, as it does look as 'over-cooked' as some photoshopped images.  Would you have known it was a blended image?

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