Well, they often say ‘better late than never!’ and so it is with this post! David and I went out with the CockyCam in mid-November to review the best potential sites and were able to get photos of 7 Carnaby’s Cockatoo babies!

While these aren’t super photos, they are exciting in that they represent hope for the future of this species.

The lighter the bird, the younger it is, and the darker it is, the older it is. A Carnaby’s Cockatoo will go from a teeny white ball of fluff to a big black bird as big as its mum in about 70 days! That’s remarkable!

Another great find was this nest, which appears to have two live chicks in it. Carnaby’s Cockatoos usually lay two eggs, but only raise one chick to maturity. It’ll be interesting to go back to this site and see if both are still alive.

The second chick is top centre, dark head, mostly off-camera

Not all hollows can be reached or viewed with the CockyCam – they may be too high, too deep or too twisty for us to get a view into – but seeing a female at the entry to a hollow at this time of year is a great indicator that there is nesting happening and likely a baby inside!

We will be heading back to theses nest sites one more time before Christmas to see how the babies are faring. Fingers crossed, they will all be alive and well!

Remember, this is pretty much your last chance to let us know if you’ve seen Cockatoos in your patch. They will be nesting in the area until the new year and we would love to know if you spot any nesting or feeding behaviour in your area. If you would like to report a black cockatoo sighting, contact Andrea on 9821 4327 (please leave a message, or I won’t know you’ve called) or via email hello@katanninglandcare.org.au or go direct to the link https://app.maptionnaire.com/en/7399/ to fill in your sighting information.

Survey closes at the end of December.