This page is under construction..... and I am no expert, so if you are, please email suggestions, thanks! <3

 

Local (Albany/Great Southern) Plant food for Black Cockatoos....

Male and Female forest redtail black cockatoos
A pair of our local Forest Red Tail Black Cockatoos (Male Left, Female Right).

So from my experience, the the first things to do with planting are.

  1. Work out what space you have and what sort of sun exposure and soil you are dealing with.
  2. Determine which Cockatoos you have in your area.
  3. Find ideally local natives to plant that suit (though introduced species are also welcome if that is what you want/have, the key is FOOD).

What are "local native" plants?

Places have area specific natives that have grown there for millennia. They are easier to grow generally as this is their "preferred habit" (this may vary depending on how it has been modified by humans).

Also these are the plants that the local birds- Black Cockatoos included, would naturally have evolved to eat, so planting local natives is a win win :)

What we have planted so far

We are in Albany and are lucky enough to have a large block, that we choose to fill with food for us and food and habitat for the wild life. We have included a variety of plant "heights" bushes/ tress/ grasses - so that the little birds and larger ones all have food and places to shelter.

Over the 2 years, the more grass we have removed and natives etc that has been planted instead, the more our garden has become a haven for creatures, so it is an absolute joy to be sharing the paradise we are creating. We even have a bandicoot that has started visiting :).

 

As we initially had mainly Carnaby White Tail Black Cockatoos visiting, we were focusing on them, however this last 6 months we have had Redtail's and Baudin's also visiting the Marri trees across the road, so we have been trying to think what we can plant for them as well (we don't have room for Marri trees).

 

So this is what we have planted thus far:

  • We have put in 2 Banksia Attenuatta ( this can grow up to 10 m, but it also depends on the soil/sun etc and you can prune them). They are a traditional food of Carnaby's.
  • We will be putting in 2 Hakea Laurina's which feed all of the Black Tail Cockatoos and are not too large.
  • We intend to put in a silver Princess near existing Marri 

Where to place the food plants

Ideally you want to place the plants near existing feeding or roosting spots and plant the "food" together so they can feed on the one spot for a while.

We have places a Banksia Attenuatta (Slender Banksia), Honey Pot Banksia and Harsh Hakea (Hakea Prostrata) in a patch across the road from exisitng Marri trees which are fed on regularly.

 

Within our garden we have an exiting old pine tree and Cape Lilac and we are planting another Banksia Attenuatta (next to our neighbours Pincushion Hakea and a pincushion Hakea near the pine tree. We also have a dwarf lemon scented gum (which appartently they have also adapted to eating).

We already have manty bottle brush

We are also going to plant a Silver Princess ans Pincushion Hakea (Hakea Laurina) together in a spot