Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita

An old photo of a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
taken in Tenterfield eating something in the grass.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are large, noisy birds that do everything in large flocks. There used to be large numbers of them in Tenterfield but as the rainfall disappeared so too did these birds. They began to return to Tenterfield just 2-4 years ago on a rather infrequent basis. This year, specifically near the beginning of August, has brought larger numbers of them back to Tenterfield in winter despite the harsh drought conditions.

They are seen from about 4pm onwards flying from stands of trees to other stands of trees, often flying across large open spaces to get to the next lot of trees. They arrive in Tenterfield from an unknown west direction, and head straight for the Jubilee Park area where there are lots of tall trees.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos do not appear to roost in Tenterfield itself anymore but travel through Tenterfield to find food (nuts, seeds, etc) and water. Most nights you can see them flying off in the direction of the Tenterfield Dam which is in a south-east direction of the main CBD.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are always on the move, eating what they can then moving on again.