Little Beaks
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If the ground is one of the most dangerous places for a parrot… why do they spend so much time there?
Watch wild budgies, weiros, and many other parrots and you’ll often see them searching through grass, picking through leaf litter, and exploring the ground.
It seems strange when the ground is also where many predators are found. For small birds in particular, being on the ground carries real risk.
Yet they keep coming back. Why? Because that’s also where many of the rewards are.
Wild parrots don’t avoid every potentially risky situation. Instead, they learn how to manage risk.
They forage in flocks, watch each other, stay alert, and remain ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
That’s one reason flock life is so important.
And the biggest thing to emphasise about flock birds:
It’s not just about companionship.
It’s how birds safely do many of the things they enjoy.
The challenge for us isn’t to remove every possible risk from a bird’s life; it’s to create environments where they can still explore, forage, make choices, and experience the world around them while remaining safe.
Because a perfectly sterile environment may reduce risk, but it can also remove many of the experiences that make life interesting.
video description: on the aviary ground some broccolini rests just in front of the camera on a couple of low branches, one of which protrudes from the soil, runs slightly backward and bends upward where the remainder is out of sight. Initially, a budgie and a weiro are on either side of this branch, pecking at the broccolini. They are joined by a kakariki. The budgie hops onto the branch for better access, then leaves a few moments later. The kakariki remains. This continues with various budgies, weiros, and kakarikis waddling up to and around the broccolini, the branches, and the soily ground, checking out what's there.
30/05/2026
Looks like we're in for some fun overnight and tomorrow 🫠
We're in Perth. The aviaries are secure and sheltered, but we'll be keeping a close eye on things.
Hopefully some good stormy weather and minimal damage.
🚨 PWL WEATHER UPDATE🚨
Latest ACCESS-PH modelling has the cold front approaching the South West and Lower West, including the Perth metro area, from around 2am to 3am Sunday morning.
Most people will be focused on the front itself, and fair enough, because it's packing a punch. We're looking at wind gusts pushing 90 to 110km/h across parts of the South West and coastal sections of the metro as it moves through overnight.
BUT... here's the kicker.
Usually after a front passes, the winds gradually ease and conditions improve.
Not this time.
This front is effectively opening the door for a deep low pressure system that's following close behind. Once the front moves through, the atmosphere remains highly unstable and extremely windy throughout Sunday.
There are likely to be repeated pockets of very damaging winds developing in showers and thunderstorms throughout the day, particularly along coastal areas between Lancelin and Augusta. Some locations could see multiple periods of severe winds rather than just one short burst associated with the front itself.
🌬️ Coastal areas from:
Lancelin
Perth Metro
Mandurah
Bunbury
Busselton
Margaret River
Augusta
should all be prepared for a prolonged period of dangerous weather through Sunday.
What concerns us most is that the strongest winds may not necessarily occur with the initial front. Some of the worst gusts could develop later on Sunday as the low pressure system approaches and pressure gradients tighten further.
Adding to the concern, barometers across several locations have already dropped below 1000hPa, and the deep low responsible for the worst of the weather hasn't even reached us yet.
This is not your typical winter front where you wake up Sunday morning and it's all over. The front arrives overnight, but the severe weather threat continues right through Sunday and into Sunday night before the low finally starts moving east.
If you've got loose outdoor items, boats, caravans, camping gear, trampolines, or anything else that enjoys spontaneous flights across suburbs, tonight is the time to secure it. Nature has apparently decided the long weekend needed additional excitement.
📷 IMAGE: ACCESS-PH Wind Gust Forecast - 3am Sunday showing the approaching cold front and strengthening winds across the South West and Lower West.
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