# NY Resolution: Make friends with a galah?



## Eddy Edson (Dec 18, 2021)

This year I've made friends with (Australian) magpies:



and sulphur-crested cockatoos:



But I haven't succeeded with galahs:



In truth, I think it's mainly because they're incurious and frankly pretty stupid, and making a galah project my NY resolution may be setting myself up to fail.  But there's something about galahs I find appealing & getting one to be friendly would be a real coup.  So it's a risk-vs-reward balance which I'm still working through


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## Alan S (Dec 19, 2021)

Are you down under Eddie?

We have two families of magpies who treat us as family, one in the backyard and one in the front yard. We occasionally feed them grubs from the compost bin. They must spread the word because we never get swooped when we walk to the shops but some neighbours are swooped mercilessly.

Galahs can be tamed; I have seen several in captivity which become mimics but I have never tried to tame one myself. Sulphur crested cockies can be a problem as they tend to like eating the woodwork on houses, especially architraves around windows.

Why it's wise to befriend the local magpies:


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## Eddy Edson (Dec 19, 2021)

Alan S said:


> Are you down under Eddie?
> 
> We have two families of magpies who treat us as family, one in the backyard and one in the front yard. We occasionally feed them grubs from the compost bin. They must spread the word because we never get swooped when we walk to the shops but some neighbours are swooped mercilessly.
> 
> ...


I think galah's can be tamed quite well if they're hand reared but making "friends" with one - ie, achieiving "recognised provider of sunflower seeds" status - in the wild seems to be tough.  Cockies and maggies seem to be naturally curious and if you talk to them while they're grazing or standing around on the grass & throw some seeds towards them, often as not they'll trot/amble over to check things out.  

But galahs, corellas etc seem to have different grazing behaviour - more flock-oriented, with lookouts primed to give the alarm on a hair-trigger, causing the whole gang to skedaddle.  Might have to think about ravens instead.

I think I may have started a maggie vs cockie ethnic bird war last week - a gang of each in the same park, provoked to squabbling over sunflower seeds offered by me. There's some kind of moral about Not Interfering With the Natural Order in that, I fear.


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## Eddy Edson (Feb 4, 2022)

So zero luck with galahs, but meanwhile the cockies are becoming more demanding.



Like this ruffian. "Sqqqwwaaaark!". Which I think is cockatoo for "Give us some ******** sunflower seeds ya big ********* ****!"

I'm probably going to end up being pecked to death, but at least people will remember it.  "Yeah he was that dude who got eaten by cockies in the park, right?"


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## trophywench (Feb 4, 2022)

@Eddy Edson - no sign of that so far I hope?


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## nonethewiser (Feb 4, 2022)

Robin's are friendly birds, in summer wife sits in garden & they quite happily feed from her hands.


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## Eddy Edson (Feb 5, 2022)

trophywench said:


> @Eddy Edson - no sign of that so far I hope?


They're not bad at heart. They were just never taught that it's wrong to try to eat somebody's shirt or their ears.


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## Eddy Edson (Feb 15, 2022)

I like to think they come for my little sermons as much as for the sunflower seed handouts.


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## Bloden (Feb 23, 2022)

Eddy Edson said:


> They're not bad at heart. They were just never taught that it's wrong to try to eat somebody's shirt or their ears.


Like the seagulls in Tenby! Aaark!!


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## Eddy Edson (Feb 26, 2022)

Following me home now ...



"Nice place ya got. Be a shame to see it get messed up just because you skimped on sunflower seeds for your pals."


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