2022—A Rainforest Stand Out

The gregarious Crimson Rosella is a rainforest stand out. You can’t help but see them in the midst of the green canopy. These colorful parrots are native to southeastern Australia, living in rainforests and eucalypt forests as well as in parks and gardens. At O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park, these charming birds greeted me in my room as soon as I checked in. They had been perched on the balcony railing but when I opened the deck slider, they flew right in. Three was the most I had at any one time but throughout my stay, whenever the slider was open, they felt compelled to enter and check out my room, roaming across the bed, across the floor, and onto the bedside tables in search of something to eat. Each morning, the staff at O’Reilly’s started the daily guided bird walk into the park by tempting the Crimson Rosellas, King Parrots, and Bowerbirds with a few healthy handouts. Feeding is not allowed inside the park itself once away from the Retreat grounds so this event was popular not only with the guests who got to try feeding the flocks, but with the birds as well. This Crimson Rosella appears to be getting ready to fly to someone’s head or shoulder to take advantage of the morning feeding frenzy.