Jason Harris, Love in full bloom (SINGLE SHOT 2026)

In all my bird photography experiences I have found Red tail Black Cockatoos to be one of most emotional species around and it is one reason that I love capturing their various moods. You get the animated version where they directly engage with wings flapping furiously and the joyful version when they have found a tree full of gumnuts. Then on this occasion you have the romantic interaction. This pair were sedentary for quite a long period of time, quite happily preening each other. Then I got fortunate when the female (spotted face and stripy body) lent in to the male to provide that intimate touch. The fact that the male is looking directly at me just adds to the mood of the shot.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.