Eolophus roseicapilla

So - today I walked past the nest at 4.30 - no sign of the young galah in the hollow, and I assumed it had fledged. Coming back at 5pm, and I heard its familiar call - from a few metres away. I saw a family of three foraging on the ground, but I couldn't see a fourth, and assumed the new fledgling was in a nearby tree. Then I saw something move at the base of a tree, and there was the fledgling . . . clawing its way slowly up a sloping tree trunk. I stood and observed as, slowly and unsteadily, it worked its way up the rough bark, one foot plodding after the other, wings spread to occasionally balance itself, then resting (I have 6 seconds of fascinating video footage of its journey - wish I'd taken more!) Dad flew down, encouraging the little one with a brief couple of feeds, then flew off, calling. Meanwhile, in a branch well above the little family drama, was the sibling, who also called and was fed. The fledgling continued its slow climb, with lots of rests. At one pit stop, mum waddled down the trunk and waited, watching, before turning and making her slow way up, until she flew to a nearby branch of the tree, calling. When fairly high, the little one turned around, indecisive - should it go down the trunk, or continue up? Mum called, and eventually it took a couple more steps up the trunk, then rested for some time (understandably - this was a lot for a bird whose world had only been a tight hollow with little room to move). At this point I left, worried, as the fledgling did not yet seem able to fly, but telling myself to let nature take its course. However . . . curiosity got the better of me, and an hour later I went back down, hoping that I would find it safe and sound, high up in a protective canopy. Unfortunately, it was not on a branch, but on another tree trunk, lower down, its family grazing close by. I remembered all the advice to let fledglings be (especially one as close to flying as this one)- their parents will look after them. So I left, hoping that it doesn't become a night meal for a possum, a cat, or a dog . . .