Health, Wealth & the Bird

Health, Wealth & the Bird We’re David & Cindy Marr, travelling Oz with our cheeky cocky, Rocky. A water mishap sparked a deep dive into health, habits & life on the road.

Expect honest tips, small swaps, and lessons (sometimes from a bird). Follow for laughs, hacks & real talk.

Glossy Black CockatoosOn 15 May, I shared a post about glossy black cockatoos.The information in the post was correct, b...
04/06/2026

Glossy Black Cockatoos

On 15 May, I shared a post about glossy black cockatoos.
The information in the post was correct, but I have since realised that the image I used showed the wrong black cockatoo species.
This is the correct bird: the beautiful glossy black cockatoo.
Thank you for allowing me to correct the record - our Australian cockatoos deserve to be identified properly.

02/06/2026

Feathers, Noise and Showing Off 🦜✨
This is Rocky at his happiest - loud, silly, showing off, and absolutely loving having a new friend to perform for. Cockatoos can be complete chaos in feathered form, but that is part of what makes them so special. They are noisy, dramatic, funny, affectionate, demanding, and full of personality. When they love life, they make sure everyone within hearing distance knows about it.

01/06/2026

Food Lie 20 - “If it’s plant-based, it’s healthy.”

“Plant-based” has become a health halo.
But plant-based doesn’t automatically mean healthy.⚠️
A product can be plant-based and still be highly processed, full of refined oils, sugars, starches, fillers, additives, and flavour enhancers.
There is a big difference between eating real plant foods, vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and eating ultra-processed food with “plant-based” on the packet.
Your body doesn’t respond to marketing words.
It responds to ingredients.
Truth:
Whole plant foods can be nourishing.🌿
Plant-based processed food is still processed food.

Gang-gang cockatooGang-gang cockatoos are one of Australia’s most distinctive cockatoos, and also one of the most charmi...
28/05/2026

Gang-gang cockatoo

Gang-gang cockatoos are one of Australia’s most distinctive cockatoos, and also one of the most charming.✨
The male is easy to recognise with his soft grey body and bright red head and crest.
The female is mostly grey with delicate, lighter markings and a more subtle look.
They’re found mainly in the cooler forests and woodlands of south-eastern Australia, and they’re well known for their unusual call, which many people say sounds like a creaky gate.
They’re found across parts of southern Victoria, the ACT, and south-eastern to central-eastern NSW, including Canberra, the Blue Mountains/Katoomba area, the NSW Southern Highlands, and parts of eastern Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.
Gang-gangs often feed on seeds, berries, fruits and nuts, using their strong curved beaks to crack into food.
They’re also known to visit parks and gardens, especially where there are tall trees and plenty of feed.
Unlike some of the louder, more dramatic cockatoos, gang-gangs have a gentler, quieter presence, but they are every bit as fascinating.
Gang-gangs may be quieter than some of their cockatoo cousins, but they are unforgettable once you know what to look and listen for.👀🎶
Have you ever seen a gang-gang cockatoo in real life?
Or would you recognise one by that famous creaky-gate call?

27/05/2026

LIE 19 Kids need treats.

Truth: Kids need nutrients, not bribes.
We’ve been sold the idea that kids need treats.🎯
A lolly for being good.
A biscuit to stop crying.
A sweet drink because they’ve had a big day.
A snack pack because “they’re only little once.”
But children don’t need ultra-processed foods used as rewards, distractions, or emotional comfort.
They need food that helps them grow, think, play, sleep and regulate their energy.
The problem isn’t the occasional birthday cake or special moment.
The problem is when “treats” become the normal way we soothe, reward or entertain children.
Because those patterns don’t always stay in childhood.
Many adults still use food to reward stress, tiredness and emotions.
Kids need love.
They need guidance.
They need nutrients.
They don’t need junk food dressed up as childhood.
Were treats used as rewards when you were growing up?

Rocky Reviews the New Campground 🦜We have moved to a beautiful bush campground.Peaceful.Quiet.No neighbours.No traffic.N...
26/05/2026

Rocky Reviews the New Campground 🦜

We have moved to a beautiful bush campground.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
No neighbours.
No traffic.
No people.
In other words, Rocky’s idea of a complete disaster.
This is the look of a cockatoo who has just realised there are no unsuspecting visitors to charm, no men to flirt with, and absolutely nobody new to supervise.
He sat under the awning with his facial feathers up, glaring over his shoulder at David and me as if to say:
“What the hell do you call this place?”
Apparently, “relaxing in nature” was not on Rocky’s holiday wish list.
He would like to formally request:
More people.
More attention.
and preferably a campground with men he can visit, whether they invited him or not.😏

Glossy Black CockatoosGlossy black cockatoos are one of Australia’s quieter, more mysterious cockatoos.They’re not as lo...
21/05/2026

Glossy Black Cockatoos

Glossy black cockatoos are one of Australia’s quieter, more mysterious cockatoos.
They’re not as loud and dramatic as sulphur-crested cockatoos, and they don’t usually arrive in big chaotic flocks.
They’re smaller than the other black cockatoos, with dark brown-black feathers, a heavy curved beak and beautiful red or orange-red panels in the tail. The females often have yellow patches around the head, which makes them a little easier to tell apart from the males.
Glossy black cockatoos are found mainly down the eastern side of Australia, with a special isolated population on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
In Victoria, they are mostly associated with the eastern part of the state, so they’re not a bird many people would casually see.
One of the most interesting things about them is how specialised they are with food.
Glossy black cockatoos feed mostly on seeds from native she-oak trees. They use that strong beak to crack open the hard cones.
So if you’re looking for glossy black cockatoos, don’t just look for the bird.
Look for the she-oak trees.
And sometimes the best clue is not the bird itself, but the chewed-up cone pieces left on the ground underneath.
They may not be the loudest cockatoos in the bush, but they are absolutely one of the most fascinating.
Have you ever seen a glossy black cockatoo in the wild?
Or would you even know what you were looking at?

19/05/2026

Rocky was given a singing monkey toy for Christmas.

Press the little pad on its hand and it plays Jingle Bells.
At Christmas, he wasn’t impressed.
Then the other day, he walked over to it and turned it on himself.
No one showed him.
We turned it off to see if it was a fluke.
He did it again.
That’s not just cute.
That’s observation, problem-solving and memory in action.
Cockatoos are incredibly intelligent birds, and Rocky reminds us of that all the time.

18/05/2026

LIE 18 - “A little bit of fast food won’t hurt.”
Truth: It’s rarely a “little bit.”
That’s the trick with fast food.
It’s sold to us as convenience.
A quick burger.
A few chips.
A soft drink is included with the meal.
A little treat because we’re tired, busy, travelling or can’t be bothered cooking.
And now we don’t even have to leave the house.
Fast food chains deliver. Uber Eats delivers. McDonald’s delivers. The whole system has made it easier than ever to make a tired decision from the couch.
And once in a while, that may not seem like a big deal.
But fast food is designed to be easy to buy, easy to overeat and easy to repeat.
It’s rarely just the burger.
It’s the meal deal.
The upsizing.
The drink.
The dessert.
The delivery fee we justify because we’re already ordering.
The habit that quietly becomes normal.
The problem isn’t always one meal.
The problem is when “just this once” turns into every Friday, then twice a week, then something we grab whenever life feels too hard.
Fast food doesn’t just feed hunger.
It feeds convenience, cravings and tired decisions.
What fast food item do you think is the hardest one to stop at “just a little bit”?
Put it in the comments. I think this one will be interesting.

Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos One of the most recognisable sounds in the Australian bush.🌿Their slow flight, haunting ca...
14/05/2026

Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos

One of the most recognisable sounds in the Australian bush.🌿
Their slow flight, haunting calls and huge wings make them impossible to miss when they pass overhead.
The males are darker with bold yellow tail panels, while the females have softer colouring with beautiful yellow spotting across the head and body.
Unlike the noisy chaos of sulphur-crested cockatoos, yellow-tailed black cockatoos often feel calm and almost prehistoric when you see them flying through the trees.
Have you ever seen them in the wild?
Or heard them before you saw them?

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