Reg Clark
St Ives, NSW
Dear Reg,
You wrote -
>From time to time but mainly in winter we are treated to a performance of
>the StIves Currawong Concert. It takes place in a group of eucalypts and
>angophoras near my house.
>
When I was growing up (Tamborine Mt, 1930s) family folk-lore was that these
Currawong choruses signalled rain coming. As a child, of course it never
occurred to me to check to see if rain did follow. Now I wonder.
Mid-June '84 I went to Mt Warning to tape-record lyrebirds. I stayed at
the caravan park nearby. Got a beautiful recording of a currawong chorus
at the caravan park ... and then it rained so much the creek came up and I
couldn't get out. Had to stay an extra day or two until it went down
again. Probably just co-incidence ... but maybe??
Can you comment? Anyone on birding-aus?
>In April of 1997,after about two hours of this the performers appeared to
>lose interest and drifted off in twos and threes and small groups.
I can't recall hearing a chorus last anywhere near as long as that. I find
it a beautiful sound, but can understand there being people who don't, if
it goes on that long. (Up here in Brisbane we even have people who
dislike that cheerful Australian sound of crows at dawn!)
Syd Curtis at Hawthorne, Q.
H Syd Curtis
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