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Hi Birders,
I grew up in the inner western
suburbs iof Sydney at Summer Hill and I lived there from 1942-1970, and I have
no recollection of any Koel or Channel-billed Cuckoos there, or at Old
Toongabbie where I lived from 1970-1975 or any where else in Sydney. The Koel
Cuckoo was a bird I look forward to see and hear when I visited my grandparents
at Saratoga/Davistown on Brisbane Water (on the NSW Central Coast) or at
Avoca Beach where later I visited my parents. I moved to Coonabarabran 1975-1982
where spring was announced each August by the arrival of the Pallid Cuckoos, and
later in October when the Channel-billed Cuckoos came to the Warrumbungle NP and
some other areas around Coonabarabran, so that I soon became familiar with
those large Currawong scaring cuckoos!
On my return to Sydney 1983-1988, and
living at Camp Cove, Sydney Harbour NP Koel Cuckoos were regularly seen and
initially an occasional Channel-billed Cuckoo was seen but by the time I left
for the Central Coast in 1988, both species were a reasobaly common summer
feature of the whole of the Sydney area but more importantly in the northern
suburbs of Sydney. Here on the Central Coast, like Sydney, they are common
summer migrants. E.S.Hoskin in his book The Birds of Sydney 1991 says
that earliest arrival that he knew about for a Koel Cuckoo was 18/8/1974
(although most did not arrive until mid September) and for the Channel-billed
Cuckoo was 7/9/1975.
The first Channel-billed Cuckoo for
the spring of 2003 in the Newcastle-Sydney-Wollongong Region as reported by my
spies and or on on Birding-aus was at Cooks River, Arncliffe on 8 August (John
Clifton-Everest) and the next at Kincumber on 17 August (Irene Travers). These
however were just a few early birds, with the bulk of the birds returning about
the second week of September viz
Kirribilli
7/9/03 Kutis Lindsey
Mardi near Tuggerah
10/9/03 John & Carole Carpenter
Jesmond, Newcastle 11/9/03 Peter
Ekert
Glebe 11/9/03
Andrew Taylor
Seven Hills
11/9/03 Edwin Vella
Woodford, Blue Mountains
16/9/03 Carol proberts
Pretty beach, Wagstaff
17/9/03 Jeff Drudge
Bateau Bay
17/9/03 Alan Morris
North Bombi, McMsters Beach
18/9/03 John McLennan
Centennial park
19/9/03 Frank Hemmings
Heathcote
19/9/03 David Hair
Beecroft
19/9/03 Lorne Johnson
This year the Koel Cuckoos arrived
a bit later but there were still a few early birds with the first bird
reported from Centenial Park 17/8/03 by Jerry Duane and one at Toronto 20/8/03
by Paul Osborne, but then there was a three week gap before the birds move into
this Region over a much more widespead area, obviously 17-19th September
was a key arrival date for the Koels viz
Gosford Golf Course 11/9/03 Robert Quinan
Avoca Beach
17/9/03 John McLennan
Avondale
19/9/03 Paul osborn
Jesmond 19/9/03
Peter Ekert
Kirrawee (male & female)
19/9/03 Jenny Madeline
I may ofcourse have missed other sightings and so I
would be happy to be corrected or have my summary added to!
Alan Morris
Records Officer, Birding NSW
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