There is one pair of Rainbow Bee-eaters breeding next to our yard here at PAU
(Just out of Port Moresby) PNG, and that is quite normal - as not all the
population flies to Aus. What was abnormal was 20 at our communal evening
roost last night then another 20 flying in to join them. So some of the
missing RBE's in Aus may still be here in PNG. We can have 500 or 600 in the
roost when birds are returning from Australia northwards but at this time of
year there is usually no communal roost.
This morning a Channel-billed Cuckoo also flew over on its way south. A very
late emigrant! Len Tolhurst arrived here two days ago and one of the first
things he said was that there was a lack of channel-billed cuckoos in most
areas around Newcastle.
We have had an unusual year up here weatherwise. In the middle of the dry
season we had two days of rain that was equal to the wettest on our records for
the wet season. This really upset the mangoes, and some other plants and
apparently has upset the seasonal clocks for some of the birds. I found two
Fawn-breasted Bowerbird nests with eggs in July - which is unusual in the
savanna.
I am doing my best to update their calendars so expect some more to arrive down
there soon.
Here's to seeing them
Mike
Dr Mike Tarburton
Dean: School of Science and Technology
Pacific Adventist University
PMB, Boroko
Papua New Guinea
> ----------
> From: on behalf of Philip
> Veerman
> Reply To: Philip Veerman
> Sent: 6 December 2005 16:30
> To: Birding-aus (E-mail)
> Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Where have all the Rainbow Bee-eaters gone?
>
> Today I have seen many, including a nesting colony, south of Canberra.
>
> Philip
>
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