Exactly. But this is an issue with
many other species. At the moment, the spoonbills are equally over-reported
by the ‘me-too’ school. The antics of these are definitely of
interest, but with such species a summarised series of observations made over
time (rather than hour by hour, or even day by day) would be much more useful.
To get back to the koels, a recurrent
issue (over 2-3 years) is the reason for their increased presence. My guess is
that it is the fruit (see previous messages). Another possibility is the number
of potentially-hosting nesting Red Wattlebirds, as Peter and Anthony have
suggested – but surely these have been around for many years. I do not
think we have had a single confirmed breeding event. Indeed there have been relatively
few reports of females, perhaps about 1 in 10 reports. May I suggest that
people be encouraged to report any sign of breeding activity? It may be (just
a guess) that in the absence of such Canberra is an outpost being colonised by
young hopefully-breeding ingénues, being driven on by the frantic breeding activity
to our east.
From: Alastair Smith
[
Sent: Thursday, 6 November 2008 5:56 PM
To: 'COG List'
Subject: [canberrabirds] Reporting Koels - why?
Am I the only person who finds the incessant reporting of
Koels on Canberrabirds as incessant as the bird’s call? While I respect
everyone’s right to report sightings and hearings, can we please report
what is interesting or different, rather than every time the bird engages in
syringeal expansion.
Many thanks
Alastair
