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
