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Hi!
We've had the pleasure of a pair Channel-Billed Cuckoos since early spring and while we find them pleasurable they must be among the most dreaded visitor for a lot of the other birds. I think that they are lovely physically to look at but I also think that when in nest hunting mode they would be one of the most evil looking birds around . The ones here are always in a pair, as they were last year, calling usually early morning and late afternoon to establish territory???, and calling at other times only if separated. When in hunting mode it arrives at the tree, then tilts it's head to the right and slowly turns, scanning to left and right and then up and down then tilts its head to the left and does the same thing, all these actions are in slow motion. It almost rivals the way a Frogmouth moves it's head for slowness of speed and the deliberation of which it does this is quite scary, it's like there is no way of escaping it's evil eye. An evil eye it is , with a blood red ring surrounding a reddish eye and with a huge menacing bill in front of it. Little chooks must have night-mares thinking of this avian version of "FREDDIE".
Last year we had the local Magpies proudly show off their offspring to us around about this time but nothing this year in fact they look downright shame faced. To whether they have been cuckold and too ashamed to face us I don't know but anyway I've banished them just in case as this is far too nice a neighborhood for that sort of thing and we don't want any swingers or anything like that happening around here thank you very much!
Last year there was 4 CBC fledglings around the Kings Point area that I seen,( these were obviously vagrants from some smutty neighborhood) I'll check on many there is this year, and of course, send them on their way, toot swift!
Cheers
Bob Rusk | 
