After Coral Dow’s recent find of the first Koel baby
for the season in Ainslie, I found a 2nd one today near the Ainslie
shops in a garden that was home to one young already last year.
The persistent begging calls give them away, although the birds
can be hard to spot. They tend to stay in denser vegetation, at least while
younger. The current 2 Ainslie gardens with young Koels have taller bushes and
trees with dense foliage.
Observers who have seen female Koels in their respective
suburb could start to listen and look for Koel offspring. So far in Canberra only Red
Wattlebirds have been recorded as hosts, although the other day a male Koel was
chased by a pair of Magpie-larks (another potential host, as is the Noisy
Friarbird) in North Lyneham. Clearly,
Ainslie can’t be the only suburb in which Koels feel home enough to
breed!
Michael Lenz
