Recently several COG members and members of the local banding team, under the guidance of Neil Hermes, undertook an extremely productive birding trip to PNG to, among other places, Madang where Neil had spent some 18 months working. Neil warned us that because of security reasons, in many places the lights are kept on at night. Because of this he also warned us that as a result, the local Willie Wagtails breed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (not too sure what happens in a leap year !!!!). He was right and the birds were calling all night. Not only that but the local Varied Honeyeaters also called from about three in the morning hotly pursued by the New Guinea Friarbird. When all three species are calling in the early a m you can almost forget about sleeping.
In many years of camping around Australia in open wooded country, WW are often heard calling, mostly on warm nights with something close to a full moon and generally during breeding season. It is (usually) one of the joys of bush camping.
Mark
From: Susanne Gardiner [
Sent: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 12:47 PM
To: canberra birds
Subject: [canberrabirds] sleepless Willy Wagtail?
I spent the weekend at Camp Cottermouth, the Scouts camp site. Most of the nights on Fri and Sat a Willy Wagtail was singing. It was only quiet for a couple of hours, but I didn't look on my watch to check the times.
I have done plenty of camping, but never heard Willy Wagtails throughout the night.
Could this have been because of the (very bright) full moon or because it's spring?
(Or maybe it's absolutely normal, and Willy Wagtails and I have coincidently never spend the nights together, the chances of which would be very slim.)
