Thank you all for the posts this morning about Koel activities in your local area.
I expect the last adult will leave around mid March though as subscribers have noted they are generally pretty quiet now except for the odd sudden unexpected call.
Because of this it’s very hard to get a good handle on when the last adult will leave and I’m more interested in reports of adult Koels giving the “ko-el” call of which I’ve heard a few in February as well.
It’s not clear to me why they would do this when the breeding season is given it’s generally accepted that it’s the male’s “I’m looking for a mate” call which then changes to the whoa/wirra etc call once she’s been attracted.
I’m also interested in any late fledgling reports. At the moment we’re about 10 short of last year’s tally of 84. This includes the new one with a very long tail, softly giving its begging call but probably fully independent, I found in Chapman this
morning.
So if you find any new ones, or have seen/heard one earlier but haven’t reported it to the chat line or directly to me, I’d be very grateful if you could do so. The important details are date, suburb and host, but any additional information such as what
it was doing, mobility and length of tail would also be appreciated.
Many thanks in anticipation.
Jack Holland
