FW: 2 Koel fledglings - now 3

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Third one found this evening off Pavonia St < 100 m from the Mentha Pl one, which had been seen before (calling much louder), and both could be heard at the same time.  They also had relatively long tails and flew >30 m, indicative of relatively mature fledglings.  Host not clear for third (feeding not seen over 3 minutes).

Many thanks to everyone who has forwarded sightings, I now have 19 confirmed (with a further 2 possible) by 10 Jan, easily beating the previous record of 18 by 15 January for the 2017-2018 season.

Jack Holland

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Sent: Friday, 10 January 2020 8:06 AM
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Subject: 2 Koel fledglings

Found in Rivett this morning on my return from 2 weeks away.

The first was begging loudly in a surprisingly open position in Woollum Cres before being fed by 2 Red Wattlebirds (RWBs).  It then flew for > 30 m, so a reasonably mature fledgling.

The second with a softer call was found 20 minutes later and about 400 m away in Mentha Pl, a spot where there have been many Koel fledglings in the past.  It too was attended by a RWB.  Interestingly at least 3 RWB fledglings were being fed nearby within 100 m, there have been lots of these in the area this season.

Also interestingly adult Koels were calling nearby in both cases, with at least 3, including 2 female calls at the latter.

My total for the season so far is now 12 fledglings, much closer to the 2017-2018 than the 2018-2019 season so far.  This includes a gap of no reports for about a week from New Year, when I thought Koels might have abandoned Canberra due to the smoke, but probably reflecting our reluctance to go out under these conditions.

If you have any reports of Koel fledglings please forward them to me.

Many thanks

Jack Holland