strange Chough behaviour

[Alison <>]

Hi John,

 

Perhaps something disturbed them. I was at the top of the Botanic Gardens yesterday when I heard a commotion from choughs in the distance. A short time later a flock of around 15 birds flew high over the road leading up to Back Mountain tower (13 in my photo but with a few stragglers). About a minute later this flock was followed by an even larger flock. I counted 37 in this photo with a number out of frame.  Concentrating now on the larger flock I watched it too flew high over the Black Mount road and eventually land in the tree tops on the ridge on the other side of the road. I estimate about 60 birds in all.

 

Alison

 

From: calyptorhynchus .
Sent: Friday, 29 May 2020 8:16 AM
To: Canberra Birds <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] strange Chough behaviour

 

This morning I was running along the path between Red Hill and Deakin when I saw a flock of 40 Coughs flying at tree-top height from Red Hill towards Deakin and calling. "Oh," I thought, "they must roost on Red Hill, then fly to suburbs to feed during the day."

 

However, within a few seconds of them passing out of sight over Deakin they reappeared, still at tree-top height, but flying back towards Red Hill. So rather than moving from the Hill to the suburb they seem to have been doing a sort of fly-over of Deakin and returning to the Hill. 

 

Has anyone come across references to Choughs flying high and surveying territory beneath?

 

--

John Leonard