Yes they do this high flight in flocks sometimes, like when flying over roads or another good example over the Murrumbidgee river from Bullen range to the other
side or the other way. Are they surveying territory beneath or just moving between sites? Hard to know.
From: Alison [
Sent: Friday, 29 May, 2020 1:31 PM
To: 'calyptorhynchus .'; 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] strange Chough behaviour
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?
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