Tuesday, 19 September 2017

The Channel-billed cuckoos are back

A mate and I were fishing in my little boat off Carey Bay on Lake Macquarie on Sunday morning, 17th September 2017.  We both heard the unmistakable, shrill call of a Channel-billed cuckoo echoing around the bay.  It was 8:20 am and conditions were still and calm.  There was not a cloud in the sky, no wind, but we could not see the bird to get a definite, visual identification.  However their call is absolutely unmistakable.  This was my first record of Channel-bills for Spring 2017.     

Looking back over my records, last year I first heard them on Sunday 25th September - in very similar circumstances.  Again, weather is obviously changing, the days are slowly getting longer, and the cuckoos are back.  The Koels should be here too - I'll have to keep an ear open for them.  

I have recorded this sighting with the Atlas of Living Australia.     

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