Hi everyone,
New poster here through sheer frustration. We live south of Brisbane and have a small flock of birds, maybe 5 or 6 that look to be about a crow size and possibly medium to dark brown as we only see them around dusk. They have the most piercing call and when one starts the others join in and it is usually very late at night or early morning when still dark. They are high up in the trees so almost impossible to photograph but the sound is remarkable. it sounds like a hoarse laugh and it builds from there. They are keeping my family awake every night and our neighbours are struggling as well. I have tried high powered lights in the trees to try quieting them down but nothing seems to work. I dont want them hurt but we desperately need some sleep.
Can anyone shed any light on these.
Cheers,
Trevor
Sounds like it may be Channel-Billed Cuckoos. They tend to do just that.
Good news is that they're migatory so they will probably leave around Jan - Feb.
Ok thanks for the quick response. I see they take over nests of other birds and kill the babies. Is it best to leave them or politely continue interupting the nightly roost to attempt moving them on?
When being woken by native birds or frogs it is best to be calm and accepting, if you become upset it will only be harder to sleep. These animals are protected by law and if you attempt to harrass them to encourage them to move on you are probably breaking the law. They won't be around forever, in a while they will move on. We all have to co-exist with nature, sometimes it isn't as benign as we would wish but you just have to accept it and try to cope. I read today about a plague of wolf spiders at menindee lakes, things could definitely be worse.
Greg, you obviously don't understand the situation we are in. This particular species is not native to Australia and is parasitic, damaging the breeding patterns of native species in our area.
The following statement is from QLD Department of Environment and Heritage Protection: Conservation status: This species is listed as Least concern in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992). It is ranked as a low priority under the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
While it isn't a threatened species, I will never cause malicious harm to the birds or any other creature, however the health and welfare of my family will always come first.
Channel-Billed Cuckoos are native to Australia, though they migrate from the north. Brood parasites (cuckoos) are a normal part of natural wildlife, their hosts have evolved to cope with them and you can't use human standards to judge them. There are lots of fauna judged as 'least concern", that does not mean they don't have ful protection under native wildlife laws. You are not helping your family by getting upset over this issue, many people have to cope with the noise from Channel-Billed Cuckoos, you are not the only one.
From time to time people post their frustrations about birds keeping them awake or awakening them very early in the morning. The immediate reaction is to try to shut the birds up but I see this is almost impossible to achieve - unless you're a habitat wrecking sort of person. I do wonder, tho', if more sleep would be gained by learning about these birds, their migratory patterns, behaviour, habitat requirements etc. Increased knowledge & appreciation of these birds & their roles in the environment might ensure far more restful nights as they would be seen almost as friends rather than threats to our life styles.
Don't worry, even our politicians get it wrong.
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/open_government/inform/act_government_media_releases/corbell/2014/canberra-liberals-ask-to-eradicate-native-species
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
There are certainly some curious people in the role of environment minister/spokesperson in Australia.