At least one male common koel has been heard and seen multiple times on Raymond Island and in Paynesville in the Gippsland lakes region far south of its normal migratory range. It is amazing how widely and quickly a new bird call is noticed in a community.
We are keeping our ears open for a female or a juvenile.
Hi BlackJack.
This is exactly the kind of information we would love to see on our Birds in Backyards Koel survey! It would be fantastic if you could fill that out for us.
Thanks,
Holly
Thanks so much BlackJack.
I haven't updated the data for this season, I must get onto that soon!
Holly
A single Common Koel has has been sited in and around the grounds of the Inverloch Primary School, Inverloch today and is reported is reported to have been in the area for about a week.
A single Common Koel has been sighted in and around the grounds of the Inverloch Primary School , Inverloch and is reported to have been around for the last week.
Koels have been visiting Melbourne for years, they're even making it to South Australia.
Certainly a significant range expansion.
Channel-billed Cuckoos are also making inroads in Vic, global warming?
I think I just saw a pair of these in my backyard in Canberra. Never seen them before.
The female didn't quite match the pictures I looked at on th internet - she had a black head which was almost tufted, with a grey stripe from the eye across the cheek. Her back was dark and had that kind of speckled look, but not at all spotted white like the photos. Pale underneath. The male was larger and was feeding her cherry-sized fruit. Couldn't see an obvious red eye on him. Both of them had short, solid beaks, but finer than a Currawong's. The tails were quite long, held down, and ended in a pale fringe on the female.
I can't see what other bird it could have been.
Single male koel heard in Torquay today 20 Dec 2014.
Single male koel heard in Torquay today 20 Dec 2014.
I assume that you mean Torquay, Vic
It always helps to state the state as there is a Torquay, Qld
Peter
Just had an Eastern Koel in the backyard in Barwon Heads, Vic.
Had not heard/seen one here before.
I have recently heard and identified by call (using your bird call register) a Common Koel in Williamstown west of Melbourne.
We have a large and thriving red wattlebird population and this may be a factor in the appearance of these new residents?
you folks may want to submit an ebird list each for these two (Barwon heads and williamstown) as they are good westerly records.
http://ebird.org/content/australia/