My daughter is involved with wildlife rescue on the Central Coast of NSW. Yesterday she was given a surprise for this time of year --- an Eastern Koel nestling about 7-10 days old by its weight. I know they breed in Australia from August to May but it seems quite late for a nestling to mature enough to migrate back to PNG.
With her permission, I am posting the picture she sent me.
Sue
does it need to migrate?
That is the concern but it has to survive first. She wondered about sending it north for winter. Do they breed this late up north and do any stay over?
sue
Looking at the data on ebird, a few do seem to overwinter in Oz, so it should be ok. That is if it doesn't have any other issues, a few that come into care in our area had spinal/leg problems
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Thanks Ryu, I will let her know. No obvious injuries as yet.
Hi Ryu,
unfortunately you were correct as the bird did indeed have an underlying spinal or leg issue and could not survive. Since then, numerous Shearwaters have come to her for care on NSW Central Coast. Fortunately most of these survived to release. Quite a different mix of birds to those we used to get in Sydney.
Sue