Spring time birding – where are the cuckoos?
Spring is here at last in Australia. Not sure about the rest of the country, but here in South Australia we are looking forward to some slightly warmer days in the coming weeks and months. August this year has been the second coldest August on record. It has also been reasonably wet – not record breaking, mind you, but a very acceptable change from recent years of drought. As for the cold weather – it was only a few months ago in March that we were complaining about a record heat wave.
A few days ago I reported that the resident Australian Magpies were not only nesting, they were now feeding young in the nest. A few days ago I noticed the Common Starlings also feeding young in the nest (we can really do without that, of course). The local Common Blackbirds are behaving as if they have a nest somewhere, as are several species of Honeyeater. I just don’t have the time to check out all of the bushes and trees on our five acre block. The Skylarks are still calling as are the Rufous Songlarks.
Notable for their absence so far this year are all of the Cuckoos. Neither my wife nor I have heard a single Cuckoo of any description. That is most noteworthy as we have usually heard at least the Horsfields Bronze-Cuckoos by now.
Curious.
I’d welcome comments from my Australian readers. Have you heard and/or seen any Cuckoos recently in your part of the country?
No cuckoos seen or heard on my patch.
Spring is in full swing here.
They must be on their way soon – not like them to be this late.
I have been hearing and seeing my fantailed cuckoo for most of this month, I think… he (I assume, perhaps wrongly?)perches atop fenceposts in a certain section of my paddock not far from shelter and calls. Perhaps it is time to start keeping a journal. Hmph, how to motivate oneself to keep a journal….
Where are you located Heather?
I must admit to being a little obsessive compulsive about keeping lists of birds I’ve seen. I have kept a month by month list of all the birds seen on our home block now for the last 25 years.
If you want to keep a simple list follow the method used by a friend. She has a list of all the birds she has ever seen in her garden followed by 12 columns, one for each month. She just ticks off each species as she sees them. Simple and not at all time consuming. And if you type up on your computer the initial list in alphabetical order you can just print off a new list each year. Easy peasy.