Birdline South Australia Weekly Update

Birdline South Australia Published sightings for the week ending 26 Oct 2014. Sat 25 Oct Cattle Egret Gawler River Single bird sighted amongst cattle on private property. David Hartland Thu 16 Oct Eastern Koel Paradise, SA I joined Birds in Backyard last year when I discovered a pair of Eastern Koels in my backyard – quite a rarity as I live in Adelaide and apparently it is quite unusual to find them so far south. They arrived in September and I realised in March that I had not heard them for a while so am guessing they left about then, which fits their usual pattern. This year, however, I have only seen and heard the male for the last 2 weeks, with neither sight not sound of the female. My question is this ….. Is she likely to join him? ie. do they migrate separately and meet up at their destination or, do they normally migrate as a pair? If the former, then I am hoping the female arrives in the next couple of weeks. If the latter, then I am assuming that something has happened to the female en route and the male is in for a long, lonely summer. Can anyone shed any light on this? I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s going to be heartbreaking listening to him calling in vain for the next 4 months if he is never going to get a response. I am reporting this as someone suggested on the forum Rachel Neale Sat 11 Oct Arctic Tern Port MacDonnell Single bird roosting with numerous crested tern and fairy tern on low-lying reef just to the west of breakwater. (Apologies for the delay.) Thanks to Bob Green and others for reporting this bird. Michael Wood