For those who braved the cold June morning, there was plenty of excitement in the reserve with the sighting of a fan-tailed cuckoo!
This fascinating bird is what’s known as a brood parasite, meaning it lays its eggs in the nests of other unsuspecting bird species, leaving them to raise its young (and let’s be honest, who hasn’t wished they could hand off responsibility like that before?).
This particular cuckoo was just stopping by for a quick Sparshall’s Moth caterpillar snack before being chased off by some rowdy noisy miners. Thankfully, Danny Fog was there to snap a photo and make the rest of us just a little jealous we didn’t crawl out of bed for the early survey!
Hopefully, this exciting sighting might inspire a few more early risers to join the next bird survey, happening on July 12 at 8:00am.
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