What Birds Visit Sydney in Summer
Ahhh …. the sounds of Sydney in the summer: cicadas, party boats in the harbour and loud ‘koo-eee’ calls from overhead.
Just like the tourists who flock to our turquoise shores during summer, several birds also make the journey each year from far-flung places to get a glimpse of Sydney Harbour at her finest.
The image above and below are of Channel-billed Cuckoos, annual summer visitors from New Guinea/Indonesia and all around (forgive my french), crazy motherf*@%rs. These birds are the largest cuckoos in the world and the largest parasite brood cuckoos. This means that they lay their eggs in other birds nests, namely Pied Currawongs, Magpies, Butcherbirds and Ravens and let these poor unsuspecting birds feed and raise their young.
The photo below is of a juvenile Channel-billed Cuckoo screaming for food from a Pied Currawong who was smaller than its ‘adopted’ baby. The juveniles are so big and dominant that often the other hatchlings starve.
Not to fear, though, these birds go back north just after the last beats can be heard fading into the distance from the harbour party boats. Keep an ear out for the Channel-billed Cuckoo’s loud and haunting ‘Kaaaaaawk’ call as it soars overhead.
Our favourite Sydney summer bird is the Eastern Koel (female featured below). Famous for it’s loud ‘kooo-eee’ call, the sound announces the start of each summer. For a city with virtually non-discernable differences in seasons, the sound of a Koel is Australia’s equivalent of the first snowflake of winter up north or the first leaf to change its colour in autumn.
Another crazy cuckoo, this bird is also a parasite brood and just like the Channel-billed Cuckoo lays its eggs in unsuspecting birds nests - this time honeyeaters, albeit large ones like Wattlebirds and Friarbirds.
Typical for shady behaviour, Eastern Koel’s are more often heard than seen.
Another feathered tourist that visits Sydney in the summer is the beautiful, shimmering Dollarbird (seen above).
Packing its bags from New Guinea, this bird spends summer holidays in Sydney to breed, roll around in the sky (more on that in a minute) and enjoy a nice cold Aperol spritz like the rest of us.
Dollarbirds are named for the white circle under their wing that’s roughly the size of a dollar. Taking to the skies to court, these birds display rolling flying as a means to impress potential suitors. They are the only Australian bird representative of the Roller family.
Along with the Channel-billed Cuckoos, Eastern Koels and Dollarbirds, Sydney also says goodbye to honeyeaters and other insectivores including spotted pardalotes and silvereyes in huge numbers as they head north to Queensland for the winter on a reverse commute from the others who come to escape the northern hemisphere’s punishing winter.
Some escapees that can easily be seen in Sydney are Sharp-tailed Sandpipers (photo below). These birds come all the way from arctic Siberia and boy must their arms be tired! They can be seen at Sydney Olympic Park in large numbers.
Sydney is home to many international visitors. And while they don’t need passports to come here, Australia has bilateral migratory bird agreements with China, Japan and South Korea.
Seen in the photo above, Latham’s Snipe visits every year during the summer from Japan. Expertly blending in, this photo was taken at Sydney Park in Alexandria. The area used to be a landfill, now it’s home to wetlands and many birds including our beloved summer visitors.
No matter where the birds come from, why they’re here or where they’re going next, one thing is for certain - we always enjoy their visits to Sydney.
Cheers,
SBC
