Yesterday a lot of commotion happening. Two Channel-Billed Cuckoos were in this tall angophora tree. The Noisy Miners were pesting them. Since I was concentrating on trying to get a photo in the tree-tops, I hadn't noticed until later that there was in fact, very high-up in the sky overhead this flock of birds.
Way out of limits for my camera, the 'flock' photo is only about half to 3/4 of the birds up there, and the final photo is two from the top of that image, enlarged 100% to see if I could identify them at all.
They do to me, appear to be Channel-Billed Cuckoos? While I was aware that the parents come to retrieve the young ones to migrate up North; could this possibly happen in numbers like this appears to be?
Would really appreciate observations from others on this sighting.
Many thanks,
I appreciated getting feedback via another source, when I forwarded on this link to Richard Major, Australian Museum, hoping he may have an answer.
While it is difficult to assess from the scanty photograph, but Richard suspects they are White-throated Needletails. I'd never seen them, nor even heard of them before. When I looked in my Readers Digest Birds of Australia, they certainly appeared identical in flight formation.
Felt it was worthwhile adding that here, for anyone else who may have wondered ....
I think they are indeed white-throated needletails, dragonfly. Was the weather humid at the time? I ask because they often gather at considerable height before thunderstorms.
thanks Woko, yes the climate is considerably humid often