Currawongs are intelligent, curious, and noisy birds. The Australian dawn and dusk ring with their calls. Yesterday I was walking along a bush path when I heard a tremendous ruckus up ahead in the treetops. Currawongs whistling and whooping, branches swishing, and twigs clattering to the ground. 

“Uh-oh,” thought I. “What have they found? Some possum caught in the harsh light of the day, or a bird of prey that dared to venture into currawong territory?”

The sound was all round me. At first it was difficult to find a single bird to focus the camera on:

Drawing closer, I saw the source of all the fuss. The blueberry ash trees are fruiting. Here’s a closeup of the berries from one of the trees that the currawongs were feasting on. The berries are small, and a pretty blue in colour. If you look closely, you can see the characteristic tiny yellow spots on the berries:

It seems these berries are irresistible to a currawong. What’s more, from all the commotion, you’d think there weren’t enough berries to go round! In the next video, I managed to catch some pictures of the currawongs themselves. At times you can hear a butcher bird interjecting too:

Here’s a cheeky glare from one of the critters making all the noise:

Common name: Pied Currawong
Scientific name: Strepera graculina
Approximate length: 45 cm
Date spotted: 3 October 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’28.2″S 151°14’58.4″E