Currawongs from Hell (1 Viewer)

[Reason]

I'm new to these forums, and I hope I'm not out of line posting a question straight off the bat.

I live in a fairly built-up residential area near the beach on the gold coast, lots of apartments, but lots of trees around as well. Over the last few months a pair of Pied Currawongs have made the neighbourhood their local hangout. There is a large tree just outside of my bedroom window that they are fond of in particular.

Normally I would have no problem with this, I love birds, but these Currawongs are the most vocal birds I have ever heard. They start about an hour before I normally wake up, and they sound like what I can only describe as a mix of a fully grown rooster and a car alarm that wont turn off. A constant, repetitive call that wakes me up every single day.

I'm hoping that this is only a seasonal thing and that they will move on eventually. But on the odd chance that they don't, can anyone suggest a way that I could make them move without harming them?

All I can think of is trying to find out what their natural enemy is, and downloading some sound effects of it and blasting the sounds out of my window with an amp when they start their screaming in the morning. But I can't find any information on this. Anyone have any tips? I've tried earplugs but they do nothing against the volume of these birds. This reduced amount of sleep is starting to effect my concentration during the day, and I'm finding myself waking up cranky most mornings because of these things, not cool.

Appreciate any help.

Here's a shot I grabbed of one the culprits

 

[Joshua-B]

Hang CD's from the tree maybe? That normally works

 

[Chosun Juan]

Welcome to BF Reason.....

Not trying to make light of your "problem" - but how lucky are you?
I love waking up to the sound of currawongs (mine used to go off at 7am every morning - perfect)......beats buses, and actual car alarms!

Seriously, I think you're blessed. Just go to bed an hour earlier, and then you've got a lovely natural wake-up call, right on time |=)|

Enjoy it while you can, it's unlikely they'll hang around all year, or start up at the same time either.


Chosun :gh:

 

[Reason]

Thanks for the replies, might try the cd thing.

Chosun: I quite like the normal sounds that the currawongs make, and would be happy to wake up to that each morning. This however is not a regular currawong call, it sounds more like a car alarm being run through a 200 watt amplifier at full volume. My neighbours have even started mentioning how bad it it's getting.. first world problems I guess, hopefully the'll move on soon.

 

[Allen S. Moore]

I must admit that I agree with Chosun that you are blessed with having a local pair of pied currawongs, but I can say that as I am at the other side of the world! I have seen (and heard) the species on my 3 visits to eastern Australia, although I haven't heard them at such close range as you.

If the currawongs weren't in your area before, what has changed? Has a new food source become available to them? The chances are that people have effected the changes, such as increasing food availability. Humanity is one species you can't change!

(Yes, it is Sunday morning. So endeth my sermon!)

Allen

P.S. Here we have herring gulls, which fly over the town calling loudly in the middle of the night.

 

[Reason]

Even though it's unlikely that anyone else would be in the same boat as me, I did find a solution to this little problem.

Currawongs don't like crows. So I grab a few pics of menacing looking crows off of the web, print them and cut them out at life size, and stick a few of them to the bedroom window. Next morning, nothing. Seems the currawongs are not into the idea of sharing their tree with crows, and not quite smart enough to understand if the pics are real or not. So they move on to a different part of the neighbourhood and let me sleep peacefully. And the best thing, no harm is done to either party involved.

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Even though it's unlikely that anyone else would be in the same boat as me, I did find a solution to this little problem.

Currawongs don't like crows. So I grab a few pics of menacing looking crows off of the web, print them and cut them out at life size, and stick a few of them to the bedroom window. Next morning, nothing. Seems the currawongs are not into the idea of sharing their tree with crows, and not quite smart enough to understand if the pics are real or not. So they move on to a different part of the neighbourhood and let me sleep peacefully. And the best thing, no harm is done to either party involved.

Well done. What an original idea!

 

[will.chancellor11]

Even though it's unlikely that anyone else would be in the same boat as me, I did find a solution to this little problem.

Currawongs don't like crows. So I grab a few pics of menacing looking crows off of the web, print them and cut them out at life size, and stick a few of them to the bedroom window. Next morning, nothing. Seems the currawongs are not into the idea of sharing their tree with crows, and not quite smart enough to understand if the pics are real or not. So they move on to a different part of the neighbourhood and let me sleep peacefully. And the best thing, no harm is done to either party involved.

I have exactly the same problem. The first 2 months of spring mean an early wake up call for me (4:30 am approx). This wake up call lasts for around 1 hour and is like an elongated cluck repeated every 10 seconds or so - and extremely loud! Ive tolerated it for a while now, but with the arrival of a baby and another one on the way this bird is not helping my sleep deprivation!

I tried the crow picture cutout in the window method last night. It didnt seem to have any affect. I was thinking about trying an actual plastic crow?

 

[Australian Image]

Just Currawongs? I have to go to sleep listening to Bronze Wing pigeons hooting away (sounds like cows braying) and in the morning, starting around 5:00am, our Wattlebirds start clacking away, followed by Kookaburras (bush roosters) and an assortment of other birds, including Currawongs, that alert us that dawn is upon us. Mind you, I don't mind it, as that's country life.