Thank you MPB for sponsoring this very interesting video. It would be great to see more like this. It's similar to Ferris bird watching videos which are done in the USA.
I've got one here nesting in a large strangler fig tree over my back fence It was outside my backdoor an hour ago just before dark eating minced meat with the local magpies 🇦🇺
It is ILLEGAL to smuggle native birds, eggs and other animals from Australia. Your animal sanctuary was a CRIMINAL operation and its operators ARE CRIMINALS responsible for killing hundreds of Australian birds and other animals. Criminals come to Australia, enter our national parks searching for eggs to smuggle out killing more than 90% in the process and decimating the native nests ; they make money from the few that survive, they don't care about the animals they kill and endanger.
I would say foxes too but they are pretty cute so I guess they can stay. Have eaten quite a few of my chickens though lol keeping in mind I’m deep in suburbia next to the beach in Victoria
As an Australian on a ‘working holiday’ in London back 1997/99…I remember fondly going to London Zoo & seeing the Kookaburra exhibit & calling to them…. Other visitors to the zoo, looked at me like I was a bit loony….then the 5/6 kookaburras (from memory) started responding to my call. All kooka’s went nuts! They call to show & reinforce their territory! I took a bow; from the wandering visitors & was told that regular visitors had never heard them call! It was a highlight for me… Christopher
Seagulls we're 200kms inland and we still get them at ours along with the Kookaburra's, Magpies and when in QLD the Ibis (Bin Chickens) and on Bin Collection day the neighbourhood gets visited by the local Corvids who want to remind people to no overload their general waste bins
I only recently discovered that Kookaburras are not native to Western Australia but brought over to control the snakes population in the late 1800's. They ate the snakes but as you pointed out they eat just about anything. We've fed them strip's of steak and they fly off and whack the steak on a hard surface like they do with snakes and other small critters. Kookaburras laughing and magpies warbling are the sound of morning in Australia
They escaped a wildlife park at Quinn's Rocks in the 1960s and up until 30 years ago you couldn't find them anywhere south of Yanchep. Today they are all the way down in Walpole.
@@AndyJarman some were introduced much earlier to WA, in 1898 at King's Park (iirc). Unusually, for an introduced species, they stayed mostly in the city and spread slowly, but were seen in the Wheatbelt and SW several decades later. In the early '90s I lived near King's Park, in West Perth, and used to hear and occasionally see them. My closest encounter was when one landed on a clothes line a few metres away, as I was hanging out washing. The Quinns kookas have probably merged with the older pop and reinvigorated it.
I live in a suburb of Perth (the one in WA, not the one in Scotland), and used to hear a Kookaburra only about once a year. However, for the past year I hear them every day/night. I have noticed that the small birds like willie wagtails that use to see and hear every day rarely see now.
Poor kookaburras That zoo should be fined. I’m Australian They will sing back at you if you call them. Perhaps use a video of them ‘laughing’ and see if they respond. Wish they could come back home and eat native foods here.
That's the first thing I thought to call them, because they will call back 🙂 I don't know how I feel about the UK have our Kookaburras, I feel a bit ripped off 😂
A friend of mine owns a wildlife shelter in Australia, and regularly she has orphaned baby kookaburra’s in her care. The previously rehabilitated and released kookaburra’s in her area, she feeds a daily snack to, as they return each day, as if to thank her for caring for them until they could be released. She was shocked when she discovered, when she holds the orphans currently in care, the adults would fly to the fence to check them out and they started feeding the orphans she held up to them! Not sure if it’s normal or just because they were hand reared, but they do it each day! Others disappear for many months, and she thinks they go to breed in the local golf course, because they eventually return with their own young, to visit her and grab a snack and show her. It’s so rewarding to know that all her hard work of caring for them, is successful. They are the type of bird who will befriend kind humans quite easily, and remember them for years to come. Noisy buggers though 😂
As an Aussie, why did I watch a video for 20 minutes about a guy trying to find a bird that I can see all the time... the guy made an entertaining video and spun his yarn well, that's why.
As Australian here. We have a densely treed 'bush block' weekender of 20 acres/9 hectares in the country near Wombat Forest in Central Victoria, Australia and there are many kookaburras and other types of birds there as well as kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and reptiles. The kookas always greet us when we arrive with a loud peel of laughter. They kill snakes by diving onto them , flying off with them and whipping the snakes around until the snake's back is broken. And they hang they around when we fire up the barbeque for dinner.
Wombat Forest and the Lerderderg Gorge have always been my fav place to spend the weekend with the the Boys or family. Keep an eye out for mine shafts, especially close to the waterways.
We have had at least two gravely injured red bellied black snakes dropped into our backyard by Kookaburras. Don't know why (possibly snakes larger than the Kookaburras expected to fly with). They are a magnificient bird....
I feel a little sad for them. I hate seeing our Aussie wildlife in places we’re the don’t belong and become maligned (hello NZ!) when they are so loved at home. They are all unique and pretty special. We have Kookaburras in our neighbourhood. Waking up to their call in the early morning is really special and iconically Australian. To hear them in the UK just wouldn’t feel right.
I'm from Florida originally. It's surprising those birds don't live there too. Florida is overrun with invasive critters and plants and trees. I can't think of any Aussie animals running around there but there are lots of Australian pines at the beaches and on islands in the bays. And lots of "punk trees", paperbark trees or something like that, bottlebrush trees and other flora. But Florida is covered in plants and trees from elsewhere just like it has crazy fauna. It's really sad, but I'll admit I enjoyed the exotic fruits in Florida and I bet some came from Down Under. Cheers from Virginia.
Yes an an expat living in New Zealand it’s kinda sad to see the “the best possum is a dead possum” attitude, but it’s also kinda sad to see the destruction of forests. It’s places it’s easy to see they really don’t belong here. I have a few in my suburban Auckland backyard sometimes and hear them scrapping outside my window at night with their distinctive growl/bark and have to convince my daughter it’s not a monster, it’s that cute furry animal I’ve showed her.
@@robinhodgkinson yeah, I get it. We have the same attitude to foxes….even though they are amazing creatures. A mate who travelled to NZ told me that our brush tailed possums have become far more predatory in NZ possibly due to the lack of usual native foods and flowers. They don’t belong there but doesn’t mean we need to brutal and callous about their eradication.
Yer i visited NZ they had an ad for petrol where the gag was the kid was counting dead possums! 😅 i get they are pest there but as they are protected back home it was very jarring.
Hi Cookie, tell Bradley the groundkeeper at the golf course that he can easily attract the kookburras by digging in the soil ( if they are near enough to see him).These birds will come and silently perch nearby if you are working the soil, and they sit motionless for ages, waiting to see if you turn up any worms. You mightn't know they are so close to you, until they pounce onto the ground near your spade, to scoop up a grub. (This is the 3rd way to attract these birds. Many of the comments mention the first, which is to play a recording of their laugh, or mimic it; and the second which is to barbecue meat outside, where the aroma will travel. BTW it is hilarious to watch a kookaburra making sure to beat even a tiny piece of meat to death on a branch, before it eats.)
You’ve made my day with that red squirrel footage it’s awesome. They’re magical. I must say I’m glad the kookaburra can’t breed our wildlife is seriously threatened already. It’s sad for them though, especially for the last one standing all alone in the wrong country through no fault of its own.
Easiest way to find a kookaburra- is to camp near a group and in the morning have a bacon and egg breakfast. Once when we were camping, my partner had a piece of bacon in his hand about to put it in his mouth. Next thing we hear a flap of wings, and the bacon was gone along with a very self -satisfied bird. It flew up to a tree, and then it ate the bacon in front of him. At least it had the decency not to start laughing at him.
They can accurately identify the precise food from 50 metres . For bits of salami they had their favorites and there was salami they would not like . They could detect the subtle differences from 50 metres and swoop in only for the preferred salami.
You mentioned Kookaburras are native to the Eastern Australia. This is a bit misleading. Actually there are two species of Kookaburra, the Bluewing Kookaburra and the Laughing Kookaburra. The Laughing is pretty well Australia wide whereas the Bluewing is predominantly across Northern Australia. I am from South Australia and a very keen hobby photographer. :)
Hopefully 2 males or 2 females. You really don't want these things breeding in the UK. I live in Tasmania where Kookaburras are non-native, having been introduced from the SE Australian mainland over 100 years ago; they've caused a lot of damage here, particularly of concern being endemic bird species, not found outside Tasmania. They're generalists which eat anything and everything, snakes, lizards, amphibians, small rodents etc., They're also devastating to nesting birds, they'll eat both chicks and eggs. The fact that they've survived for several years in the wild tells you that they'd likely breed very successfully too.
Yeah, worst-case scenario is a mixed-sex pair, which would be bad, but almost certainly won't result in a long-term invasive species problem. Biologists have a thing called "minimum viable population"- The number of individuals of a certain species, needed to sustain a population. It varies for different animals, but generally you need at least a few dozen individuals, absolute minimum; Less than that, and you get too much in-breeding/not enough genetic diversity, and the population dies out. A single breeding pair (or even two or three breeding pairs) won't be enough to create a sustainable population... But that said, it's still an extremely messed up, ugly scenario... A very unpleasant way for a population to die out.
I love your enthusiasm, mate. Even as an Aussie in NSW with the privilege of seeing and hearing Kookaburras often enough, it was great to watch your search and find them.
15:38 your excitement for seeing the Red Squirrel makes evious, I am 53 and Australian and never been to the UK but man now I want to see a Red Squirrel for myself!
Some kookaburra info. 1. Here in Australia nobody says 'laughing kookaburra'/ Drop the 'laughing', it's just weird to say that. It's no long the 1700s. 2. The plural of kookaburra is kookaburras, it takes the 's'. 3. If you want to locate them you are best being out in the trees just before sunrise and late afternoon. Those are the times they call to each other. I get woken about 5:30 each morning. 4. Although they eat just about anything, don't feed them chips or bread. And not even lean meat. They need lots of bones or snail shells etc. 5. If you sit quietly you might see them bring worms up to the surface by dropping stones from a high perch. They drop the stone, fly down and pick it up and drop it again. The noise brings up the worms. 6. You can sometimes locate them by mimicing their call. They are social birds with flocks of them in the one place. If they hear you call they will often respond.
It's not actually wrong to say Laughing Kookaburra because there are two different species. Laughing Kookaburra and Bluewing Kookaburra. But you're right. We don't say the laughing bit. I can't say what Bluewings are usually called because here in SA we only have the Laughing variety. Edit, I've since learned there are actually 4 species.
@@kerriemccoy1647 Also, The Blue wing Kookaburra's call is not considered a laugh. It has similar aspects in its calls to the Laughing species but not the part that is what gives the Laughing Kookaburra its name.
@@robguyatt9602 Bluewings are found further north and are often simply referred to as Kingfishers in Australia. ( Though I have heard of a riot of Laughing Kookaburras that cleaned out a Koi pond.)
I saved a kookaburra once, he had tried to land on my picket fence, slipped and gotten his head stuck inbetween the pickets, no idea how long he was there I thought he was dead when I found him he was that exhausted, took him inside and sat him in a shoebox and chilled with him overnight till animal rescue could come pick him up in the morning
All you needed to do was be at the golf course at dawn or sunset as the Kookaburras will get together and laugh for a little while. They tend to do it in the same place every time, with other birds answering from other areas etc. which may affect their penchant to call without other birds around, I don't know to be honest. But they're everywhere here where I live and we hear and see them daily. As well as Cockies, Rosellas, Wattle Birds etc. etc. FYI, Burra's live in the blue mountains here which get a hell of a lot of snow so they can adapt to the cold pretty well.
It is surprising that they are not making any noise because Kookaburras laugh a lot. Maybe the miserable weather was keeping them quiet. Also strange that they are staying in the area. I thought all Australians eventually gravitate to Earl's Court, and Australia House in The Strand. I am not surprised the locals love them. Kookaburra's are friendly birds (love pieces of chopped raw steak if you want to feed them) and everyone loves their laughing call. Plus they help keep the mice population down. I remember them on the farm. They would come land on the mud guard of the tractor because they would feed on mice or snakes disturbed by tilling the ground. They would sit there, less than a meter from me and I would talk to them. As I said, very friendly birds. They like humans, and the feeling is mutual.
@@mjh5437 I know that, but the legendary Australian-ness of Earls Court in the 1970's and 80's became a bit of a joke that has outlived the reality. That is how I was using it here.
We don't have crows in Australia, what you're referring to is a native Raven. Usually confused as a crow but crows make a lighter carrr carr, ravens are the ones making that loud deep croaking raa.
It's wet and rainy. When many varieties of birds get wet, their feathers get waterlogged and they can't get lift. So they try to find dry places to perch where they can stay dry and relatively warm. If it is cold they could well go into torpor. Many of the buildings and enclosures at the former zoo can provide that kind of shelter. So if they are relatively smart, the birds will go hide away on a day like this. You ask how they can possibly survive. Birds are incredibly adaptable. There are clubs here in the Pacific Northwest that work will all types of parrots, particularly cockatoos, to acclimate them to the cold weather. They are literally outdoors in pens. The kookaburra have been there for many years and have long since adapted to the climate. We have had flocks of wild parrots here that escaped from a pet store and lived here in flocks for years.
It snows every year at some point in mountains just west of Sydney and there is lots of kookaburras there and they live in the Vic and nsw high country as well which is covered in snow all winter so shouldn't have a problem surviving a UK winter.
Why would anyone want to disrupt their local ecosystem by introducing foreign birds and animals? It has lead to extinctions and ecological disasters all over the world.😮
They need to laugh, it’s their way of communicating. It’s like us not talking, that’s sad. Yes, they need to learn how to be vocal again. So glad I’m here in Aus, being woken up with laughter coming from the trees😊
Congratulations for finally seeing them after all that effort you put in, beautiful footage and a great video! It's my dream to see them but Australia is too far away, so maybe head to Scotland? I was touched by your enthusiasm in finding a red squirrel too. I live in the middle of Berlin, and they are everywhere in the city. I see 2 or 3 of them playing together in my backyard every day, and they come onto my balcony too (they can climb up high walls!)
Calling all animal lovers! Listen here and listen well. Cody Roberts of Wyoming has yet to be punished for his horrific crime of animal abuse towards a young wolf. If any of you care, please fight that real justice be met! No animal abuser should go off with just a slap on the wrist. We must come together to ensure no animal abuser get away with such an awful act! #JusticeForWolves
I absolutely love Kookaburras. They're actually considered a pest here in Western Australia, but everyone loves them. They're native to Eastern Australia. I sometimes walk through a large cemetery near me and a few always fly down to watch you as you walk by. Hearing them at dawn and dusk is one of the best things about living in Australia. You should look up the Lyre bird - they are able to mimic a huge range of sounds perfectly. They mimic kookaburras so well.
Escaped zoo birds. I have seen a few escaped zoo birds in my time around London Zoo. The most famous being Goldie the Golden Eagle in the 1960's. There was a Little Egret that escaped in 2012 and still stayed in the zoo grounds, coming to feed with penguins at feeding time. I saw a Red-head Cardinal in the bushes near the zoo one day, from South America. 2 other recent London Zoo escaped birds include a Turkey Vulture that circled the GPO Tower, and a Tawny Eagle in Primrose Hill. In Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo has free flying Night Herons, so they must wander outside the zoo too.
Was literally saved by a kookaburra about 2 years ago, it nailed a eastern brown snake that I didnt spot and very nearly stood on. Yes, not only do they also attack snakes, but will happily eat them as well!!
@@tabbi888 three kinds of snake, the adder, grass snake and smooth snake. The adder is venomous but not anything like Aussie snake venomous 😂 We also have slow worms, a legless lizard that looks like a snake. All could do with no extra predators due to existing pressures like habitat destruction.
I have no idea why I watched this or why I found it so entertaining. There's literally 7 kookaburras in the tree 15m away from where I'm watching this.
The Kookaburra are not just on the east coast of Australia as you stated, but also inhabit many areas around Australia, including the west coast. Feel sorry for those two birds that are not in their native habitat.
They are native to all 3 eastern states, parts of South Australia, Torres Strait and New Guinea. They have also been introduced and live in Southern WA, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island and New Zealand.
I feel sorry for them too, but only because there's nowhere for them to find a mate. I agree that all species of wildlife are better off in their native habitats, and also that habitats are better off for the most part without foreign, non-native species being introduced. Having said that, I doubt the creatures themselves are jingoistic nationalists - seeing that nationalism in itself is merely an artificial human imposition upon the natural world. The natural, non-human, world is amazingly resilient and adaptive and the spread of species is a continuous process, reliant on a whole raft of causes. It's one reason why our own species, for example, is not confined to a small part of Africa.
@@philroberts7238 True. But, by the number of dog-chain hitch points and body-branding on some of the young women(?) in the video, the regression to origin is well under way. 😵💫🙄😉
I work at a zoo and it's very common for animals to get out in storms or bad weather ect, they don't bother looking for them unless they are dangerous animals
OF COURSE. My experience on the internet has shown me Americans are a TERRIBLY in looking nation. Can't place anything past canada and mexico on a map. I saw a video of school girl go into Walmart with an unmarked map and ask where Japan was. Out of 30, 20 pointed to COLOMBIA and only 1 pointed to Japan. I have been face to face with an American, in a Christian household as a white Australian with them to question how they didn't know I wasn't an Islam terrorist. Whose the BIGGEST ALLY in the war on terror after Britain? By numbers of troops, AUSTRALIA.
As an Australian I am very sad that someone has released these Australian birds as the weather is not warm enough for the birds. They are regularly voted the most favourite bird in suburban Australia. The kookaburra laughing song is normally how they mark out their territories to other kookaburras.
As an Aussie I love Kookaburras. They would come to my mothers backdoor for a feed. I tried to feed from my hand but they went for my fingers. They like minced meat, just a little so they still hunt for their own food. When they had babies they would come too.
I live in Western Australia for millions of years the Kookaburra couldn't make it over here (desert in the way). Then 50 years ago they escaped from a wildlife park, now they are everywhere!
Great video bloke👍 Glad you finally tracked em down. Like the Rainbow Lorikeet, kookas were introduced to Western Australia from the Eastern States of Australia & they displace our endemic birds like the Red-capped Parrot & Forest Red-tailed Cockatoos. Also the over hunting of lizards, goannas, skinks etc. They're a striking looking bird & full of personality, but you don't want them multiplying & decimating your native creatures ❌ Hopefully there's no females on the winds nearby. I had to rescue 2 of the buggers from the pool last summer. video on my channel here 👍 They're very cool & all, but can be destructive.
I was walking on Ramsey Island in Wales a few years back in the early 2000’s and saw a strange looking bird. It was on the ground next to a large rock feeding on something. I watched it for about 10 minutes but just couldn’t put a definite name on it . The nearest thing i could think of was a Kookaburra. Still to this day i would swear that thats what it was. Possible ? Who knows.
Amazing video footage you captured of the Kookaburra. Apparently, there are Kookaburras living in Suffolk, England. A spokesman for Suffolk Wildlife Trust said it was first spotted about nine years ago, and it seems to have made itself quite at home in Suffolk.
Very interesting video. For future reference, if you ever decide to find them again, play a recording of kookaburra calls and if they're within earshot, you'll find them quickly. FYI: The plural is kookaburras.
I was eating wok in a box in Perth (Western Australia) when the chopsticks disappeared out of my hands. I was shocked, looked up and a kookaburra was sitting 10m away spitting out the chopsticks in disgust and giving me a dirty look.
We had one coming to our backyard for months, we would give it warmed up frozen mice but they are expensive! So I changed over to fresh beef strips and it loved them. It eventually stopped visiting and I hope it’s happy and healthy wherever it is now 🫶
Its no use looking for kookaburras in wide open spaces. They are a perch and pounce predator. They do not actively hunt for prey, but find a perch with a good reasonably high view and just watch the ground with incredibly sharp eyesight which can pick up ground movement above a worm or centipede under the surface. They drop on anything they see and grab it, often excavating to dig up something. Follow the likely perches.
Have you visited the Kirkby Stephen (Cumbria) Scarlet Macaws yet? Theres a flock of free flying birds in the town. Whilst not wholly 'wild' they are feral and are trained to return to a parrot conservation centre set up by the late John Strutt. Still, it's fun to see then essentially flying wild around the village and countryside
I just take kookaburra for granted, but I can understand how exciting it must have been for you to have seen them. I, however, was absolutely thrilled to see the red squirrel, as we have no squirrels here in Australia.
We live in Sydney surrounded by bushland. We often have Kookaburras fly up to us on the balcony, sometimes landing on our arms. I have photographed 7 of them perched side by side, high on one of our tree branches, asleep at night. The babies demand food all day and I'm sure a mum Kooka has looked at me with the tired "you know what it's like" look. One small correction - plural for Kookaburra is generally "Kookaburras". Cheers - Dave
Our family live on a large property in the bush on the Australian east coast with numerous families of Kookaburra. Established Kookaburra families are territorial and adapt to human interaction very easily. They are aggressive hunters with our locals often seen eating snakes, albeit not very large ones. They love rodents and do a great job of keeping rodent population down similar to the various UK Owls of which we have fewer of here. Enjoy those two Scottish boys while you can and thanks for making a great little video about them.
Frankly, it's good that those are both male, buras are very adaptable and would have no problems living in the uk, they can and will eat anything they can get their beaks on. Baby redbelly black snakes are a favourite around sydney.
You earnt a sub buddy. Your enthusiasm and love for animals is infectious, your promotion of a small local community is admirable, and as an Aussie, who has a group of Kookaburras visiting my yard regularly (and I’m 50% Scottish heritage), yeah, this video was a great recommendation form UA-cam.
I don’t need to get up, I get gently woken up by the kookaburras laughing in the distance in an Aus Melbourne suburb in the trees, then I happily doze back off to sleep. The sound of them waking up is beautiful
Nothing worse than working an all nighter (or gaming, or watching American F1 rounds) and still up and awake and hearing them, that means the sun is about to rise and no chance of getting shut eye when 1 laugh turns to 2 turns to 10 (I live in a typical Sydney suburb, they live all around here within a few mins flight to Lane Cove National Park, but probably prefer the built up areas for all the goodies we humans intentionally and unintentionally leave out for them).
Kia Ora from New Zealand! I was wondering in terms of conservation of the local wildlife whether the locals of the area should fully adopt the 2 Kookaburra. You know, play their calls in town during the day and have feeding stations specifically for them. Try keep them happy and on a full stomach as to not be such a disaster for native wildlife in the area? Just a thought, fantastic video.
I occasionally get kookaburras in the tree behind my back yard, my next door neighbor had a brown snake (the bight can be fatal) in his backyard it's head had been destroyed by a kookaburra. A friend of mine used to hand feed them from his back veranda. They love mince.
Yep. The Great Australian Bight is known for regularly hosting fatalities - often from drownings but the occasional Great White Shark chomping as well! 🤔😜😁
Hi Cookie ! What a surprise to watch your show and see our local bird alive and well in Scotland ! Our darling Kookaburra 's. Yes , they are very beautiful birds. We love in tropical North Queensland in Cairns and have a group of about 10 that frequent our palm trees. They call often ( laughing ) and are quite loud. I really enjoyed your video and am so pleased for the locals over there and for you , that you got to do all that wonderful filming ( also you got to see your little red squirrel too ). What a magnificent journey for you. Many thanks. Cheers. Colin
They will often visit your camp if you are out in the bush. I have had one just sit on the arm of my chair for a little while. The largest of the Australian Kingfishers.
Used to have a local group follow me along as I turned the soil. One day 1 particularly enterprising individual tried to ride along on the tractor's raised forklift to steal a march on the competition. Only the local Australian Grey Butcherbirds were quicker on the draw in pouncing on the running mice and revealed grubs and worms. Funniest thing I ever saw was a Kooka on the ploughed ground with a mouse in its mouth - and surrounded by about 5 crows! Every so often 1 would bounce in and pull the Kooka's tail to try to make it drop the mouse and he would jump around to face that threat. Possession is 9 points of the law and eventually he made off with it! 😉 The sound of Blackbirds used to tell me that I was on holiday in Europe. The songs of Kookaburras, Butcherbirds and Australian Magpies welcomed my return home! 😊
If not seen for a while, they may be nesting. Kookaburras will reduce its range considerably while nesting. The fact that it looks to be spring (date of posting matches too) then nesting is likely.
Really great video. Look forward to seeing more! Sadly the only non native species I see are muntjac and mink. Plus the American Cray Fish who are at least tasty in a boil.
Kookaburras live in the coldest places in Australia, such as the Australian Alps, blue Mountains, Grampians and many other Mountain ranges that get annual snowfall, saying it's too cold in the UK for them is like saying it's too hot for inland Taipans to live in the outback
I have one in my River Red Gum tree (about 30 feet high), 12,000 miles from Kirkudbright. He grabs small parrots, belts the life out of them by hitting them against a bough and sometimes has a hearty laugh about his handiwork. They are adept at catching snakes (Tiger, Eastern Brown), that's when we both have a laugh.
Kookaburras have been successfully introduced into Tasmania, so if they can survive there they should be able to cope with a Scottish winter. These birds will kill small snakes so not much is going to phase them. They like to be fed with beef mince meat, will visit regularly for a meat treat, are very trusting after a short period.
If I remember correctly, he's done several videos looking for alien big cats. He didn't find one so concluded they don't exist. Having seen a lynx myself and having a real good friend who saw a black leopard, I'd beg to differ.
@@studentstudent5044 Yep. And like most similar sightings in Oz, the success rate rises if you get well primed in the local watering hole before going looking for them. 🤔😉😊
Can anyone/someone tell me please, what is the name of this Scottish town? It's not in the video page dropdown (description) and neither is it in the transcript except as "cbri".
If you want them to call & show you where they are - you need to play a recording of one. We used to mimic them when we were kids & set them all off calling
Thankyou for this channel it warms my heart to know that there are other people out there that feel as i do about all our lovely animal cohabitants of this earth.
Not my usual watch but so interesting love this type of video and subbed My question is how are they surviving the harsh weather conditions. Also is it possible for these birds to mate with another species of uk bird
Big shoutout to MPB for sponsoring this Animal Anomalies! - www.mpb.com/en-uk/shop?UA-cam&:uk%7Ccam:influencer%7Cpub:Wildlife+With+Cookie%7Cbsb:Buy
Thank you MPB for sponsoring this very interesting video. It would be great to see more like this. It's similar to Ferris bird watching videos which are done in the USA.
I agree! They need to be brought back to Australia. They are going to wreck havoc on the habitat over there.
I've got one here nesting in a large strangler fig tree over my back fence
It was outside my backdoor an hour ago just before dark eating minced meat with the local magpies 🇦🇺
It is ILLEGAL to smuggle native birds, eggs and other animals from Australia. Your animal sanctuary was a CRIMINAL operation and its operators ARE CRIMINALS responsible for killing hundreds of Australian birds and other animals. Criminals come to Australia, enter our national parks searching for eggs to smuggle out killing more than 90% in the process and decimating the native nests ; they make money from the few that survive, they don't care about the animals they kill and endanger.
aye mate gimme me birds back
We'll come get our Kookaburras if you come and get your rabbits.
Rabbits are not really native to Britain. They were introduced by the Romans who brought them as food
@@patricia8546 Agreed- apparently ALL rabbits began in Spain. Wonder why ??
@@patricia8546it was the English that brought them over though. They wanted it to be like the motherland.
I would say foxes too but they are pretty cute so I guess they can stay. Have eaten quite a few of my chickens though lol keeping in mind I’m deep in suburbia next to the beach in Victoria
@@delfraser5399. The same can be said about most of the population of Australia!!
As an Australian on a ‘working holiday’ in London back 1997/99…I remember fondly going to London Zoo & seeing the Kookaburra exhibit & calling to them….
Other visitors to the zoo, looked at me like I was a bit loony….then the 5/6 kookaburras (from memory) started responding to my call. All kooka’s went nuts!
They call to show & reinforce their territory!
I took a bow; from the wandering visitors & was told that regular visitors had never heard them call!
It was a highlight for me…
Christopher
In the American zoos they know how to set off the kookaburras for the visitors' benefit .
My Nan did the same thing decades ago in San Diego…❤
I did a kook call in the county jail and made the officers go wild.
Never got a call back though.
Hot plenty of humape calls. 😂
Always gotta set off the kookaburras!
@@Philip-hv2kcthats cos america loves disturbing nature for their own ego 😂
The best way to attract Kookaburras is to have a BBQ. Just wait and they will show up. They are nature's freeloaders.
Magpies are the real freeloaders.
No those are bin chickens.
@@zzodysseuszzEmus will steal a sausage straight off your BBQ.
Theoretically then you should see them at Bunnings on the weekend but we don’t.
Seagulls we're 200kms inland and we still get them at ours along with the Kookaburra's, Magpies and when in QLD the Ibis (Bin Chickens)
and on Bin Collection day the neighbourhood gets visited by the local Corvids who want to remind people to no overload their general waste bins
I only recently discovered that Kookaburras are not native to Western Australia but brought over to control the snakes population in the late 1800's. They ate the snakes but as you pointed out they eat just about anything. We've fed them strip's of steak and they fly off and whack the steak on a hard surface like they do with snakes and other small critters. Kookaburras laughing and magpies warbling are the sound of morning in Australia
And they have no natural enemies in WA, so they are more common than in the east.
They escaped a wildlife park at Quinn's Rocks in the 1960s and up until 30 years ago you couldn't find them anywhere south of Yanchep. Today they are all the way down in Walpole.
They also enjoy pet rodents... my niece had hers on her shoulder when it was snatched.
@@AndyJarman some were introduced much earlier to WA, in 1898 at King's Park (iirc). Unusually, for an introduced species, they stayed mostly in the city and spread slowly, but were seen in the Wheatbelt and SW several decades later. In the early '90s I lived near King's Park, in West Perth, and used to hear and occasionally see them. My closest encounter was when one landed on a clothes line a few metres away, as I was hanging out washing. The Quinns kookas have probably merged with the older pop and reinvigorated it.
I live in a suburb of Perth (the one in WA, not the one in Scotland), and used to hear a Kookaburra only about once a year. However, for the past year I hear them every day/night. I have noticed that the small birds like willie wagtails that use to see and hear every day rarely see now.
Poor kookaburras That zoo should be fined. I’m Australian They will sing back at you if you call them. Perhaps use a video of them ‘laughing’ and see if they respond. Wish they could come back home and eat native foods here.
That's the first thing I thought to call them, because they will call back 🙂 I don't know how I feel about the UK have our Kookaburras, I feel a bit ripped off 😂
I’ve seen videos of emus in America, they’re not pets, send them back home
They’re a variety of kingfishers, so it’s not surprising that they’re surviving
Are you looking early in the day when they would be out foraging?
Well, females would be sitting on eggs somewhere hidden 🙄
A friend of mine owns a wildlife shelter in Australia, and regularly she has orphaned baby kookaburra’s in her care. The previously rehabilitated and released kookaburra’s in her area, she feeds a daily snack to, as they return each day, as if to thank her for caring for them until they could be released. She was shocked when she discovered, when she holds the orphans currently in care, the adults would fly to the fence to check them out and they started feeding the orphans she held up to them! Not sure if it’s normal or just because they were hand reared, but they do it each day! Others disappear for many months, and she thinks they go to breed in the local golf course, because they eventually return with their own young, to visit her and grab a snack and show her. It’s so rewarding to know that all her hard work of caring for them, is successful. They are the type of bird who will befriend kind humans quite easily, and remember them for years to come. Noisy buggers though 😂
Thank you for sharing this. So sweet and fascinating.
As an Aussie, why did I watch a video for 20 minutes about a guy trying to find a bird that I can see all the time... the guy made an entertaining video and spun his yarn well, that's why.
If you play audio of a kookaburra laughing it will get their attention and they will start singing too. (usually)
Because they're like 'Oi! Where's me cousin Jeremy at?'
@@YeahIDontKn0wEither "Bruce"
Even a shit impression of them laughing gets them going.
As Australian here. We have a densely treed 'bush block' weekender of 20 acres/9 hectares in the country near Wombat Forest in Central Victoria, Australia and there are many kookaburras and other types of birds there as well as kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and reptiles. The kookas always greet us when we arrive with a loud peel of laughter. They kill snakes by diving onto them , flying off with them and whipping the snakes around until the snake's back is broken. And they hang they around when we fire up the barbeque for dinner.
Wombat Forest and the Lerderderg Gorge have always been my fav place to spend the weekend with the the Boys or family. Keep an eye out for mine shafts, especially close to the waterways.
oh yeah , they've been known to steal your sausage from your hand , cheeky little buggers they are , they love meat
Let's swap.
We have had at least two gravely injured red bellied black snakes dropped into our backyard by Kookaburras. Don't know why (possibly snakes larger than the Kookaburras expected to fly with). They are a magnificient bird....
Nice spot. It's not that far from me, I used to go around that area sometimes and had a block past Ballarat.
I feel a little sad for them. I hate seeing our Aussie wildlife in places we’re the don’t belong and become maligned (hello NZ!) when they are so loved at home. They are all unique and pretty special. We have Kookaburras in our neighbourhood. Waking up to their call in the early morning is really special and iconically Australian. To hear them in the UK just wouldn’t feel right.
I'm from Florida originally. It's surprising those birds don't live there too. Florida is overrun with invasive critters and plants and trees. I can't think of any Aussie animals running around there but there are lots of Australian pines at the beaches and on islands in the bays. And lots of "punk trees", paperbark trees or something like that, bottlebrush trees and other flora. But Florida is covered in plants and trees from elsewhere just like it has crazy fauna. It's really sad, but I'll admit I enjoyed the exotic fruits in Florida and I bet some came from Down Under.
Cheers from Virginia.
Luv ya kiwi mate, have a fantastic year.
Yes an an expat living in New Zealand it’s kinda sad to see the “the best possum is a dead possum” attitude, but it’s also kinda sad to see the destruction of forests. It’s places it’s easy to see they really don’t belong here. I have a few in my suburban Auckland backyard sometimes and hear them scrapping outside my window at night with their distinctive growl/bark and have to convince my daughter it’s not a monster, it’s that cute furry animal I’ve showed her.
@@robinhodgkinson yeah, I get it. We have the same attitude to foxes….even though they are amazing creatures. A mate who travelled to NZ told me that our brush tailed possums have become far more predatory in NZ possibly due to the lack of usual native foods and flowers. They don’t belong there but doesn’t mean we need to brutal and callous about their eradication.
Yer i visited NZ they had an ad for petrol where the gag was the kid was counting dead possums! 😅 i get they are pest there but as they are protected back home it was very jarring.
Hi Cookie, tell Bradley the groundkeeper at the golf course that he can easily attract the kookburras by digging in the soil ( if they are near enough to see him).These birds will come and silently perch nearby if you are working the soil, and they sit motionless for ages, waiting to see if you turn up any worms. You mightn't know they are so close to you, until they pounce onto the ground near your spade, to scoop up a grub. (This is the 3rd way to attract these birds. Many of the comments mention the first, which is to play a recording of their laugh, or mimic it; and the second which is to barbecue meat outside, where the aroma will travel. BTW it is hilarious to watch a kookaburra making sure to beat even a tiny piece of meat to death on a branch, before it eats.)
Pretty important habit given how deadly our snakes are... 😲
They hang about when I'm using the large ride-on mower too.
You’ve made my day with that red squirrel footage it’s awesome. They’re magical. I must say I’m glad the kookaburra can’t breed our wildlife is seriously threatened already. It’s sad for them though, especially for the last one standing all alone in the wrong country through no fault of its own.
Easiest way to find a kookaburra- is to camp near a group and in the morning have a bacon and egg breakfast. Once when we were camping, my partner had a piece of bacon in his hand about to put it in his mouth. Next thing we hear a flap of wings, and the bacon was gone along with a very self -satisfied bird. It flew up to a tree, and then it ate the bacon in front of him.
At least it had the decency not to start laughing at him.
They can accurately identify the precise food from 50 metres . For bits of salami they had their favorites and there was salami they would not like . They could detect the subtle differences from 50 metres and swoop in only for the preferred salami.
I live in kirkcudbright and have had the two kookaburra sitting in a wall looking in our kitchen window👏👏👍😃. I have a pic if you want to see it👍
You don't find kookaburras, they find you ☕️😎🦘
BBQ thieves
You mentioned Kookaburras are native to the Eastern Australia. This is a bit misleading. Actually there are two species of Kookaburra, the Bluewing Kookaburra and the Laughing Kookaburra. The Laughing is pretty well Australia wide whereas the Bluewing is predominantly across Northern Australia. I am from South Australia and a very keen hobby photographer. :)
They're actually introduced over here in Western Australia back in 1897 to reduce snake population so I think that's what he was alluding to.
I haven't seen a kookaburra in upper Eyre Peninsula.
Hopefully 2 males or 2 females. You really don't want these things breeding in the UK.
I live in Tasmania where Kookaburras are non-native, having been introduced from the SE Australian mainland over 100 years ago; they've caused a lot of damage here, particularly of concern being endemic bird species, not found outside Tasmania.
They're generalists which eat anything and everything, snakes, lizards, amphibians, small rodents etc., They're also devastating to nesting birds, they'll eat both chicks and eggs. The fact that they've survived for several years in the wild tells you that they'd likely breed very successfully too.
Yeah, worst-case scenario is a mixed-sex pair, which would be bad, but almost certainly won't result in a long-term invasive species problem.
Biologists have a thing called "minimum viable population"- The number of individuals of a certain species, needed to sustain a population. It varies for different animals, but generally you need at least a few dozen individuals, absolute minimum; Less than that, and you get too much in-breeding/not enough genetic diversity, and the population dies out.
A single breeding pair (or even two or three breeding pairs) won't be enough to create a sustainable population... But that said, it's still an extremely messed up, ugly scenario... A very unpleasant way for a population to die out.
He said it was 2 males
I love your enthusiasm, mate. Even as an Aussie in NSW with the privilege of seeing and hearing Kookaburras often enough, it was great to watch your search and find them.
Too bloddy right it shouldnt be there!, as an australian it makes me sick to see our native protected wildlife smuggled by vile people for profit.
Calm down big fella
I agree 💯
That's OK - they can have our non-native to Tasmania introduced Kookaburras instead.
nothing to say they were "smuggled in". They may have come by legal means to the animal sanctuary.
Yet we see people in America with "exotic pets" like frill neck lizards! We're not allowed to have native animals as pets here! @@zaccat693
15:38 your excitement for seeing the Red Squirrel makes evious, I am 53 and Australian and never been to the UK but man now I want to see a Red Squirrel for myself!
So you've found a bush alarm clock (kookaburra) they usually call at 5 in the morning
We have the currawongs where I am as the pre-dawn alarm.
In my area they do that but you get multiple calls as the sun is going down too.
Kookaburra comes nearly every day into our garden and having a good gigles in Northern NSW Australia. Love them❤🫶
Some kookaburra info.
1. Here in Australia nobody says 'laughing kookaburra'/ Drop the 'laughing', it's just weird to say that. It's no long the 1700s.
2. The plural of kookaburra is kookaburras, it takes the 's'.
3. If you want to locate them you are best being out in the trees just before sunrise and late afternoon. Those are the times they call to each other. I get woken about 5:30 each morning.
4. Although they eat just about anything, don't feed them chips or bread. And not even lean meat. They need lots of bones or snail shells etc.
5. If you sit quietly you might see them bring worms up to the surface by dropping stones from a high perch. They drop the stone, fly down and pick it up and drop it again. The noise brings up the worms.
6. You can sometimes locate them by mimicing their call. They are social birds with flocks of them in the one place. If they hear you call they will often respond.
It's not actually wrong to say Laughing Kookaburra because there are two different species. Laughing Kookaburra and Bluewing Kookaburra. But you're right. We don't say the laughing bit. I can't say what Bluewings are usually called because here in SA we only have the Laughing variety. Edit, I've since learned there are actually 4 species.
All kookaburras laugh not just the ones from S.A.
Who said only SA Kookaburras laugh?
@@kerriemccoy1647 Also, The Blue wing Kookaburra's call is not considered a laugh. It has similar aspects in its calls to the Laughing species but not the part that is what gives the Laughing Kookaburra its name.
@@robguyatt9602 Bluewings are found further north and are often simply referred to as Kingfishers in Australia. ( Though I have heard of a riot of Laughing Kookaburras that cleaned out a Koi pond.)
This channel deserves a lot more subscribers and views
I saved a kookaburra once, he had tried to land on my picket fence, slipped and gotten his head stuck inbetween the pickets, no idea how long he was there I thought he was dead when I found him he was that exhausted, took him inside and sat him in a shoebox and chilled with him overnight till animal rescue could come pick him up in the morning
All you needed to do was be at the golf course at dawn or sunset as the Kookaburras will get together and laugh for a little while. They tend to do it in the same place every time, with other birds answering from other areas etc. which may affect their penchant to call without other birds around, I don't know to be honest. But they're everywhere here where I live and we hear and see them daily. As well as Cockies, Rosellas, Wattle Birds etc. etc. FYI, Burra's live in the blue mountains here which get a hell of a lot of snow so they can adapt to the cold pretty well.
It is surprising that they are not making any noise because Kookaburras laugh a lot. Maybe the miserable weather was keeping them quiet.
Also strange that they are staying in the area. I thought all Australians eventually gravitate to Earl's Court, and Australia House in The Strand.
I am not surprised the locals love them. Kookaburra's are friendly birds (love pieces of chopped raw steak if you want to feed them) and everyone loves their laughing call. Plus they help keep the mice population down. I remember them on the farm. They would come land on the mud guard of the tractor because they would feed on mice or snakes disturbed by tilling the ground. They would sit there, less than a meter from me and I would talk to them. As I said, very friendly birds. They like humans, and the feeling is mutual.
There are no Australians in Earls Court,you`re about 40 years out of date.
@@mjh5437 I know that, but the legendary Australian-ness of Earls Court in the 1970's and 80's became a bit of a joke that has outlived the reality. That is how I was using it here.
Don’t know how good this will be for your native wildlife and eco system in the long run.
I have a family of 7 Kooka's that come for breakfast most mornings - greets from Adelaide Hills, South Australia.
I like it when the Kookaburras come for a visit, because the Crows bugger off, they know not to mess with the Kookaburra.
No birds mess with the kookaburras.
We don't have crows in Australia, what you're referring to is a native Raven. Usually confused as a crow but crows make a lighter carrr carr, ravens are the ones making that loud deep croaking raa.
@@JohnBloggs-m8l wrong
@@JohnBloggs-m8l I was under the impression we had ravens and crows here.
It's wet and rainy. When many varieties of birds get wet, their feathers get waterlogged and they can't get lift. So they try to find dry places to perch where they can stay dry and relatively warm. If it is cold they could well go into torpor. Many of the buildings and enclosures at the former zoo can provide that kind of shelter. So if they are relatively smart, the birds will go hide away on a day like this. You ask how they can possibly survive. Birds are incredibly adaptable. There are clubs here in the Pacific Northwest that work will all types of parrots, particularly cockatoos, to acclimate them to the cold weather. They are literally outdoors in pens. The kookaburra have been there for many years and have long since adapted to the climate. We have had flocks of wild parrots here that escaped from a pet store and lived here in flocks for years.
It snows every year at some point in mountains just west of Sydney and there is lots of kookaburras there and they live in the Vic and nsw high country as well which is covered in snow all winter so shouldn't have a problem surviving a UK winter.
Why would anyone want to disrupt their local ecosystem by introducing foreign birds and animals? It has lead to extinctions and ecological disasters all over the world.😮
South wa is very close in weather to Scotland hopefully there ok and not to much ecological damage is done 😂😢❤ enjoy them I guess 😅
Kookaburras call and respond. All you need do is to play their call loud enough, and they'll turn up.
They need to laugh, it’s their way of communicating. It’s like us not talking, that’s sad. Yes, they need to learn how to be vocal again. So glad I’m here in Aus, being woken up with laughter coming from the trees😊
The Kookaburra was first seen at Loch Ken Caravan Park in June 2013. It then moved on to Castle Douglas before it ended up in Kirkcudbright.
Congratulations for finally seeing them after all that effort you put in, beautiful footage and a great video! It's my dream to see them but Australia is too far away, so maybe head to Scotland? I was touched by your enthusiasm in finding a red squirrel too. I live in the middle of Berlin, and they are everywhere in the city. I see 2 or 3 of them playing together in my backyard every day, and they come onto my balcony too (they can climb up high walls!)
Calling all animal lovers! Listen here and listen well. Cody Roberts of Wyoming has yet to be punished for his horrific crime of animal abuse towards a young wolf. If any of you care, please fight that real justice be met! No animal abuser should go off with just a slap on the wrist. We must come together to ensure no animal abuser get away with such an awful act!
#JusticeForWolves
Fun fact: In the original “Magnum P. I.” They added an audio track that included kookaburra calls to the scenes when Magnum is in the rainforest.
I absolutely love Kookaburras. They're actually considered a pest here in Western Australia, but everyone loves them. They're native to Eastern Australia. I sometimes walk through a large cemetery near me and a few always fly down to watch you as you walk by. Hearing them at dawn and dusk is one of the best things about living in Australia. You should look up the Lyre bird - they are able to mimic a huge range of sounds perfectly. They mimic kookaburras so well.
Lyre Birds are incredible!
Well produced videos, and non-clickbait titles! You deserve so many more subs mate!
Kookaburra sits in an old gumtree
Merry merry king of the bush is he...
Probably not too many gumtrees in Scotland I'm guessing...
Escaped zoo birds. I have seen a few escaped zoo birds in my time around London Zoo. The most famous being Goldie the Golden Eagle in the 1960's. There was a Little Egret that escaped in 2012 and still stayed in the zoo grounds, coming to feed with penguins at feeding time. I saw a Red-head Cardinal in the bushes near the zoo one day, from South America. 2 other recent London Zoo escaped birds include a Turkey Vulture that circled the GPO Tower, and a Tawny Eagle in Primrose Hill.
In Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo has free flying Night Herons, so they must wander outside the zoo too.
Kookaburra lands on a garden fence and starts laughing: UK; this is incredible!, Australia: Shut the f up its 5:30am ffs!
Was literally saved by a kookaburra about 2 years ago, it nailed a eastern brown snake that I didnt spot and very nearly stood on.
Yes, not only do they also attack snakes, but will happily eat them as well!!
As far as I know there's practically no snakes in the UK, to my knowledge there's only one type. They will probably never taste snake ever again.
@@tabbi8883 types, only one venomous.
@@tabbi888 three kinds of snake, the adder, grass snake and smooth snake. The adder is venomous but not anything like Aussie snake venomous 😂 We also have slow worms, a legless lizard that looks like a snake.
All could do with no extra predators due to existing pressures like habitat destruction.
I have no idea why I watched this or why I found it so entertaining. There's literally 7 kookaburras in the tree 15m away from where I'm watching this.
The Kookaburra are not just on the east coast of Australia as you stated, but also inhabit many areas around Australia, including the west coast. Feel sorry for those two birds that are not in their native habitat.
They were introduced to Western Australia and other parts. They are natively from the Eastern mainland.
They are native to all 3 eastern states, parts of South Australia, Torres Strait and New Guinea. They have also been introduced and live in Southern WA, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island and New Zealand.
@@BigRedsCribTheyre definitely on KI, loud buggas!
Had no idea they were introduced.
Cheers.
I feel sorry for them too, but only because there's nowhere for them to find a mate. I agree that all species of wildlife are better off in their native habitats, and also that habitats are better off for the most part without foreign, non-native species being introduced. Having said that, I doubt the creatures themselves are jingoistic nationalists - seeing that nationalism in itself is merely an artificial human imposition upon the natural world. The natural, non-human, world is amazingly resilient and adaptive and the spread of species is a continuous process, reliant on a whole raft of causes. It's one reason why our own species, for example, is not confined to a small part of Africa.
@@philroberts7238 True. But, by the number of dog-chain hitch points and body-branding on some of the young women(?) in the video, the regression to origin is well under way. 😵💫🙄😉
I work at a zoo and it's very common for animals to get out in storms or bad weather ect, they don't bother looking for them unless they are dangerous animals
I remember in old films from USA many years ago
they used to have the kookaburra in the films when showing Africa
And cockatoos .😊
😂😂😂😂
OF COURSE. My experience on the internet has shown me Americans are a TERRIBLY in looking nation. Can't place anything past canada and mexico on a map. I saw a video of school girl go into Walmart with an unmarked map and ask where Japan was. Out of 30, 20 pointed to COLOMBIA and only 1 pointed to Japan. I have been face to face with an American, in a Christian household as a white Australian with them to question how they didn't know I wasn't an Islam terrorist. Whose the BIGGEST ALLY in the war on terror after Britain? By numbers of troops, AUSTRALIA.
As an Australian I am very sad that someone has released these Australian birds as the weather is not warm enough for the birds. They are regularly voted the most favourite bird in suburban Australia. The kookaburra laughing song is normally how they mark out their territories to other kookaburras.
Kookaburras live in the Australian Alps, so cold isn’t a problem for them.
Kookaburras like warm feet - powerlines are warm…
We have kookaburras in the northern tablelands (nsw) and it’s bloody freezing here. I don’t think Scotlands weather would worry them.
As an Aussie I love Kookaburras. They would come to my mothers backdoor for a feed. I tried to feed from my hand but they went for my fingers. They like minced meat, just a little so they still hunt for their own food. When they had babies they would come too.
You should have played a Kookaburra call, this would work, as Kookaburras are quite territorial.
I live in Western Australia for millions of years the Kookaburra couldn't make it over here (desert in the way). Then 50 years ago they escaped from a wildlife park, now they are everywhere!
Great video bloke👍
Glad you finally tracked em down.
Like the Rainbow Lorikeet, kookas were introduced to Western Australia from the Eastern States of Australia & they displace our endemic birds like the Red-capped Parrot & Forest Red-tailed Cockatoos. Also the over hunting of lizards, goannas, skinks etc.
They're a striking looking bird & full of personality, but you don't want them multiplying & decimating your native creatures ❌
Hopefully there's no females on the winds nearby.
I had to rescue 2 of the buggers from the pool last summer. video on my channel here 👍
They're very cool & all, but can be destructive.
kookas will definitely eat those red squirrels :(
I was walking on Ramsey Island in Wales a few years back in the early 2000’s and saw a strange looking bird.
It was on the ground next to a large rock feeding on something.
I watched it for about 10 minutes but just couldn’t put a definite name on it .
The nearest thing i could think of was a Kookaburra.
Still to this day i would swear that thats what it was.
Possible ?
Who knows.
Amazing video footage you captured of the Kookaburra. Apparently, there are Kookaburras living in Suffolk, England. A spokesman for Suffolk Wildlife Trust said it was first spotted about nine years ago, and it seems to have made itself quite at home in Suffolk.
Very interesting video. For future reference, if you ever decide to find them again, play a recording of kookaburra calls and if they're within earshot, you'll find them quickly.
FYI: The plural is kookaburras.
I remember seeing one right near clifton in Nottingham it was a area called Silverdale that's where I spotted it
I was eating wok in a box in Perth (Western Australia) when the chopsticks disappeared out of my hands. I was shocked, looked up and a kookaburra was sitting 10m away spitting out the chopsticks in disgust and giving me a dirty look.
We had one coming to our backyard for months, we would give it warmed up frozen mice but they are expensive! So I changed over to fresh beef strips and it loved them. It eventually stopped visiting and I hope it’s happy and healthy wherever it is now 🫶
I saw kookaburras and black swans when I was at Leeds Castle; Kent, in 2018. So strange to see our Australian birds in England. 🇦🇺
Its no use looking for kookaburras in wide open spaces. They are a perch and pounce predator. They do not actively hunt for prey, but find a perch with a good reasonably high view and just watch the ground with incredibly sharp eyesight which can pick up ground movement above a worm or centipede under the surface. They drop on anything they see and grab it, often excavating to dig up something. Follow the likely perches.
Have you visited the Kirkby Stephen (Cumbria) Scarlet Macaws yet? Theres a flock of free flying birds in the town. Whilst not wholly 'wild' they are feral and are trained to return to a parrot conservation centre set up by the late John Strutt. Still, it's fun to see then essentially flying wild around the village and countryside
OH I just saw that you DID,two years ago. Good on ya buddy
I just take kookaburra for granted, but I can understand how exciting it must have been for you to have seen them. I, however, was absolutely thrilled to see the red squirrel, as we have no squirrels here in Australia.
We live in Sydney surrounded by bushland. We often have Kookaburras fly up to us on the balcony, sometimes landing on our arms. I have photographed 7 of them perched side by side, high on one of our tree branches, asleep at night. The babies demand food all day and I'm sure a mum Kooka has looked at me with the tired "you know what it's like" look. One small correction - plural for Kookaburra is generally "Kookaburras". Cheers - Dave
Our family live on a large property in the bush on the Australian east coast with numerous families of Kookaburra. Established Kookaburra families are territorial and adapt to human interaction very easily. They are aggressive hunters with our locals often seen eating snakes, albeit not very large ones. They love rodents and do a great job of keeping rodent population down similar to the various UK Owls of which we have fewer of here. Enjoy those two Scottish boys while you can and thanks for making a great little video about them.
Frankly, it's good that those are both male, buras are very adaptable and would have no problems living in the uk, they can and will eat anything they can get their beaks on. Baby redbelly black snakes are a favourite around sydney.
Awesome! Had no idea!
You earnt a sub buddy. Your enthusiasm and love for animals is infectious, your promotion of a small local community is admirable, and as an Aussie, who has a group of Kookaburras visiting my yard regularly (and I’m 50% Scottish heritage), yeah, this video was a great recommendation form UA-cam.
If you get up at dawn and listen you will hear the Kooaburas laugh, if not they're not around in that area.
I don’t need to get up, I get gently woken up by the kookaburras laughing in the distance in an Aus Melbourne suburb in the trees, then I happily doze back off to sleep. The sound of them waking up is beautiful
Nothing worse than working an all nighter (or gaming, or watching American F1 rounds) and still up and awake and hearing them, that means the sun is about to rise and no chance of getting shut eye when 1 laugh turns to 2 turns to 10 (I live in a typical Sydney suburb, they live all around here within a few mins flight to Lane Cove National Park, but probably prefer the built up areas for all the goodies we humans intentionally and unintentionally leave out for them).
As I was watching Cookie search, I kept thinking 'Mate, just make a kookaburra call. You'll find them pretty quick'.
Kia Ora from New Zealand!
I was wondering in terms of conservation of the local wildlife whether the locals of the area should fully adopt the 2 Kookaburra. You know, play their calls in town during the day and have feeding stations specifically for them. Try keep them happy and on a full stomach as to not be such a disaster for native wildlife in the area? Just a thought, fantastic video.
I occasionally get kookaburras in the tree behind my back yard, my next door neighbor had a brown snake (the bight can be fatal) in his backyard it's head had been destroyed by a kookaburra. A friend of mine used to hand feed them from his back veranda. They love mince.
Yep. The Great Australian Bight is known for regularly hosting fatalities - often from drownings but the occasional Great White Shark chomping as well! 🤔😜😁
when you talk about Kookaburras, the plural of a kookaburra is kookaburras with an s on the end.
What a great video. 😊
Hi Cookie ! What a surprise to watch your show and see our local bird alive and well in Scotland !
Our darling Kookaburra 's. Yes , they are very beautiful birds. We love in tropical North Queensland in Cairns and have a group of about 10 that frequent our palm trees. They call often ( laughing ) and are quite loud. I really enjoyed your video and am so pleased for the locals over there and for you , that you got to do all that wonderful filming ( also you got to see your little red squirrel too ). What a magnificent journey for you. Many thanks. Cheers. Colin
They will often visit your camp if you are out in the bush. I have had one just sit on the arm of my chair for a little while. The largest of the Australian Kingfishers.
Kookaburras are attracted to tractors mowing or tilling the ground and there would be a lot of that going on at the golf course .
Used to have a local group follow me along as I turned the soil. One day 1 particularly enterprising individual tried to ride along on the tractor's raised forklift to steal a march on the competition. Only the local Australian Grey Butcherbirds were quicker on the draw in pouncing on the running mice and revealed grubs and worms.
Funniest thing I ever saw was a Kooka on the ploughed ground with a mouse in its mouth - and surrounded by about 5 crows! Every so often 1 would bounce in and pull the Kooka's tail to try to make it drop the mouse and he would jump around to face that threat. Possession is 9 points of the law and eventually he made off with it! 😉
The sound of Blackbirds used to tell me that I was on holiday in Europe. The songs of Kookaburras, Butcherbirds and Australian Magpies welcomed my return home! 😊
If not seen for a while, they may be nesting. Kookaburras will reduce its range considerably while nesting. The fact that it looks to be spring (date of posting matches too) then nesting is likely.
There is one in Sudbury , Suffolk, U.k
Really great video. Look forward to seeing more! Sadly the only non native species I see are muntjac and mink. Plus the American Cray Fish who are at least tasty in a boil.
there are lizards in scotland, wow
I was in london in 2021 and I swear i heard a kookaburra. I'm Australian and I'm pretty familiar with their "laugh".
They'd know about it if they had a flock of sulphur crested cockatoos flying around.
If you had kookaburras in your town you'd definitely hear them
there are beavers in kent !
i bet kookaburra is thinking, christ its to cold for me here, im heading to australia where its warm🤣😂
There are parts of their native range which can get cold and even get snow in winter.
Kookaburras live in the coldest places in Australia, such as the Australian Alps, blue Mountains, Grampians and many other Mountain ranges that get annual snowfall, saying it's too cold in the UK for them is like saying it's too hot for inland Taipans to live in the outback
he's probably dying for a root
It's very cold half the year here In Tasmania Aus where they also live. They don't mind the cold
@@dantemadden671 True, I'm in TAS and we get snow every year.. The many local Kookaburras are quiet happy.
This was so cool!
I have one in my River Red Gum tree (about 30 feet high), 12,000 miles from Kirkudbright. He grabs small parrots, belts the life out of them by hitting them against a bough and sometimes has a hearty laugh about his handiwork. They are adept at catching snakes (Tiger, Eastern Brown), that's when we both have a laugh.
Kookaburras are territorial so where it is seen the most is where it should be.
my college has a Kookaburra called Cookie! I had to clean out the aviary last week for my last practical assignment lol
I was going to say Cookie/Kookie is a common name for a Kookaburra 😂 Cookie's Kookies in Kirkcudbright 😅
Kookaburras are actually pretty iconic here. They dont go under the radar at all
Kookaburras have been successfully introduced into Tasmania, so if they can survive there they should be able to cope with a Scottish winter. These birds will kill small snakes so not much is going to phase them. They like to be fed with beef mince meat, will visit regularly for a meat treat, are very trusting after a short period.
Do you think you could do a video searching for the big cats in the UK like Panthers?
If I remember correctly, he's done several videos looking for alien big cats. He didn't find one so concluded they don't exist. Having seen a lynx myself and having a real good friend who saw a black leopard, I'd beg to differ.
@@gregrot They are definitely out there!
@@studentstudent5044 Yep. And like most similar sightings in Oz, the success rate rises if you get well primed in the local watering hole before going looking for them. 🤔😉😊
Andddddddddd Cookies gone and done it again folks,, Awesome, your patience paid off, wtg
There are Wallabies living wild in Corstophine, Edinburgh. We saw one on our lawn eating flowers when we lived there
Can anyone/someone tell me please, what is the name of this Scottish town?
It's not in the video page dropdown (description) and neither is it in the transcript except as "cbri".
Found it for myself. 5:13 It's "Kirkcudbright"
I have seen one 5 years ago in Suffolk
17:41 This is one of many reasons why being a botanist is great. They're usually easy to track down once you have a reported location.
If you want them to call & show you where they are - you need to play a recording of one. We used to mimic them when we were kids & set them all off calling
Thankyou for this channel it warms my heart to know that there are other people out there that feel as i do about all our lovely animal cohabitants of this earth.
Not my usual watch but so interesting love this type of video and subbed
My question is how are they surviving the harsh weather conditions.
Also is it possible for these birds to mate with another species of uk bird
Anyone can mate with the birds in Soho.