As you lie there in your bed
Wake you from your sleeping
And fill your soul with dread
Your terror is in error
There is nobody dying
Relax enjoy the pleasure
Of the Coochie curlews crying
We have recently relocated to beautiful Coochiemudlo Island
nestling in a sheltered corner of Moreton Bay. It’s a place of sun soaked
beaches, clear seas and lazy days. It is also home to a large population of Bush
Stone Curlews who spend their days hiding in the thick forest which covers much
of the island and emerge at dusk. They are strange long legged ground-dwelling
birds with large yellow eyes and stand about 55 cm high. They are very graceful
and have the capacity to stand very still and blend into the background and
their screeching call has to be heard to be believed. At intermittent times
throughout the night the silence of the Coochie night is shattered by a chorus
of piercing shrieks and wails that sound like someone is being murdered. Long
term residents no longer notice them but visitors can find them very
disturbing. I love their eerie call and the reminder of wild nature outside our
window in this special place.
Most residents of Coochie would be very surprised to learn
that their “Curlews” are not really curlews but Bush Stone Curlews or
Thick-knees. It is a dry-land species despite its relationship to Oyster
-catchers and Avocets. They are common across NE Australia where they forages
for frogs, spiders, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, snakes, lizards and small
mammals and particularly on moon-lit nights but are now rare and endangered in
Victoria due to predation from foxes.
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