Some lucky grey nomads travelling in north-west Queensland have been treated to the spectacular sight of thousands of green budgies flying en masse over grazing land.
Many locals in the Cloncurry area say they haven’t seen such a large volume of the wild birds in several decades. Motorists have reported seeing budgie flocks following trucks and road trains along open roads.
Bob Donely, an avian expert at the University of Queensland, said recent light rain in the region had brought larger groups to grazing land. The ABC reports that the often loud and spectacular cloud of green and gold birds is called a murmuration, which occurs after rain so the birds can socialise, court and move to find food sources.
Professor Donely told the ABC that people’s fascination with the wild flocks could, in part, be explained by the fact that budgies were the most common pet bird in the world.
Commonly known as bush budgies, the wild flocks differ from the birds that become household pets. Professor Donely said wild budgies had evolved in the heat and in areas that have no food.
“A bush budgie will usually weigh 25 grams — a pet budgie typically weights 35 to 40 grams, and a show budgie may be as heavy as 60 grams,” he said. “The photos online of the thousands of budgies have me drooling with envy … I would love to be out there.”
It is believed that budgies follow grain trucks because the birds have become used to seeing the vehicles, and now know that they often have spillages.
one year we were camped at Copeton Dam Inverell and thousands of budgees swarmed around us. It was a magic sight.
Seen thousands of these on our travels, & yes they are amazing to watch how they twist & turn with uncanny accuracy,
when and where is the best time and place to see them
its on my bucket list , but need to do it asap
before the wife goes down hill to fast
thanks
Budgees are mostly nomadic and follow the rain, so its hard to predict where they will be.
But anywhere out west after good rain should see them mass up.