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Merry, merry king of the bush

KOOKABURRA sits in the old gum tree, times by three.

Swan Hill local Bev McDonald captured a photo of three baby kookaburras sitting in an old gumtree near the Murray River last Thursday.

Ms McDonald said while kookaburras have nestled in several different trees in the area over the years, it was quite unusual to have three young ones born together.

“They usually only rear one from two eggs laid,” Ms McDonald told The Guardian.

“We’ve had them for years, my mother used to have a nest in the hay shed but it is pretty rare to have three at once.”

Ms McDonald said she learned of the kookaburras when she heard them chattering to one another.

“They are usually too high up, but a branch has fallen from this particular tree leaving a hole at the top,” she said.

“We got a front end loader up to take a photo and now we will leave them alone to be peaceful and hope they grow up and survive.”

Ms McDonald said a black duck nestled in the same spot last year, but this year the kookaburras got in early to claim the riverside nest.

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