Geodyne writes:
John Savage wrote in

Just after Christmas I was walking along busy Obriens Road from
Wentworthville to Northmead (Sydney suburbs) where it crosses over
a creek and I believe I heard bellbirds calling along the creek.

Some neighbours told me recently that they had been hearing bellbirds at
Northmead (although I can't recall exactly where in Northmead they said
they were) and suspected that some had moved into the area this past
spring. I haven't seen or heard them personally, but it's quite possible
that you did hear bellbirds.

Very interesting. Perhaps the drought is forcing the birds in closer to
civilization. Your answer prompted me to search further, and google turned
up some more details which I've excerpted without attribution:

It lives in colonies and its continual sounds are thought to aid in
locating other members of the colony. A colony usually stays in the
same place for many years, with the birds jealously guarding their
individual territories. This jealous territorial behaviour can exclude
other birds from the forest and allow certain kinds of insects to
breed up and cause stress and dieback to the canopy trees above a
bellbird colony.

]Bell Miners (Manorina melanophrys) feed on lerps, insects which infest
]eucalypt groves and which exude a sugary covering. I don't know that
]it's a good idea to try and attract Bell Miners if you are in a suburban
]pocket, as I recall hearing that bellbird colonisation will drive other
]species out of the area, leading, eventually, to the demise of the
]eucalypt forest patch as other insects move in when their natural
]predators have gone.
]
]I'm sorry that I can't give more specific information, but I'm recalling
]the content of a radio program from a few years ago, which discussed why
]bellbird colonies in the green outskirts of Sydney were gradually
]destroying the local bird habitat.

Reading further, as far as residents near a bellbird colony are concerned,
the birds' loud metallic "plink plink" calls from sun-up to sundown very
quickly lose their novelty. :-(
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)