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Thanks everyone
on the list for their advice on Cape York mammal spotting.
I got back
a week or so ago, after an enjoyable trip from Cairns - Musgrave - Portland
Roads (Iron Range) - Coen - Musgrave - Shipton's Flat - Cairns.
The roads
were excellent, the weather good and the one disappointment was the tree that
jumped out behind my hire car when I was reversing.
Managed to see some
nice animals up there though missed a few I'd hoped to find. A summary of the
stuff I saw, and the other information I was sent follows. A special thanks to
Rohan Clarke, Bruce Thomson, Euan Ritchie, Steve Murphy, Mark Sanders, Chris
Clague, Ian Gynther and John Pritchard for all their help and
information.
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Common Spotted Cuscus
- was commonly spotted. I saw 2 or 3 of these every night around Iron Range. The
main rainforest area I spent time in was near the Claudie River crossing, and
around the various campsites - the rainforest camp through to the second Gordon
Creek crossing to be precise. The best sighting was two animals in a fruiting
cauliferous fig near the Claudie River than Ewan Ritchie mentioned. Went back 2
hours later to find one Cuscus and one large amethystine python which stayed in
the tree for three days, presumably to work of its snack.
Barebacked
Fruit Bats - were all through the rainforest. I heard lots (their wingbeats are
pretty noisy) but got the best views of one in our garden at Portland Roads.
There's a big roost of these at bat rocks about 12 nautical miles from Portland
Roads apparently.
Cape York Melomys - I saw a few of these in the
rainforest at various places.
Cape York Rat - I only saw one of these,
and it was messing around at the edge of the Cook's Hut camping area (Ewan saw
one at the Cook's Hut campsite too)
Fawn Leafnosed Bat - saw a couple in
a mineshaft near the Jack Gordon mine.
There were several Northern Brown
Bandicoots in the heathland between the rainforest and Portland Roads, lots of
Eastern Horseshoe Bats in the Gordon's Creek camp mine, and a couple of culverts
and two Uromys in the forest near Gordon Creek camp. Nice views of a Tubenosed
Bat feeding on figs near the Gordon Creek campsite
too.
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I didn't see
any
Grey Cuscus, despite trying very hard. THere was consensus that they
are sparse all through the area but something you'd eventually come across. THey
may be commoner elsewhere in Iron Range. Charlie Roberts (from Shipton's Flat)
saw about 5 of these in a week in a more remote area, about 80km from where I
was and only 1 or 2 Spotted Cuscuses in the same time.
Cinammon
ANtechinus - apparently pretty common through decent rainforest. Best chance is
in the breeding season mid-Septmber through mid-October when the males are
active in the day and night.
Rufous Spiny Bandicoot - bamboo thickets in
the rainforest are one place to look for these I was reliably informed, while
the stretch of heath and forest about 1km inland from the Chilli Beach campsite
was a hotspot 10 years ago. I spent a bit of time here and saw some bandicoot
diggings but they may have been Northern Brown's.
Chestnut Dunnart -
always going to be pretty tricky but they have been trapped in the heath between
Portland Roads and Iron Range.
Cape York Pipistrelles - I stagwatched at
a roost for these near Lockhart River that Steve Murphy had discovered a couple
of years ago. The bats appeared to have moved on. But a couple of groups of
sheathtails emerged from nearby melaluecas. Steve had found a roost of the very
rare Bare-rumped Sheathtails in the same area so I'd love to get back to try to
track down the roosts that these bats were coming from to check them
out.
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Enroute there were plenty of
Northern Nailtails and Agile Wallabies around Coen and Musgrave, along with
Little Red and I think Black Flying Foxes.
Spotlighting around Shipton's Flat with Charlie Roberts (of Bennets
Tree Kangaroo reknown) was as enjoyable as always. Still no Long-tailed Pygmy
Possums at his place, but we found a Fawn-footed Melomys, a Sugar Glider and
heard a Striped Possum high up in the canopy and a Northern Quoll on the road
back down towards the Lion's Den pub. There were several hundred Eastern
Horseshoes in the Old Collingwood Mine just south of Rossville.
Thanks
again everyone
cheers
Jon
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