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I have just spent a relaxing 5 days/4nights camping
at Macushla on Hinchinbrook Island (27th -31st August). The resort at the
northern end uses the slogan "Splendid Isolation" and I think I had even better
than that, for 3 of the 4 nights I had the whole camping area to myself. I
had camped there last year for 3 nights in early September (4th - 7th September
1999). This year, being a few days earlier, I missed out on virtually all
the waders. The Pied Imperial Pigeons had arrived and were predominatant
in the forest canopy all over this section of the island, most seeming to make
the trip back and forward between Hinchinbrook and the Brook Islands. The
metallic starlings were still fairly scarce. Beach Stone
Curlew sightings were down this year also, last year 5 birds were seen, this
year maybe 3 but probably only 2, I suspect the same one was seen in 2 different
locations. The noisy pittas were in relative abundance and easily seen,
but not calling very often. No night birds were heard.
My list for this year was
Orange footed scrubfowl
eastern reef egret
brahminy kite
white bellied seaeagle
osprey
beach stone curlew
common sandpiper
crested tern
bar shoulder dove
emerald dove
pied imperial pigeon
rose crowned fruit dove
sulphur crested cockatoo
rainbow lorikeet
little bronze cuckoo
sacred kingfisher
rainbow bee-eater
noisy pitta
lovely fairy wren
helmeted friar bird
yellow spotted honeyeater
graceful honeyeater
white throated honeyeater
macleays honeyeater
dusky honeyeater
pale yellow robin
little shrike thrush
spectacled monarch
white eared monarch
leaden flycatcher
rufous fantail
white bellied cuckoo shrike
varied triller
figbird
white breasted woodswallow
black butcherbird
spangled drongo
yellow bellied sunbird
mistletoe bird
welcome swallow
metallic starling
Not seen this year, but seen in September 1999
were
little kingfisher
lesser crested tern
whimbrel
grey tailed tattler
caspian tern
eastern curlew
striated heron
silver eye
brown cuckoo dove
Anyone wishing to camp at Macushla or even day trip
to Hinchinbrook may find the following settings useful for doing 500 metre atlas
surveys
18/18/49 146/16/23 (The Ramsay Bay
boardwalk)
18/13/38 146/13/08 (Macushla camping area and start
of track)
18/13/27 146/13/40 (track to North Shepherd Bay,
part of track to Sth Shepherd Bay, and South end of North Shepherd
beach)
18/13/57 146/13/43 (North Shepherd Bay - mid
section)
18/12/25 149/13/34
North end of North Shepherd Bay and part of Rainforest walk)
18/11/55 146 13/25 Cape Richards resort
area
18/13/44 146/14/02 South Shepherd Bay
track
18/13/50 146/14/33 North end of South Shepherd
beach
18/14/18 146/14/51 South end of South Shepherd
bay
Happy birding
Ian Cowan
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