FNQ sightings

[Phil Gregory <>]

Black Mountain Road, Kuranda. Pre-breakfast walk Nov 10
Cassowary one male and three 3 month old chicks at Cassowary
House, where they are daily arrivals at the moment. The pending resumption
of logging in the pine plantations down the road is a source of great concern,
with speed limits being generally ignored by huge trucks in this nominal
world heritage area. More on this topic anon.
Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, White-throated Needletail, Spectacled, Pied
and White-eared Monarchs, Victoria's Riflebird, Lovely Fairywren, Barred
Cuckoo-shrike.
Gould's Bronze-Cuckoo a male and a female, these being richly
coloured on the chin and throat for once in contrast to the many intermediates
we see locally. I also find the calls and songs indistinguishable between
this and Little Bronze, and it breaks down totally in PNG.......
Recent visitors saw a Rufous Owl along the road here, the first
record. My search gave a Papuan Frogmouth in the forest, and several
Large-tailed
Nightjars in the pines.
A Yellow-billed Spoonbill was with a Royal Spoonbill on
a sand bar at the Barron River bridge just before the Kuranda turn-off
all day on Nov. 2, the first record of either for my local area.
Phil Gregory
Cassowary House, Kuranda
web site www. cassowary-house.com.au.