Hi all
Adrian Walker has just returned from a stint in FNQ and has asked me to post
this very intriguing observation for comment:
"Earlier this month at Possum Valley Cabins situated at 1100 metres near
Ravenshoe, I inspected 5 separate bowers of Toothbilled catbirds (males all
actively vocal, making the bowers easy to find) and was intrigued to note
that in each bower sat a collection of small pebbles gathered from road base
on the access road to the cabins. We determined the material collected was
rhyolite from a local quarry which had been laid 12 years ago. At one bower
the number of stones was in excess of 400, all arranged in a lozenge shaped
formation at the head/foot of the bower, and slightly raised. Have other
bower bird watchers noted this phenomenon or are the Possum Valley males
unique in this recently acquired habit?
For any birders intending to verify or inspect the Toothbill stone
collecting behaviour, Possum Valley is well worth a visit. Although I
didn't see Blue-faced parrot finches there, the habitat is excellent and the
birds very likely to be there. Certainly large numbers of Red-browed
firetails were present indicating available seed which certainly wasn't the
case on Mt Lewis. Other bowerbirds are easily seen there, with my 3 days
revealing Satin and Golden in addition to the 2 catbirds. Grey goshawk
seems common enough, Cassowary is present, Bower's shrike-thrush was evident
throughout the forest as were Grey-headed robins and all the upland
honeyeaters including Macleays in abundance. Of particular interest were the
Orange-footed scrubfowl, normally a more common species at lower altitudes,
but everywhere at Possum Valley. The cabins are cosy and well-priced and
thus the place is highly recommended for any visiting birders".
Please note - neither Adrian or myself have any commercial interest in
Possum Valley Cabins (although we'd certainly like to!).
Cheers
Andrew
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