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This is not so much a trip report as some disorganised
ramblings I felt inclined to share. Hope you enjoy.
I was in Cairns for two and a half weeks earlier
this month but didn't have time for extensive birding, given that I was there to
do an intensive university subject at the JCU campus. The subject however
was ornithology, involving quite a bit of fieldwork in the Cairns area. I was
staying in Cairns North two blocks from the Esplanade so I managed to get down
there most days. It really is an exception area for birding. The waders are so
much closer than at most locations, particularly as the tide comes in or goes
out and the birds feed on the limited mudflats close to shore. While on the
boardwalk along the southern end of the Esplanade the waders can literally be at
your feet - looking directly down on a Sharpies' chestnut crown was
pretty cool.
I saw and photographed a Kelp Gull, quite a rarity up
here, with only slight traces of immature plumage left, on 4th December, which I
gathered had been around for a while, but nothing else exceedingly exciting ...
until after our class carried out some fieldwork along the
Esplanade, when the mega rarities really started to roll in - although
I'm pretty sure sightings such as Ruff, White Tern, Dunlin, Western Sandpiper
and Bristle-thighed Curlew can be put down to lack of experience - a good
justification for Simpson & Day's recent trend toward hiding vagrants
at the back. Although my own wader identification skills are quite poor,
helping others in the seemingly simple task of differentiating Whimbrels
from Eastern Curlews reminded me that I'm not totally incompetent.
I spent a fair bit of time birding around the JCU campus
during breaks. Highlights included emerging from a lecture
which included a tutorial on identifying the Yellow-spotted &
Graceful Honeyeaters by call and promptly seeing both species, calling, in the
same tree 20m from the lecture theatre. There was also a pair of Magpie Larks
nesting on a third floor awning on the library and a sighting of an Emerald Dove
along the creek flowing through campus. Orange-footed Scrubfowls are very
common.
Other field work we conducted included examining
provisioning rates at a Metallic Starling colony. The one I worked on was within
the grounds of the Cairns airport (the general aviation section), with jumbos
taking off on one side, four lanes of traffic on the other and kids throwing
rocks at them from below. On the way back to Townsville I was watching a colony
in Innisfail's Anzac Park when a Laughing Kookaburra flew in and stuck his head
into one of the nests, although he didn't come away with any chicks.
We also conducted a survey (read "had a swim") at
Mosman Gorge, spent a day at Mareeba wetlands and visited the Rainforest
Habitat at Port Douglas. This is a tourist attraction consisting mostly of giant
walkthrough aviaries and the purpose of our visit was to give the class practise
at identifying birds - ones which conveniently weren't going anywhere. They have
quite a wide variety (I saw 59 species). Although it's no substitute for the
real thing I still found it great to admire heaps of nice birds at close
quarters. After all I wont be seeing a Chestnut Rail or a Eclectus Parrot in the
wild anytime soon. Mareeba wetlands was great - plenty of dry country birds in
addition to the waterbirds - although their opening hours don't seem very
conducive to attracting birding clientele. They are only open 10am-4pm, 5 days a
week and even then only during the dry season. We were there by special
arrangement.
Cheers
Tim Dickson
Townsville
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