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With the excitement of 30 new birds from our Broome
trip now well behind me, I'm trying to regain that ticking feeling. I've decided
to elevate the Superb Fruit-Dove to" next bogey bird" status. This will ensure
it takes me years to get it (but I've already been trying, on and off, for a few
years ) , that other birders will regale me with tales of how easy it is
(sure),and that I'll develop an unusual fondness for fig trees.
I've identified the Gheerulla Falls track, west of
Mapleton on the nortern end of the Blackall Range,as a likely spot close to home
(why be frustrated with dipping thousands of kms away when you can do it
more comfortably from home?). Things were looking good on arrival, the track had
been cleared, it wasn't raining, and , most importantly, there were plenty of
fruiting figs.Great.Well I saw Wompoo Pigeon, Brown Cuckoo-Dove,
Top-knot Pigeon and even heard a Rose-crowned
Fruit-Dove calling from deep in the gully. I saw over 20 Pied
Currawong feasting on the figs and excluding all others from their tree
of choice.I saw Figbirds and Satin Bowerbirds
enjoying the figs in the currawong-free zones. I saw the usual rainforest
lovelies like Rufous Fantail, Pale-yellow Robin and listened to
the trilling Fan-tailed Cuckoo and the Yellow-tailed
Black Cockatoos as they flew overhead.But I didn't come close to a
Superb Fruit-Dove. Not on this visit.
Russ Lamb, Maleny, SEQ
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