I spent Easter at Mission Beach. We were a little unsure if we should
go or not, we did not want to to be seen to be getting in the way if the
cleanup was still in progress, but the letting agent assured us that all
was okay except for some vegetation damage and all the locals we spoke
to while we were there were pleased to see the tourists starting to
trickle back in, giving the local businesses a bit of a help along the
comeback path after the cyclone. The vegetation damage was astonishing,
far worse than I had imagined, and where it once was thick and green
everywhere it was now very sparse and very brown. All the walking
tracks etc are still closed, but walking along the beach is possible.
But the birds are obviously suffering - and it gives for some surprising
birding. Soon after I arrived on Friday I walked down through the thin
strip of vegetation between the unit and the beach, now leafless and
broken like everywhere else, and a flash of green went past my eyes,
which I followed and was surprised to find a spotted catbird. I soon
found out they were quite common in the beachside "vegetation" as were
also wompoo pigeons and yellow eyed cuckoo shrikes, all exposing
themselves in the quest for food. I managed to capture 4 catbirds
feeding on a lawn in one frame with my camera. Red tailed Black
Cockatoos also fed along this strip of vegetation. My biggest surprise
was a toothbilled bowerbird feeding on the lawn 7 metres from where I
was sitting in front of the unit. And we were also fortunate to see a
Cassowary crossing the South Mission to Tully road.
Ian Cowan
Clifton Beach
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