On July 20th I left Kempsey, in northern NSW, and headed for Cape York. I had
never been north of Brisbane in Qld before, so I had a big wish-list. In two
months I found a whole host of incredible birds, and ever since I returned home
on Sept 16th I have dreaded the thought of trying to write up a trip report. I
saw so many great birds! Where do I start?
Well, my first birding stop was Inskip Point, near Gympie. Before I got out of
the car I had my first new lifer for the trip- 2 Mangrove Honeyeaters. I had
come here for another bird, the Black-breasted Button-Quail, which I located
off to the side of the track an hour or so later. The female I saw was
beautiful, fat and dark! I was impressed!
The following day I drove to the Port Alma area, just south of Rockhampton. It
was dark when I got there, but the next morning I was up early searching for a
Yellow Chat. There were 6-8 birds right next to the road in a ditch, coming up
and sitting on the fence occasionally. They were stunning, and not too shy, but
I found my photographic equipment to be more technical than I was, so all my
photos were only a blur of yellow. On my way out of here I found a pair of
Radjah Shelduck’s on a small pond.
>From here I went up to Eungella in search of a Eungella Honeyeater. After
>camping the night I awoke full of confidence, only to find the weather had
>closed in. Mist enshrouded the whole area, and nothing was active. After a few
>fruitless hours I returned to the coast around Airlie Beach and walked both
>the Circuit Track and the Swamp Walk in the Conway NP, with good success. I
>found Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Fairy Gerygone, Rose-crowned Fruit-dove, Black
>Butcherbird, White-throated Honeyeater, Little Shrike-thrush and Noisy Pitta.
Up the road at Bowen I saw my first Great Bowerbird. But I had to push on…. I
arrived at Home Hill, just short of Ayr, and decided to pull up here by the
highway and camp for a night. To my surprise I had Rufous-throated Honeyeaters,
Crimson Finches and plenty of Chestnut-breasted Mannikins.
My goal the following day was Plantation Creek, Ayr for a few specialties -
Mangrove Golden Whistler and Yellow White-eye primarily. I got neither,
although I heard some Silvereye/White-eye’s, but I couldn’t catch up with them.
I was still very impressed with the area! Large-billed Gerygone worked the
mangroves while a Little Kingfisher worked the creek. More Crimson Finches were
out in the surrounding grasses. Sunbirds were active, as were Helmeted
Friarbirds.
After a great morning here I headed a little further up the road to Cromarty
Siding Rd. Right at the start of this road I found a Sunbird nest,
Lemon-bellied Flycatchers, Yellow-spotted Honeyeaters, a Blue-winged Kookaburra
while White-rumped Swiftlet's patrolled above. I didn’t want to leave here
either, but the evening was fast approaching and I had plans to get to Paluma
Dam to camp for the weekend. So, off I sped, through Townsville, through
Paluma, to Paluma Dam. If you live in North Queensland and have never been
there you are really missing out! And if you are planning a trip stay a couple
of days here as it is not only beautiful and quiet, but full of tropical birds!
I recorded 7 new ticks here: 2 Chowchilla males arguing/ displaying within a
foot of each other at high volume at sunrise, Bridled Honeyeaters just as
noisy, but all day! Then there was spotted Catbirds, Mountain Thornbill,
Fernwren, Pied Monarchs and my favorite, the Grey-headed Robins. The Papuan
Frogmouth I found at night, coming out in the open in the town itself. There
are other specialties in the area too, but I never saw them here, like the
Lesser Sooty Owl that I heard near Paluma village, but couldn’t spot in amid
the rainforest and the Golden Bowerbird. Victoria’s Riflebirds were as common
as Sparrows in Paluma Village. I also spied a Tooth-billed Bowerbird on the
short walk through the rainforest in the town.
On my re-entry to caravan-riddled lowlands I called in to Big Crystal Creek,
still in the Paluma NP. It was here that I found the Macleay’s Honeyeater that
normally inhabits the mountains up above. There were also a couple of Northern
Fantails, White-browed Robins and Lemon-bellied Flycatchers. My list was
starting to blossom, but I had to meet my brother and his wife in Cairns in a
few days, so I continued up to Ingham. Ingham has the Tyto Wetlands, well worth
a visit too. It was fairly quiet the day I called in, but I still added Nutmeg
Mannikins and Green Pygmy-Geese to my list. A Little Kingfisher was also seen
hanging off a reed in a small channel near the bird hide. Yellow Honeyeaters
were common, and also present were Crimson Finches, Sunbirds and
Rufous-throated Honeyeaters.
The following evening I arrived in Cairns. That day I also added Brown-backed
Honeyeaters at Five Mile Creek Rest Area just south of Cardwell, and at the
beach just north of Cardwell, around Meungra Creek, I came across families of
Lovely Fairy-wrens, Mangrove Robins, plus Yellow Orioles, more Macleay’s
Honeyeaters, Dusky Honeyeaters, Yellow-spotted Honeyeaters, Mangrove, Fairy and
Large-billed Gerygone’s and another Northern Fantail. So many birds! Did I
mention my stop that afternoon near Mission Beach? I never did find that
Cassowary. It is one of the 4 or 5 that I missed, with the others being the
summer migrants. I did find Metallic Starlings, Grey Whistlers and White-eared
Monarchs though!
Cairns at last! It was August 1st. I was surprised at how common Double-eyed
Fig-Parrots are around Cairns. Out at the Esplanade I found Varied Honeyeaters,
a Beach Stone-Curlew and a pair of Terek Sandpipers. It seems that the fit walk
the Esplanade, while those wishing to be fit walk the Mt Whitfield circuit.
This hill is right in Cairns, but after you leave the paved part it is a quiet
track full of birds! There were good numbers of Wompoo, Rose-crowned and Superb
Fruit-doves, plenty of Little Shrike-thrushes and I also caught a glimpse of a
Red-necked Crake.
>From Cairns we headed up to Kingfisher Park. This is another essential place
>to stop. The Park has gardens teeming with life, and the owners are very
>helpful at finding any birds you need. I gathered a few more here, like the
>Graceful Honeyeater and Yellow-breasted Boatbill. Also worth noting is that
>Del Richards from Fine Feather Tours is a terrifically helpful guide who is
>based in this area. With his help I was able to see Blue-faced Parrot-Finches,
>White-gaped Honeyeaters and a roosting Rufous Owl. Co-incidentally, we met up
>at Mount Lewis while he was taking 2 people out looking for the Golden and
>Tooth-billed Bowerbirds. I was able to find these, plus a Bower’s
>Shrike-thrush, Atherton Scrubwrens, Mountain Thornbills and Fernwrens up here.
I also used the guidance of Peter Cooper, or “The Mangrove Man” just down the
road at Mossman. On his tour we saw 2 Great-billed Herons, an adult and a
juvenile, Shining Flycatchers, Papuan Frogmouths, many types of Kingfishers
(Sacred, Azure, Collared and Little) and we heard Mangrove Robins. It was a
very enjoyable and productive trip!
to be continued......
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