Hi birders,
A group of 15 birders led by John Young visited Cape York and the Iron
Range in the last two weeks of November. The trip was pushed back as late
as possible in the year to optimize chances of seeing Red-bellied Pitta.
The pitta was heard by a couple of the tour, but sadly the ‘red ball of
fire’ wasn’t seen. Every other Cape York endemic was. We were travelling in
the late part of the build-up, and the rains did start on the last few days
on the return trip, though they were still relatively benign.
The first endemics were seen at Musgrave on the way up. Black-backed
Butcherbirds were tame around the campsite there, and early in the morning
we visited a waterhole at the nearby Artemis station, where, after a fairly
tense wait, about 20 Golden-shouldered Parrots came in to drink for about
ten minutes. The information is that the owners of Artemis are concerned
that GPS readings have been put on the web about locations of waterholes
where these stunning parrots drink, and that some birders are going onto
their property without permission. Once again, some landowners who are
basically well-disposed to birding are considering taking away access to
their property, which will make GSPs difficult to see. There were also two
Oriental Plovers still at the Musgrave airstrip, which had first been
reported a few weeks earlier.
Nearby we found Black-breasted Buzzards at a nest, where we also saw
Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters, an isolated Cape York population. We then
continued north to Archer River, where we saw the first of the Iron Range
specials: unsatisfactory views (for most) of Magnificent Riflebird by the
dry river bed.
The next morning we continued north, stopping at the Pascoe River. Here
flowering gums had attracted a few White-streaked Honeyeaters, one of the
harder Iron Range endemics to see. At this spot we were also adrenalized by
a Coastal Taipan in a tree – a place, apparently, where they rarely
venture. The next stop was Browns Creek, the last swimmable waterhole
before Iron Range. A pleasant surprise was a Frill-necked Monarch swinging
on a nest suspended over the water. There were more White-streaked
Honeyeaters here.
We reached Iron Range on the third night, and camped at Cook’s Hut campsite
for five days. This proved to be a good spot for several of the endemics.
We had Black-winged Monarchs daily above the tents, Northern Scrub-Robin
very close by, and a Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo showed well on one day.
Nearby there were White-faced Robins, which were easy to see, and Trumpet
Manucodes were seen down the road around Gordon’s Creek, where there are
two more campsites. Here we also had great views of Green-backed
Honeyeater, and most got good views of Yellow-billed Kingfisher, which were
heard frequently, but not so easy to see. Tawny-breasted Honeyeaters were
easy to locate once the call was learnt, which also helped in finding more
Frill-necked Monarchs. Magnificent Riflebirds were calling in many places.
We also had great views one night of a Marbled Frogmouth.
Of the parrots, most views of Red-cheeked and Eclectus Parrots were of
birds flying over, but good views were had of Red-cheeked perched on the
tops of a tree, and also Marshall’s subspecies of Double-eyed Fig-Parrot
feeding quietly on figs. There were, though, only unsatisfactory views of
Palm Cockatoos for most.
Most of the special Cape York birds were seen along the relatively short
stretch of rainforest between the Rainforest Campsite, past Cook’s Hut,
and to Gordon’s Creek. The weather was hot and very muggy, barely dropping
below 30 degrees overnight, and from 12 to 3 the birding was very slow.
There was, though, a cooler area near the creek below Cook’s Hut. From here
there were good views of an Eclectus Parrot nest hole high in a large, dead
tree. One afternoon I was sitting there alone, quietly watching these shy
parrots from about 80 metres away. I was surprised by a mid-afternoon view
of a Red-necked Crake, which crept down towards the creek underneath a
fairly open vine, kekking quietly, before it saw me, turned around and
walked slowly back.
Two birds proved elusive until the last couple of days: Tropical Scrubwren
and Yellow-legged Flycatcher. Scrubwrens had been heard, but don’t appear
to respond to squeaking, and kept well within tangled vines. One
Yellow-legged Flycatcher was seen on the Rainforest Camp track on the last
full day. A tip I was given by John for these two birds worked well: a
couple of us went to the Gordon’s Creek campsite in the late afternoon.
Sure enough, around 5 o’clock, two Yellow-legged Flycatchers were feeding
around the clearing, and two Tropical Scrubwrens were feeding and calling
lower down.
There weren’t a lot of mammals to be seen, but a Spotted Cuscus paraded
through the canopy at the Rainforest campsite, and probable Cape York
Melomys were around the campsite. Spectacled Flying-foxes were night
visitors, as was Eastern Horseshoe Bat.
The Iron Range forest is not magnificent for its trees and closed canopy in
the way that, for example, the Tasmanian rainforests are. There was a lot
of damage in early 2006 from two massive cyclones, Larry and Monica, and it
looks like this will take years to repair. Most of the special birds appear
to be holding their own, but a few don’t seem to have recovered: Palm
Cockatoos were scarce, and Red-bellied Pittas called only on a couple of
occasions. The pittas may arrive later when the wet really begins, but some
years ago they were apparently here already in October.
Another bird apparently in decline is Fawn-breasted Bowerbird. We visited a
couple of known bowers, without success. One of the group knew of another
bower at Portland Roads, near the T-junction turn-off to Chilli Beach. We
managed to see the bird here. At Chilli Beach we had a bonus. At a little
waterhole about 100 meters past the T-junction there was a flock of 15
Spotted Whistling-Duck. We also saw a hepatic Oriental Cuckoo in the drier
forest on the way to Portland Roads.
After leaving Iron Range, we stopped at the Pascoe River again. Just before
the river there’s a clearing on the right, where roadworkers were camping.
Behind this campsite we finally had magnificent views of four Palm
Cockatoos.
There were a few further highlights on the return trip: white- bellied
Crimson Finches at Kennedy Bend, Sarus Cranes in Lakefield NP, another
Oriental Cuckoo at Home Rule, and lots of Cairns/Atherton specialities at
Kingfisher Park and Mount Lewis, though only a few of the group got
satisfactory views of Blue-faced Parrot-Finch.
John Young was a terrific leader, unfailingly enthusiastic, and a very
knowledgeable birder. The trip was relaxed, but we still managed to see
almost all the birds we were after (over 260 all up). John’s sense of the
bush is uncanny, and his ability to interpret what’s going on in the bush
almost supernatural. It’s hard to understand why he’s come in for such
harsh treatment from some in the birding community.
He showed us several photos of Coxen’s Fig-Parrot including images of a new
nest found in 2008 which has been collected under licence for scientific
analysis. He’s also been working hard on Night Parrot’s for the last 18
months and what he has discovered is quite amazing and will be revealed in
due course. He told us stories of his unique Australian bush experiences
with these and other birds. His amazing discoveries are not finished.
Expect more on the Night Parrot. And perhaps even more amazing, we saw
several photos of yet another new discovery under DNA analysis at this very
moment. This makes at least three significant discoveries the Australian
people can look forward to hearing more about over the next year or so.
Rod Gardner
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www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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