birding-aus

Yank's LONG trip report QLD July-Aug 2010

To:
Subject: Yank's LONG trip report QLD July-Aug 2010
From: Gary Bletsch <>
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:12:42 -0700 (PDT)
Dear “Birding Aus” Members,

Thanks so much to all of those who helped me on my birding trip to Queensland. 
A few people said they'd like
to hear some details, so here is a summary of the trip. Sorry it is so long. If 
you have questions about
any of this, or find possible errors (such as misidentifications), or if you 
have answers to my questions,
please feel free to e-mail me at  and I will get back to 
you.

I have attached a list of species--I hope that's allowed on this list.


Who: Gary Bletsch
What: two weeks of birding (and precious little else)
Where: Queensland, Australia, from Lamington NP to just north of the Daintree 
River
When: 27 July through 9 August, 2010
Why: cuz!

   27 August: arriving at around 0700, I headed south from the airport in 
Brisbane. Promptly getting lost
on the way to O'Reilly's, I stopped and got directions at a gas station in 
Marsden. By that time, I
had already identified Australian Magpie, Australian Ibis, Torresian Crow, and 
Masked Lapwing. Having gone astray from the originally planned route, I took 
the gas-station lasses' advice and headed
south on the Beaudesert-Mount Lindsay Highway. At Beaudesert, I stopped at Dick 
Westerman Park. Although to an experienced Australian birder, this would have 
been a rather mundane location, to me it was absolute magic. There were birds 
everywhere, virtually all of them requiring numerous consultations of my 
brand-new copy of Morcombe! I ended up ticking eleven lifers in the park, 
including Galah, Rainbow Lorikeet, and Green Figbird. I also saw one of the 
very few Tawny Grassbirds of the trip here....Next I drove toward Canungra, 
stopping at a farm pond along the way. The pond had Australasian Grebe, 
Comb-crested Jacana, Dusky Moorhen,  Maned Duck, Grey Teal, and quite a few 
other birds. After a brief stop in Canungra, I headed up toward Lamington NP.  
Not long before reaching Mt Cainbable, I turned a corner in the road and saw a 
tiny bird sitting in the middle of the lane I was driving in. The car went 
right over the little guy. I stopped and ran back.
 Amazingly, there was a perfectly healthy little Spotted Pardalote, sitting 
just where I had driven over him. Luckily, he hadn't flown up as the car passed 
over. I took a few photos, then picked him up.  After being placed on a branch 
by the roadside, he came to and flew off, as any sensible bird would.
   When I reached the little monument at the border of Lamington National Park, 
it seemed like good habitat. Sure enough, the monument to R.W. Lahey, M.B.E., 
M.E., was a V.G.B.S. (very good birding spot). There I saw a Green Catbird, 
several White-browed and Large-billed Scrubwrens, some Golden Whistlers, and a 
Brown Gerygone.
        At O'Reilly's, I had only a short time to bird before darkness fell, 
but did get to see my first Australian Brush Turkeys, Welcome Swallows, Crimson 
Rosellas, and so forth. An Eastern Yellow Robin perched on a fence at dusk was 
the last bird I saw on this great day. Before dinner, I stumbled out to look 
for night birds. Having taken a bus to Seattle, then flown from Seattle to LA, 
then LA to Brisbane, and then driven to O'Reilly's, I was a bit addled from 
jet-lag. Not realizing that a guided spotlighting hike was setting off right 
about this same time, I headed off on my own. I heard a Tawny Frogmouth, but 
did not see it. I heard a Sooty Owl, but did not see it. I heard quite a few 
other beasts going bump, squeak, and hoo-hoo-hoo in the night, but saw none of 
them, either. Next day, I learned that the guided night-walk had yielded a 
brief but decent view of a Sooty Owl--a bird I would
end up missing on the trip.
   
    28 August: A rainy day in the rain forest, what a surprise! Still, the 
Regent and Satin Bowerbirds cooperated, I managed a fleeting look at an 
Albert's Lyrebird on the Main Border Track, and tracked down a few more species 
in the vicinity of O'Reilly's. I took the guided night-walk after sundown, but 
the only vertebrate we saw was a Brush-tailed Possum--the only one I saw on the 
trip. We also took in the amazing spectacle of the Glowworm Grotto, which, 
coincidentally, was where I had earlier lain eyes on my first Logrunner.

    29 August: under improving weather conditions, I awoke well before dawn, 
drove down to the beginning of Duck Creek Road, and headed down it on foot. 
This road was in monstrously bad condition, obviously not do-able in a Toyota 
Yaris. Still, by walking down a kilometer or two, I was able to get good looks 
at a Southern Boobook just before dawn. Shortly afterwards, a male Albert's 
Lyrebird ran across the road, right in front of me. A Russet-tailed Thrush was 
one of the most exciting birds of this morning's walk. I had wanted especially 
to see and hear this bird, because I had noticed, when listening to some 
bird-song cassettes, that its song is very, very similar to that of the 
Black-capped Chickadee here in the States. Sure enough, it sang a song that 
sounded a lot like "Cheese-burg,"
or maybe "scuuuze-me," as my daughter used to render the chickadee's version 
when she was a tot.
     After reluctantly checking out of O'Reilly's, which was to be the only 
luxurious segment of the trip, I headed down the road toward Canungra. On the 
way I saw my only Eastern Spinebill of the trip; this bird was in a mixed flock 
of honeyeaters way up in the tops of the eucalypts; none of the other birds 
gave me a good enough look for an ID. Here I also made the acquaintance of the 
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, a bird which seemed exotic and mysterious when I was 
studying the field guides before the trip, but which would soon become a 
near-constant presence in the days to come.
    I headed to the Goomburra Section of Main Range National Park (formerly 
Goomburra Forest Reserve). On the way, I saw the first of only two Wedge-tailed 
Eagles for the trip, as well as Australian Kite and White-faced Heron. The 
number of Bell Miners seen and heard near Cunningham Gap was simply astounding. 
I had to drive fast to reach Goomburra Valley Campground before dark, but I 
made it. All through this trip, I heeded the advice I had received from various 
Australians and foreign tourists--don't drive at night!  Sure enough, as I 
cautiously motored the last few miles of bitumen, wallabies made several 
kamikaze runs at my front bumper--but I was able to reach camp safely. A 
Southern Boobook landed in a tree next to the bunkhouse, and a Tawny Frogmouth 
commenced to call me forth. This species eluded me here once again, and I did 
not have a second opportunity to see one on this trip, so it will have to wait 
for next time.

        30 August: At the trailhead I opted for a fairly short hike, but ended 
up taking a 6.5-km walk. I started on the Dalrymple Track, turned onto the 
Ridge Track, and returned on the Cascade Track. Two birds showed up here at 
Goomburra Section that did not make a second appearance for me: Crested Shrike 
Tit and Red-browed Treecreeper. Each bird gave me good views at close range. 
There were lots of Bell Miners here, too. On the way out, I had further good 
fortune. A Red Wattlebird flew across the Inverramsay Road, giving me a good 
view as well. This was my only one of the trip, and a tough bird to find, as I 
was later informed. Near here I also saw my only Eurasian Starlings of the 
trip--an introduced species that occurs in flocks of tens of thousands where I 
live.
         A few times in this agricultural area, I drove by some large-looking 
corvids that I could have sworn were too big, shaggy-looking, and large-billed 
to be Torresian Crows. Two in particular I remember, perched on top of a wooden 
ranch fence, seemed like they just about had to be ravens of some sort. 
However, several birders have pointed out to me that the Australian Raven would 
not occur in the Lockyer Valley, so I have left them as unidentified corvids.
       Heading west from here, I was in a race against time. I wanted to visit 
at least a bit of the Lockyer Valley, but I had to get to the northern suburbs 
of Brisbane by eventide. A quick drive up the Gatton-Clifton Road did turn up a 
few interesting birds, among which were two Red-rumped Parrots, the only ones 
of the trip, as well as my first of only two sightings of the Australian 
Kestrel. As the light faded, I made a quick visit to Lake Apex in Gatton, where 
I saw my first Hardheads and Black Swans, as well as scores of Little Black 
Cormorants, Australian Ibis, and Pacific Black Duck.
      I was in a hurry to get to Samford, where I was to meet Roger McNeil for 
a weekend of birding. I somehow managed to negotiate Brisbane's rush-hour and 
make it up to the northern suburbs of Brisbane, where Roger took me on a 
night-walk in the hills. We got to look at an interesting arboreal rodent 
there, the fawn-footed melomys, before calling it a day.

        31 August: Roger McNeil has already posted about this most excellent 
day of birding. Knowing birds' vocalizations as he does, Roger enumerated close 
to 150 species on the day. I was taking some fairly laborious notes as we went, 
peeking into Morcombe and into Simpson and Day about once every seven minutes, 
and peppering Roger with innumerable questions--and even I managed to ID 109 
species. Kudos are due to Roger, and to Tom Tarrant too, who accompanied us for 
much of the day.
They were very patient with a fellow who was still having a hard time 
distinguishing his honeyeaters! Some of the highlights of this day were a 
Square-tailed Kite, a White-eared Monarch, some Double-barred Finches, and of 
course the Australian Owlet-Nightjar which showed itself so nicely in its 
roosting cavity. I ended up adding exactly 50 species to my life list in a 
single day, an onrush of avian novelty I have not experienced in decades! 
Beyond the egocentricity of padding one's list, though, I must add that I 
learned a lot from Roger and Tom, and felt better prepared for the birding yet 
to come.

        1 August: Roger took me for a  morning's birding around Ferny Grove, 
yielding the only Musk Lorikeets of the trip. We also saw my first Bush 
Stone-Curlew, an individual for which I felt sorry, dwelling as it does in the 
dusty confines of Ferny Grove's not-so-ferny railway-station parking lot. 
         At this point on Sunday morning, I had to say goodbye to Roger and 
begin the long drive north. Virtually everyone I had consulted had told me I 
was gonzo for even contemplating driving from Brisbane to Cairns and birding 
along the way. That, however, was the plan, and I wanted to bird Inskip Point 
by midday, so off I went. At Inskip, a female Black-breasted Buttonquail showed 
herself almost immediately after I headed down the trail. Out on a sandbar were 
the only Double-banded
Plovers I would see on the trip, as well as a nice assortment of other waders. 
There were a few sand-plovers there; I think they were Lessers, but they were 
too far out for an ID, and would elude me as the only sand-plovers of the whole 
trip.
       At a pond in Maryborough, I saw a few Mallards, the only ones of the 
trip, along with about 200 Magpie Geese and a handful of Eurasian Coots. 
Pushing north from there, I was able to reach Burrum River Caravan Park by 
nightfall, where I heard what would be the last Southern Boobook of the trip, 
as I was putting up my tent.
      Speaking as a Yank who does a lot of camping back in the states, I must 
add here that the caravan parks I patronized in Oz were a happy surprise. They 
are more pleasant and congenial than our private campgrounds, they offer a 
better value, and have features sorely lacking here in the states!

          2 August: This was pretty much a pedal-to-the-metal day. I covered 
just over 700 of the 1600 kilometres between Brisbane and Cairns today, but did 
stop to look at a bird or two. I had lunch at the Yaamba Rest Area, between 
Rockhampton and Marlborough. There was a bird-feeder and a birdbath, and the 
only Apostlebirds of the trip fed and drank. This was one of only two spots 
where I saw Squatter Pigeons. Some bold Rainbow Lorikeets tried to take my 
lunch out of my very hands here.
     I stopped at a motel in MacKay, as my plan for the next day was to try for 
Eungella Honeyeater.

     3 August: I could not find any concentrations of flowering trees around 
Eungella; that is probably why the Eungella Honeyeater eluded me--as several of 
my advisers had suggested it would. I did see my first Spectacled Monarch and 
Forest Kingfisher of the trip here, and made a valiant but failed attempt to 
see a platypus. Actually, the platypus and echidna were two critters I would 
very much like to have seen, along with the emu, whose habitat I barely 
grazed--all good reasons for another trip to Australia, as soon as I can!
        On my way north from the MacKay area, I had one of those sightings that 
tend to gnaw at one's mind later on. Just north of the town of Kuttabul, a 
lapwing landed beside the highway. This bird landed not ten meters from my car. 
It was smaller than the Masked Lapwing which was standing nearby, and had, in 
addition to a white tail with black tip, a bold white wing-bar. I can only 
conclude that this was a Banded Lapwing, although it was in  an area peripheral 
to its expected range.
       Further north, I spotted another roadside attraction, an Australian 
Bustard, between Proserpine and Bowen. This huge fellow stepped up to the 
shoulder of the busy Bruce Highway, contemplating a run across. I hope he made 
it.
    After driving 519 kilometres today, I tented it at the rest area in Home 
Hill. There I had a nice chat with some young countrymen of mine. We united our 
voices in praise unto camping in Queensland!

         4 August:  In Townsville I attempted to find the Townsville Commons, 
but not one of the various people I asked had ever heard of the place, although 
they were all locals. I took this to be a karmic hint that I needed to drive 
farther north, and headed out of Townsville none the wiser. The first of a very 
few Black-necked Storks of this trip was standing at a puddle near a 
construction site just north of Townsville. I considered this stork a bird of 
good omen.
     I determined to spend at least a day birding around Mission Beach, in 
hopes of finding a Cassowary, one of the birds I most wanted to see. I took 
five or six hikes in various known areas for this species in the Mission Beach 
area, to no avail, although there is still quite a bit of Cassowary poo 
adhering to the lugs of my hiking boots. Even so, I enjoyed fine birding in 
such sites as Licuala Day Use Area and Lacey Creek. I saw my only Grey 
Whistlers of the trip here. Some other birds which revealed themselves to me 
here included the Chowchilla, the Topknot Pigeon (which I had only heard at 
O'Reilly's), the Wompoo Fruit-Dove, and the trio of similar Meliphaga 
honeyeaters.

     5 August: This morning I left the motel at El Arish with Cassowaries on my 
mind. I had stayed at El Arish because the Arabic name of the town intrigued 
me. I had only just finished reading Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" the 
week before this trip, reading about the battle after which the town was named 
after the first World War. I suspect that this is Australia's only town with an 
Arabic name. The US is also said to possess just a single town with an Arabic 
name, that being Elkader, Iowa.
      Anyway, I made my way back to the forest tracts near Mission Beach, once 
again missing the Cassowaries. However, I did enjoy my one brief glimpse of a 
Victoria's Riflebird here, albeit a female. Actually, on reflection, I think it 
is appropriate that I saw a female Victoria's Riflebird. At O'Reilly's, I had 
seen a male Albert's Lyrebird. Assuming that these two species were named after 
the people I think they were, this seems like the way to go.
     I decided to head for Etty Bay, which I was told was the easiest place to 
see a Cassowary. On my way there, I spotted the only Pacific Bazas of the trip, 
along Cassowary Drive. Once I reached Etty Bay, I got out of the Yaris and 
stretched my legs. I could see a small crowd of people standing at the edge of 
the parking lot, just up the road, and I knew that there was only one 
explanation for such a group of people snapping pictures and staring--a 
Southern Cassowary! This was an anticlimax, really. The mythical ratite with 
the lethal, razor-sharp claws was scratching about in the picnic area, right 
next to a parked Volkswagen, tourists of five nations just yards away. Oh well. 
I had tried to see one the purist's way, but a birder on a two-week trip cannot 
be choosy.
       From Etty Bay, I raced off to get to the Atherton Tablelands. I picked 
up a few new birds along the way, such as Peaceful Dove, Australian Swiftlet, 
and Grey-headed Robin, the latter at Mount Hypipamee. A local fellow there at 
"The Crater" told me that he often sees a Cassowary in the woods, just a 
hundred metres' bushwhack from the parking lot. I decided not to risk it, and 
moved on.
        I managed to reach Kingfisher Park in Julatten shortly before nighfall, 
and got to go on a spotlighting walk with Keith and Lindsay Fisher. We had good 
looks at a Barn owl, or Eastern Barn Owl, Tyto javanica, depending upon one's 
taxonomy.

        6 August: Here at Kingfisher Park, I missed some Barred Cuckooshrikes 
by a matter of minutes. An Englishman showed me the photos on his digital 
camera. However, I saw my first Spotted Catbird, my first Yellow Honeyeaters, 
and a Large-billed Gerygone building a nest. Nearby, at the Sides Road, I saw a 
White-bellied Cuckooshrike and some Bridled Honeyeaters. The latter species was 
only fitting, as I was lodging in the Bridled Honeyeater Room at Kingfisher 
Park's bunkhouse. Unfortunately, neither on this visit to Sides Road, nor on my 
second one the next day, would I lay eyes on the Blue-faced Parrotfinches, 
which were said to be present. Over at the Abattoir Swamp, I was very lucky to 
stumble onto a small flock of Brown Quail. These were the only gallinaceous 
birds I saw on the trip,
excluding cooked chicken.
      It has been suggested that I re-check my equipment, but this afternoon, 
my trusty pocket thermometer registered 37 degrees Celsius on the causeway 
extending out onto Lake Mitchell. Here I saw another Black-necked Stork, as 
well as lots of waterfowl, including my first Green Pygmy Geese. I   also 
spotted my only Golden-headed Cisticola of the trip here.
       It was still beastly hot as I drove the road into the Mareeba Wetlands. 
The landscape, termitaria, and vegetation here reminded me very much of South 
Africa. An Australian Bustard was a nice consolation for four Emus which, I 
heard later, had come through earlier in the day. A local birder at the 
observation area helped me identify a Satin Flycatcher that was taking a shade 
break in a small tree. On the way out, I chanced upon a small flock of 
Double-barred Finches, the second and last sighting of this species I was to 
enjoy.
      North of Mareeba, I saw a few Glossy Ibises, with 30 or so Wandering 
Whistling-Ducks. In a small wadi nearby, a flock of 80 Chestnut-breasted Munias 
burst out of their refuge in some dead, dry grass.
     Now it was getting late, so I rushed back to Mount Molloy. There were 
Great Bowerbirds right in town, as well as an obliging Bush Stone-Curlew. Two 
very kind birders drove by and stopped to chat. Mark and John were also staying 
at Kingfisher Park. They asked if I had seen the Little Eagle, and when I 
replied that I had not, out stepped John! Mark drove me right to the spot in 
the woods near the sports fields, and we got a good look at the bird. Back in 
town after this good fortune, I was able to get a look at my first Blue-winged 
Kookaburra, a species I'd somehow missed up to then.
     
      7 August: Now my time in Australia was dwindling. I did not sleep well, 
as some beast had been making a dreadful clamour in the night. The culprit 
turned out to be another species I had inexplicably missed up to now: the 
Orange-footed Scrubfowl. Two of them were scratching around where they had not 
been the day before, pretending to know nothing of their nocturnal shenanigans. 
At Sides Road, I managed to find some Lovely Fairy Wrens, while searching again 
in vain for the Parrotfinch.
     If I had had to name a most-wanted species for this trip, I am not sure if 
I could have done so. Certainly the Cassowary, the Great Knot, and the Noisy 
Pitta would be in the top five, if not top three. The reason for the Pitta's 
high priority was my overall crumby success rate at finding pittas in various 
places. I had dipped on them in Thailand and India, and managed one brief look 
at a Banded Pitta on Bali. One time I had even engaged a guide whose business 
card had a pitta on it, and he was no better at finding them than I was. So off 
I went for the Daintree River ferry, having spoken to a young Dutch birder, 
name of Ruben, who had seen the Pittas up there. Sure enough, right in the very 
spot where he'd said to look first, Jindalba Boardwalk, a Noisy Pitta was 
telling me how to commute. Hooray!
       Daintree Village would be my second-to-last place on this trip. Arriving 
there, I plumped for the inexpensive caravan park, as there seemed to be no 
middle-ground between bare-bones tenting and costly lodgings. I choked down a 
kangaroo burger at an eatery on the town square--an obligatory meal for a 
tourist here, I'd say. Later I was told that there are better ways to serve 
'roo than between two buns. I'd say my kangaroo burger tasted better than 
raccoon stew, but not as good as roasted guillemot. After the meal, I idled out 
to see if I could find any birds around town. Way up in a tree was a bird I 
could not at first ID. I was looking at it, in between peeks at Morcombe, when 
a friendly couple called me over. They turned out to be none other than Andrew 
and Trish Forsyth, proprietors of Red Mill House. They clarified that the bird 
was a Yellow Oriole. I prefer to call it Green Oriole, to avoid confusion with 
a certain icterine back in my
 hemisphere, but either way, it was a lifer for me.
     Trish and Andrew suggested I walk down the Stewart Road. I found some 
Lovely Fairy Wrens right where they told me to look. At the bridge I saw a 
Mistletoebird, and some Rainbow Bee-eaters gave me some excellent views. Also 
at the bridge was a friarbird I have left unidentified. It was a long ways off, 
and I had left the scope locked in the car. I thought at the time that it was a 
Noisy Friarbird. It seemed to be saying "Here I CO! Here I CO!" That seems to 
jive with Morcombe's "Tobacco" or "Four O'Clock!" However, I was later told 
that the Helmeted Friarbird is expected here this time of year, while the Noisy 
is not.
     After nightfall, I was sitting by my lonely self, enjoying a few 
hard-earned XXXX Bitters in the restaurant. A bloke was wailing away on a 
guitar, accompanied by some sort of synthesizer that stood in for the rest of 
his band. In the middle of a Jimi Hendrix reverie, I was interrupted by the 
sudden appearance of a familiar face. Trisha was beckoning to me from the 
sidewalk. I must come quickly--there was a Rufous Owl at Red Mill House!
     I shall to write to the Pope in Rome when I get a chance, to recommend 
Trisha for beatification. Hers was both a miraculous and charitable act.  That 
she would seek me out and find me--and I wasn't even a paying customer of Red 
Mill House! Within minutes, I was face to face with this big bad Ninox. The owl 
was in the process of devouring a Green Oriole, with considerably more gusto 
than had applied to my earlier, marsupial repast. What a way to end the day!

       August: Today I took the boat trip with Chris Dahlberg, out of Daintree 
Village. This involved merely tumbling out of bed and strolling down to the 
boat launch from the caravan park. We saw lots of good birds, and Chris was a 
fount of knowledge on just about every topic touched upon. Perhaps the 
highlight for me was the pair of Papuan Frogmouths. We could have tapped their 
sleepy heads with an oar if we had chosen so to do, and yet they never 
flinched. It took a few minutes for some of us in the boat to see them, even as 
close as we were to them, at eye-level. Remarkable camouflage indeed!           
   Perhaps more unusual was the sight of my one and only dingo. Two Masked 
Lapwings did their best to drive him away, but he didn't seem to mind their 
attacks. We were also treated to the sight of a very large cast-off skin from 
an amethystine python, pointed out to us by the legendary “Sauce” Worcester, 
whose boat was nearby. Nearby,
 two
 Double-eyed Fig Parrots and a couple of Wompoo Fruit Doves gave us very good 
looks. On the cruise back in, Chris pointed out a saltwater crocodile, actually 
just the top of its metre-long noggin.
     Now it was time for me to race to Cairns. All along on this trip, I had 
not stuck to an itinerary. The only appointments I had had were the one with 
O'Reilly's, and the one with Roger. After that, the trip was all on the spur of 
the moment. I had delayed Cairns until now, the very end. The Great Knot was 
one of the most-wanted birds for me, the only Calidris sandpiper I had never 
seen. Even so, I hated to pass by so many great birding spots along the way.
      At Wonga Beach, I stopped for the second time, having visited here 
briefly on the way to Daintree. This time, a Beach Stone-Curlew obliged. I gave 
this bird a wide berth--they are such creatures of solitude that I hate to put 
one to flight. Nearby was the first Striated Heron of the trip.
      I put Cairns off for yet another hour and stopped at Daintree National 
Park, Mossman Gorge Section. This being a weekend, the place was absolutely 
swarming with recreationists, so I made my visit very short. Here I did see and 
photograph a bird I couldn't ID. I took a few miserable shots with my 
point-and-shoot. It was a gerygone-like bird in the forest, not far off the 
roadside parking spots. Two adults were feeding this fledgling, which stayed 
perched at eye-level. They were small, gerygone-sized birds. The fledgling was 
pale, lemon-yellow below. Its bill was orange, but
with a black, U-shaped area on the lower mandible. Its face was grey. Wretched 
description, but perhaps if I figure out how to work this digital camera 
business, I can get the shot to where someone can look at it.
      Just north of Cairns I finally encountered a few Varied Honeyeaters. When 
I reached Cairns, I raced
to the Esplanade, but the tide was very, very low. The Centenary Lakes and the 
Botanical Gardens were fairly quiet, but I did see the first Yellow-bellied (or 
Olive-backed) Sunbird of the trip.
     Returning to the Esplanade a few hours later, I could see the tide coming 
in. The light was failing, but I did manage to identify a few Red-capped 
Plovers and Grey-tailed Tattlers.
     Now a bit of melodrama intrudeth. From the moment I had arrived in 
Australia, for some odd reason, my right shoulder had begun to hurt. Soon the 
entire arm, then the right hand itself grew more and more numb. I had had to 
stop at a chemist to try to find something to stave off the pain, if not the 
numbness. Just now, when I was so close to finding the Great Knot, my shoulder 
started hurting so badly I could hardly raise my binoculars. Bah!
     Just as I was getting ready to cave in to self-pity and go back to the 
motel, a jolly Englishman happened along, We started chatting about waders, and 
he asked if he could look through my scope, as he had left his in London. Pain 
was quickly forgotten as I set the scope up on the boardwalk. Almost 
immediately, the Brit spotted a bird that turned out to be a Great Knot! 
Huzzah! Soon, a local birder happened along; he concurred with the ID. What a 
great ending to that little episode!
      Now I had to go get a good night's sleep. I would have only a half-day of 
birding tomorrow, followed by the inevitable fatigue of the trip home.

       9 August: I hit the Centenary Lakes at dawn. Try as I might, I could not 
see a Red-necked Crake, although one was calling from the gloomy recesses of 
the wetland along the boardwalk. However, as light improved, other birds awoke 
to give me a rousing send-off. I managed to find a Fuscous Honeyeater, a 
species I had missed earlier. Thanks to Roger McNeil for straightening me out 
on how to say "fuscous," by the way. Besides this honeyeater, there were two 
other birds at Centenary Lakes that I identified after long observation and 
note-taking. These were a Leaden Flycatcher and a Bar-breasted Honeyeater. Also 
at Centenary Lakes was the only Collared Kingfisher I saw on the trip, plus a 
Bush Stone-Curlew.
      I raced back to the Esplanade, which really was just about my favorite 
birding spot of all the places I visited in Queensland--that's how much I like 
shorebirding! Instead of one lonely Great Knot, there were 27 of them. Despite 
warnings from several knowledgeable birders, I have to say that the light 
wasn't really all that bad, even though Mr. Sun does indeed rise in the east 
over the water here. I enjoyed cracking good looks at Black-fronted Dotterels, 
Red-capped Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Terek Sandpipers, and so forth. A 
Mangrove Robin hopped forth from the mangrove at the north
end of the Esplanade, right where I had stood and pished my lips off the 
evening before.
      The Mangrove Robin turned out to be my last lifer of the trip. At Redden 
Island by Machan Beach, I saw another Great Knot, a few other shorebirds, and a 
pair of Satin Flycatchers. I ended my birding  on a visit to the Jack Barnes 
Bicentennial Mangrove boardwalk. Unfortunately, the boardwalk that goes into 
the more open areas was closed for repair. The one that sticks to the closed, 
almost claustrophobic mangrove was open. I suspect that a man weighing a mere 
stone or two more than I do would probably crash right through the rotting 
planks of this walkway. In the midday heat I saw a sunbird, a Brown Honeyeater, 
and a Common Mynah here, and that was it for the birding--although I did enjoy 
seeing a large mudskipper doing its mucky thing.
       After returning the hire car at Cairns Airport, how glad I was to be 
done driving, after 14 days and 3735 kilometres! Better yet, I had not run over 
a single marsupial.
      At this airport, I had the only unpleasant encounter of the trip. I had 
taken my backpacking stove with me. It had passed muster with the American 
security goons, but their counterparts at Cairns seized it. This was not 
without considerable finger wagging, saying they'd detected gasoline 
vapors--although I had washed it out with water, had held an open flame over it 
for fifteen minutes without incident, and had even offered to take a drink 
directly from the fuel tank. I hope whoever glommed onto it realizes what a 
fine cooker he's appropriated.
      Easy come, easy go. I managed to see 227 species of birds in 14 days, 
plus the unidentified sand plover, and plus two or three heard-only species. 
187 species were new to me, as were 18 of the families. Probably, if I had 
taken the advice of so many fellow birders, and flown up to Townsville from 
Brisbane, I would have seen a few more species, but I would not have had the 
opportunity to view the countryside all along the Bruce Highway, a stretch 
which I found interesting, despite the many miles of sugarcane.
      As to mammals, although I missed the monotremes, I saw a nice 
cross-section of Australian critters. They included the following: some sort of 
grey dolphin with a short dorsal fin (Inskip Point); grey kangaroo; 
pretty-faced wallaby; some other sort of wallaby, I think; northern brown 
bandicoot; long-nosed bandicoot; musky rat-kangaroo; brush-tailed possum; 
striped possum; red-necked pademelon; red-legged pademelon; koala; black flying 
fox; grey-headed flying fox; spectacled flying fox; European hare; brush rat; 
fawn-footed melomys; dingo. Near Julatten, I also saw some wallabies that had 
fawn-colored backs and black tails. Two live snakes crossed my path, no harm to 
them or to me. There was a very large, dead snake on the trail at Licuala Day 
Use Area near
Mission Beach. Lots of Cassowary excreta was in the area--I wonder whether a 
cassowary pounded this snake to death? It had to be at least six feet long, but 
was so smelly and full of flies that I did not stay close to it long enough to 
take a photo.
     What a great trip! Thanks again to the many Birding-Aus members who helped 
make it such.

23 August 2010



Gary Bletsch     Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA     
      

Attachment: birds identified by GB in QLD annotated.odt
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