Hi Chris
Sounds like you had a really good trip.
Your photos are great. I especially like the riflebird & Fernwren images!
Your Fernwren record at Mossman Gorge is an important one - I'm unaware of any
other records there for this species. But you are right, it is a good spot for
some other high altitude birds at this time of year - Bridled HE's &
Grey-headed Robin are other species that I've had there in the cooler months.
Fernwren do occur at lower altitudes at Mt Lewis in winter.
It looks like the Bronze-cuckoo image is of an imm Gould's race, especially
from the amount of rufous in the tail.
Sorry, but it's foster parents would have been Large-billed Gerygones, as
Mangrove G's don't occur here in this part of Wet Tropics.
If you got any pics of the waders at Cairns Espl, you can send them to me so I
can help confirm what you think may have been Great Knot - I would not be
surprised if a couple of first year birds are there at the moment.
Next time you come up here, go to Emerald Falls for the White-browed Robin.
There is at least one resident pair that lives in the riverside gallery beside
the picnic ground - they bred successfully there last season.
A good spot for Grey Goshawk in your neck of the woods is along the Pacific Hwy
on the light poles between Nords Wharf & Swansea, south of Newcastle. I used to
live at Nords & used to see them on most days, esp early & late in the day.
Cheers for now
Martin Cachard
Cairns
0428 782 808
> Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:28:50 +1000
> From:
> To:
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Short trip report from North Queensland
>
> Just returned from a great trip with my wife Jane to FNQ between May 25 and
> June 5. A few days on the Atherton Tablelands, a visit to the lava caves at
> Undarra and the last few days on the coast around Port Douglas and Cape
> Trib. We saw over 140 bird species and having just read Laurence Knight's
> excellent article in the latest issue of "Wingspan" on Bogey Birds, I can
> report we knocked off a few of ours. Here are some of the highlights.
>
> Grey Whistler. On the walk around Lake Eacham.
>
> Golden Bowerbird. A female (I think - may have been a juvenile - see photo)
> at Hypipamee. About 20m from the crater on walk down to river. Someone
> reported a male on the road in, just the day before.
>
> Fan-tailed Cuckoo. Undarra. Many savanna bush birds here but this one was
> not on the resort's extensive birdlist for the area.
>
> Fernwren. At the top of the longer walking track at Mossman Gorge.
> Interesting as this was a bogey bird and most guides have it as a bird found
> above c 600m. This bird I estimate was at no more than 250m. I guess it is
> not unusual for rain forest highland birds to descend during winter. Almost
> all FNQ Eremeae reports of Fernwren are from Mt Lewis and none from MG. S&D
> reports it as a "not a well-known species"
>
> Yellow and Scarlet Honeyeaters. Big Mitchell Creek, Mt Molloy.
>
> Grey Goshawk. Jindalba Boardwalk. Cape Tribulation. A bird we have chased to
> no avail across the western plains of Sydney, where it is regularly
> reported. Now we see it high in the rain forest canopy being harassed by a
> pair of Black Butcherbirds. Grey morph.
>
> Little Bronze-Cuckoo. Port Douglas. Along the dirt road that runs beside the
> resort railway. In a small stand of mangroves by the wire netting fence.A
> juvenile and though fully grown was still being attended to by its Mangrove
> Gerygone foster parents. Confusion reigned back at the ranch because S&D had
> Goulds as separate and Slater had them combined and both guides had
> different Latin names. Internet access finally showed that C&B had them
> merged. We had previously seen Goulds so sadly no new tick but good sighting
> all the same.
>
> Bush Stone Curlews. Port Douglas. On the cross street leading to the Surf
> Life Saving Club. Every night we were there a group of half a dozen would
> mournfully wail their way down the street around 10pm. Wonderful sight and
> sound and they seemed quite at home with the revellers leaving the SLSC.
>
> Cairns Esplanade. Wrong time of year but still a special place with a few
> over stayers. BT Godwits, Sharpies, BF Dotterels, Whimbrel, RC Plover, Great
> Knot (we are pretty certain) and Varied HE on boardwalk plus Egrets (Reef
> and Little) and Pied Oystercatchers.
>
> White-browed Robin. Nope didn't see this and now is our number one bogey
> bird for the region. But hey this just means we have an excuse to go back to
> this fabulous part of the world!
>
> A few photos of the birds can be seen at this link
>
> https://picasaweb.google.com/cgregory123/FNQMay2011
>
> Cheers
>
> Chris Gregory
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