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Birdline North Queensland
Published sightings for the week ending 1 Jul 2012.
| Sat 30 Jun
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Southern Boobook
Tyto Wetlands
Immature Southern Boobook flushed from cheese tree at base of lookout knoll; briefly perched in the open before flying off chased by Willie Wagtails; probable same bird seen about a week ago. Today (Jul 1) Pied Currawong over main lagoon and short time in eucs. Uncommon visitor.
Tony Ashton
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Southern Boobook, Pied Butcherbird
Townsville Town Common Conservation Park
Both uncommon on the Towncommon. Southern Boobook (1) flushed from very low down (almost on ground) in thick tangle of bush just inside main gate, flew up to about 1m landed (still in dense cover, looked at me and was gone.
Pied Butcherbird (1) calling from high dead tree on golf course, flew down into woodland on common.
Ed Pierce
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Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Fairfield Waters Wetland
Orange-footed Scrubfowl (1) disturbed in undergrowth near Freshwater Lake. Uncommon in the Townsville area.
Alexandra Canton
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| Sat 23 Jun
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Pink-eared Duck
Lornevale Station Dam 1 (via Forsyth)
6 (3 pairs)
Enoch Bultreys
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| Mon 18 Jun
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Square-tailed Kite
Lake Mitchell, north of Mareeba
One Square-tailed Kite made it's way west over the lake from the causeway & onto above woodlands on the western shore - I have attached an image I captured as it cruised overhead of the causeway.
I saw another bird 15mins later in Mareeba CBD on the north end of the main st - the much reported bird that has been seen here previously. On the same day at a similar time, Del Richards saw a bird in Mt Molloy.
All 3 sightings can very safely be assumed to be of different individual Square-tailed Kites & it seems that we have quite a few birds in our general area at present - winter visitors are uncommon but regular in NQ.
Martin Cachard
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| Mon 11 Jun
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Black-winged Monarch, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo
McIvor River causeway, north of Cooktown
In an effort to establish what is known about Black-winged Monarch in Australia, I have been studying this species here at my study-site sparodically since 2005, with 4 visits there this year alone. On my first mid-winter visit this year, I noted that this species here is obvious in it's absence of calls - contrary to the warmer months when it's calls are a feature of the immediate area. This species is documented as being a migrant that returns to NG for the cooler months. You can imagine my surprise when I had an adult Black-winged Monarch flying over the rd, just above head-height at 9:30am on Monday 11/06. Not one individual called for the duration of my visit - maybe more birds are there, living quietly...?!
A species that was very vocal during this winter visit was Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, continuing from it's noisy advertisements throughout the warmer months at this site & nearby. I've attached a rough image I took of an adult calling some 40mtrs above me - clearly showing the diagnostic tail pattern which distinguishes this species from the larger but otherwise very similarly plumaged Fan-tailed Cuckoo. There were at least 4 Chestnut-breasted Cuckoos calling at the causeway with many more in the general area.
Good birding was had with many species quieter than usual but nevertheless still there.
Martin Cachard
| Birdline North Queensland is sponsored by BirdLife Northern Queensland and BirdLife Townsville and co-ordinated and hosted by Eremaea Birds.
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