Australia 2006

Introduction

2007-12-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

After several months of pressure I finally succumbed to the families wishes to take a trip to Australia- the thought of the 24 hour trip there and back filled me with dread, due to the fact that I have never yet been able to successfully sleep on a plane! As usual we bought the constantly excellent Lonely Planet guides in conjunction with some internet research and decided on Queensland, and after a few days had laid down plans for a fly drive tour. We decided to go in May-June 2006 to take advantage of our son's schooling allowance of two weeks during term time for holidays, and tag these either side of the May half term (the notion that he would miss out on valuable education by taking a trip to the other side planet for three weeks is nearly laughable).
We decided to stay in south Queensland around Brisbane for a few days before flying north to Cairns and touring around Far North Queensland (FNQ) then flying out of Cairns for home.
Extreme weather previous to our visit had an effect on the birding during our trip in FNQ. In March Cyclone Larry decimated a broad area around the town of Inissfail not far from Mission Beach where we were to stay. Later on another Cyclone brought one of the wettest summers on record which meant that areas which were usually dry at this time of year were still wet, so consequently birds did not have to move too far for water.
The weather in Brisbane was surprisingly cool (we had our stereo typical expectations of Australia soon shattered!) around 18-22°C, but it remained dry and more important for me, mosquito free! In FNQ it was, not surprisingly, warmer and more humid with rain for the first couple of days but then generally dry and warmer 22-28°C.
The itinerary was as follows:
May 15th- Fly Heathrow-Brisbane via Singapore
May 17th – Arrive Brisbane
May 22nd-27th – Mission Beach
May 28th -30th - Daintree
May 30th- June 2nd – Malanda
June 2nd -5th – Cairns
Prior to the trip I obtained Simpson and Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia and trawled through as many trip reports as I could for site information. Many of the accommodation we researched online had references to birding or had bird lists, especially in FNQ. We flew with the truly excellent Qantas on all flights. Being a single-birder family some compromises inevitably had to be made… but not too many (Thanks guys!)

Brisbane

2007-11-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

May 15th-17th - Fly to Brisbane via Singapore. The dreaded flight really wasn’t half as bad as I had expected with 12 hrs to Singapore then 6hrs onto Brisbane. We had a four hour break in Singapore, arriving at dusk I could only manage Cattle Egret and Common Mynah from the terminal. We did take the opportunity to shower at the airport with tea and biscuits afterwards for about £4 all in.

May 17th - Finally arrive and are through customs by approx 0830. Pick up car and drive on the correct side of the road too our first accommodation in Samford, a little village on the west side of Brisbane suburbs with the forests of Mount Glorious as a backdrop. Concentration broke only twice from directions for first new birds Australian White Ibis and Australian Magpie Lark. On arrival at our excellent B&B, The Valley, there are birds everywhere with calls that I’d only heard on TV before! Immediately around the garden we pick up Rainbow Lorikeet, Spotted Turtle-dove, Straw-necked Ibis, Australian Wood Duck, Australian Magpie, Crested Pigeon, Bar-shouldered Dove, Welcome Swallow, Masked Plover, Willie Wagtail, Lewin’s Honey-eater and Long billed Corella , the later invading and near destroying the bird table! After dispatching cases and bags,, and sorting out who was having which bedroom, I managed a more controlled assessment of the local bird life from the front garden, looking on too a meadow, and added Grey Butcherbird, Noisy Miner and fly over Yellow-billed Spoonbill and Sulphar -crested Cockatoo.
Suffering from itchy feet we decided to take a short drive up to Mount Glorious as we didn't feel too bad after our marathon flight, but as soon as we got out of the car at the other end the jet lag suddenly hit and we were all feeling a bit light headed and a tad tetchy! On the up side we had a pale morph Grey Goshwk fly over Mount Glorious Road and on the way back found a couple of very confiding Bush Thick-knee just yards from our accommodation. As the family were in chillin mode I took the opportunity to visit Samford Golf Course which was virtually over the road and a short 500yd walk. Here on the course ponds were single Little Pied and Little Black Cormorants, 8 Purple Swamphen, a dozen Pacific Black Duck, 4 Hardhead, an Australasian Grebe and several Dusky Moorhen. We decided to dine in this evening with a Chinese from Samford Village. 1st Aus tip- The variety isn't great but the portions are huge!

Australian Magpie-Lark

Rainbow Lorikeets

Bar-shouldered Dove

Lewin's Honeyeater

May 18th - Up at about 3am awaiting dawn! First hint of daylight and its over to the golf course again. Just as I walk across the B&B drive a pair of sombre- flying Glossy Black Cockatoos fly over the house!( only ones of the trip). Back on the golf course the ponds held pretty much the same as yesterday but the rough ground around the course proved more interesting with 2 Rainbow Bee-eater,2 Eastern Rosella (pale headed) 2 Striated Paradalote, several Pied Butcherbird , a Blue-faced Honey-eater and a huge Laughing Kookaburra. After breakfast we take our first touristy trip to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. A great family trip, you get to feed all types of roos and wallaby's, and there are Koalas and other Aussie endemics all over the place. Birds here too with lots of 'wild' Australian Brush Turkey, several Scaley-breasted Lorikeets in trees in Roo enclosure, a single Masked Wood-swallow overhead and a pair of Australian Pelican on the river. After an enjoyable few hours here we head back to Samford for abit more RnR to recover from the flight were I took the opportunity to do abit more 'local' birding by taking a drive up Mount O'Reilly Rd that leads to House Mountain, directly opposite our B&B (not to be confused with O'Reilly's Lamington!). At the the top of a steep climb the road opens out to look over the next valley along whilst you are surrounded by tall gum trees with thick scrub undergrowth. Birds noted here included stunning views of Kookaburra, Yellow-faced Honey-eater, Silvereye, Red-capped Robin, Grey Fantail, Grey Shrike-Thrush and a pair of Pied Currawong. Also noted here whilst scanning the hills for Roo's were a Brown Hare, some camels and a couple of Ostriches! In the evening we ate at the Ferny Grove Tavern (kids eat free mid week) where we endured a long wait for our food, but it was good when it came (courtesy of a scouse chef!)

Koala's

Long-billed Corellas

Straw-necked Ibis

Kookaburra

May 19th - Back up O'reilley's Road at dawn this morning with additional species of Spotted Paradalote (5) & White-throated Honey-eater (8). Today was my son's trip highlight, a visit to Australia Zoo. Enroute we saw our first Black Kites and Great Egrets. We had a great family day at the zoo, I managed to NOT take my binoculars but still saw a Restless Flycatcher and several wild Water Dragons. We even managed to see the late Steve Irwin in residence, with everyone of course oblivious of the bizarre twist of fate that was to occur later in the year that would take his life. On our way back we visited the Glass House Mountains which provided some superb views. In the evening we visited Samford Village for an Eagle Boys Pizza, a strange serving system but the food was tasty enough.

May 20th - Back up Mt O'Reilly Rd first thing this morning with views of new birds in the form of Golden Whistler and Olive-backed Oriole. Today we decided to visit the real O'reilly's, the one at Lamington NP. We really set off too late; it took nearly 3 hours to get here so it was around 1130 when we finally arrived. Enroute we saw Pheasant Coucal and on arrival the plentiful tourists were hand feeding the Crimson Rosella's and Australian King Parrots. We duly joined in but became a little more alert after a Red-bellied Snake crossed the path obviously on the lookout for a parrot lunch!
The amount of people here was getting a little too much but true to form, a 200yd walk along one of the non boarded trails ensured peace and quiet and more birds. As we walked through the rainforest we managed to pick up Yellow-throated and White-browed Scrub Wren, Brown Thornbill, Eastern Yellow Robin, Eastern Spinebill, Brown Cuckoo Dove and , best of all my target bird Logrunner (which was found and identified by my family, after I had described what I was looking for! Be rest assured I wasn't allowed to forget that fact whenever Log Runner was mentioned again!) In this same area the family also spotted a group of four Red-necked Padimelon in the undergrowth. I didn't see the hoped for Regent's Bowerbird or Magnificent Riflebird and my gen for Albert's Lyrebird were scratchy to say the least, a good excuse to come back another day! On the long drive home we did see our first wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos (2) in roadside fields. In the evening we visited the Thai Takeaway in Samford and had a huge and tasty Thai Green curry.

Olive-backed Oriole

Crimson Rosella and King Parrots

Red-necked Padimelon

May21st - Took a drive to Lake Samsonvale this morning, approx 1/2 hour NE of Samford Village and it was absolutely heaving with birds! Access was through a small cemetery, then there's a wide open space of grassland and scrub in front of you with a creek running through it. It was great for birds of prey here with the first birds seen being a pair of Australian Black-shouldered Kites. Just scanning across the grassland I managed to pick up Glossy Ibis 10, Royal Spoonbill 6, Pheasant Coucal, Golden-headed Cisticola 6, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike 5, Swamp Harrier 2 and a Collared Sparrowhawk. Scanning along the horizon in a broad sweep I added Whistling Kite 10, White-bellied Sea-Eagle and my first Wedge-tailed Eagle. As I walked towards the rather distant lake a small group of as yet still unidentified Quail flew up from beneath my feet, while at least 6 Fairy Martin were picked out from a flock of c30 Welcome Swallow. 'Scoping the lake from distance more new birds became apparent with first sightings of wild Black Swan 6, Grey Teal 15, Silver Gull, Red-capped Plover 2, Black-fronted Dotterel 3 and White -faced Heron. Also on the lake were Hardhead c100, Pacific Black Duck 30, Great-crested Grebe 60, Black-winged Stilt 15, Australian Pelican 6 and a Little Egret. With time getting on a brisk walk back bagged further goodies in the shape of a Brown Falcon perched on a post in the grassland and then, a couple of posts down, an excellent Spotted Harrier sat in the open. Arriving back in Samford just in time for a cooked breakfast, we decided to have a drive up to Mount Glorious and take things easy. A walk around one of the rainforest tracks produced Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren and Eastern Yellow Robin but little else besides. Whilst here we decided that we had to have a cream tea from the famous Maliala Tea Rooms. This tea room is popular with Brisbane’s biking community, especially those known as 'Baby boomers', and especially at the weekend, as the road at the front is chocked full of bikes. We did smile as these burley, tattooed bikers in full leathers waited patiently and politely for their cream teas-top marks! Birds seen in the garden here included my only Wonga Pigeon of the trip and a White-throated Treecreeper. On our way back down into the valley we saw a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles and heard several Bell Miners on stretches of the winding road that didn't allow for stops-typical!.

Lake Samsonvale...distant, far right

Australian Black-shouldered Kite

Golden-headed Cisticola

Brown Falcon

Mission Beach and Great Barrier Reef

2007-11-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

May 22nd - Mostly travelling today, with a flight north from Brisbane to Cairns and then a drive down the coast to Mission Beach. The drive down was fairly uneventful although we did pick up Nankeen Kestrel, Cattle Egret and first House Sparrows in Inssfail. It was here that the devastation of Cyclone Larry was most evident, both to buildings and the surrounding countryside. As we approach the Mission Beach area we start seeing Cassowary warning signs all over the place and slow down, certain that we're gonna run one over any minute now (yeah right!), although we did have a pair of Orange-footed Scrubfowl fly over the road. We arrive at our accommodation, the excellent Licuala Lodge, and are almost immediately greeted by not one or two, but three Cassowaries! These have been pretty much resident here since the cyclone went through because of the damage done to the regions fruiting trees. With big bird well and truly under the belt I could relax a little more, being another of my target species.

Licuala Lodge

Cassowary, female 'Cassie'

Cassowary, male 'Charlie'

and juvenile, 'Colin'

Whilst relaxing in the tropical grounds, along with many butterflies (including Cairn's Birdwing and the stunning Ulleccess) and lizards, we also manage great views of Wompoo Fruit Dove, Emerald Dove, Olive-backed Sunbird and several White-rumped Swiftlet overhead. In the evening we headed to the Mission Beach Resort for their eat all you want buffet, excellent value and quality, we ate here for a number of nights!

Albin's Hampstead Eye

Orchard Swallowtail

Preying Mantis

May 23rd - Spent the day around the lodge and brief jaunt down to the beach due to the wet weather that showed little sign of breaking. Around the Lodge in the morning we see our first Yellow-cheeked Honeyeater (4), Spectacled Monarch (4), Fairy Gerygon(4), Maclay's Honeyeater, Spotted Catbird, imm Black Butcherbird and a hoped for Victoria's Riflebird. Along the beach we see a couple of Sacred Kingfisher and a White-headed Heron, then on the outskirts of town a rolling cattle enclosure gives us prolonged views of Agile Wallaby and White-breasted Wood-Swallows on the power lines. Back at Licuala Lodge in the afternoon we watch the Cassowaries, with 'Cassie' the female dominating the territory over 'Charlie', her mate and 'Colin', her offspring. We also see a pair of Varied Triller and a Rufous Fantail.

Black Butcherbird

Spotted Catbird

Agile Wallaby with Joey

Sacred Kingfisher

May 24th - Spent an hour from dawn birding off the veranda this morning and added Spangled Drongo and Graceful Honeyeater with 3 Forest Kingfishers on overhead cables a short walk away.
Today we had planned on visiting the Great Barrier Reef, and it was touch and go as to if the weather would break for us, as luck would have it did! We went out with the Calypso Dive team, and after seeing Brown Booby, Crested Tern and our first Brahiminy Kite the birds came second to the best experience of the holiday, snorkelling and my first Scuba dive amongst some amazing creatures including Parrot Fish, Giant Clam, White-tipped Reef Shark,Wobbygong, Butterfly Fish, Christmas Tree Worms, Mother-in-law Fish, Turtle, Clownfish, Cleaner Wrasse, Spiney Cucumber and TriggerFish to name but a few!

Clown Fish

Christmas Tree Worm

Lurking, menacing White-tipped Reef Shark

May 25th - Visits both before and after breakfast to the Licuala Walking Track drew a blank on my target bird, Noisy Pitta but new sightings included Mistletoe Bird(3) Little Shrike-Thrush(6) Large-billed Scrub Wren and brief views of Eastern Whipbird, even though their distinctive calls were frequently close by. Many of the endemic Licuala Fan Palm have taken a battering by Larry, along with many other trees. A walk along Wongaling Beach produced a single male Satin Flycatcher but little else. On some cleared land close to the lodge I see another Pheasant Coucal and my only Australian Pipit. In the evening, after visiting the coolest butcher ever in the village (surfs up dude!) we enjoyed that quintessential Aussie cooking equipment- the Barbie!!

Pheasant Coucal

May 26th & 27th - With the sun now putting in regular appearances the family managed to enjoy some R&R around the pool area, where for the most part they had it to themselves! Not being able to sit still for much longer than 10 minutes, I got to do some more birding in the immediate area and, on top of seeing plenty of birds that I had already seen I managed to add Double-eyed Fig Parrot at Clump Point Beach, a Musky Rat-Kangaroo at the walking track (drawing another blank on the Pitta), a very obliging Pacific Baza near the Lodge and Figbird with Yellow Oriole at the Lodge itself.

Rainbow Bee-eater

Pacific Baza

Leucogonia ekeikei

Speckled Crimson?

Unidentified Bug

Daintree, Far North Queensland

2007-11-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

May 28th - Moving on today and heading north back up the coast. After saying goodbyes to Charlie, Cassie, Colin and co we set off for Cairns, which, like the trip down was fairly uneventful (lots of sugar cane fields!) As we reach the outskirts of Cairns a grocery run at the first Coles supermarket produces the first Peaceful Doves. Continuing north we start to see a few more Black Kites, a single Black-shouldered Kite and, as we reach The Daintree, a Black-necked Stork is spotted coming up from some fields. We arrive in Daintree village mid afternoon and soon find our accommodation, The Red Mill House. Andrew and Trish own the Red Mill House and they happen to be birders-what a coincidence! From the main veranda we see birds at close quarters- Spotted Catbirds, Orange-footed Scrub-fowl, Sulphar-crested Cockatoo, Spangled Drongo, Yellow Oriole, Helmeted Friarbird and plenty of Honeyeaters with Yellow-spotted, Graceful, Maclay's and a new one, Dusky Honey-eater. A fruiting tree just a long the street had attracted tens of Rainbow Lorikeets feeding making a hell of a racket, with Spectacled Fruit-Bats waiting nearby to take over for the night shift!

Spotted Catbird

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater

Sulphar-crested Cockatoo

Yellow Oriole

Spangled Drongo

Helmeted Friarbird

Just before dusk we drive a couple of miles south to Spa and Eco lodge where we met our guide, Dan Irby for our pre-booked twilight river trip. This was another great experience (plus we were the only ones on the boat!) and was enjoyed by the whole family. At dusk 100's of Egrets were seen moving up the river to roost, and looking back on one occasion I jammed in on a huge Great-billed Heron heading off down river and around the corner. With the darkness came the powerful search light and Dan expertly picked out eye reflections on the banks of the widening river, giving us great views of Salt-water Crocodiles, White-lipped Green Tree frog, a roosting Azure Kingfisher down to 3 yards and a spectacular red eyed Papuan Frogmouth looking down on us totally disinterested! The excitement of the trip soon dissipated to reality, as we then realised that being 2000hrs on a Sunday evening, every food joint in Daintree was shut! We ended up going down to Daintree Palms Hotel near Wonga where they rustled up a rather...erm...interesting pizza covered in BBQ sauce! Not high on my recommendations! Back at RedMill we spent an hour stalking Tree Frogs before finally hitting the sack.

Daintree River

Baby Salt-water Crocodile

Not so baby Salt-water Crocodile

Papuan Frogmouth

White-lipped Tree Frog

Frog sp

May 29th - Up early doors this morning and a walk down to Stuart Creek before breakfast was order of the day.

Stuart Creek Road, Daintree

Along with the now more familiar rainforest species a smart male Shining Flycatcher was added to the list and on return to RedMill House Andrew put me on to a female Leaden Flycatcher in the garden before enjoying breakfast and their delicious home made yogurt! After breakfast we decided that having come this far we had to take a trip up to Cape Tribulation and set off (with a couple of sites for Noisy Pitta and Beach Stone Curlew for good measure!) towards the ferry. The small car ferry crossing the Daintree River was a reasonable $16 return and we were up and running on the other side in no time.

Daintree River Crossing

A couple of stops enroute (at Jindalba Boardwalk for Pitta and Oliver Creek for Thick-knee) both drew a blank although the former did produce Pale-yellow Robin. We visited the Daintree Exploration Centre, which was informative but too noisy/populated for birding, and also stopped off at the Daintree Ice-cream Company, which is well worth calling in for some unique tastes! We finally reached Cape Tribulation and walked the beach to the point where the 'rainforest meets the sea' and finding a fruiting tree, which held Dusky Honeyeater, Helmeted Friarbird and 3 Bridled Honeyeater. The parking lot here held an impressive Lace Monitor Lizard which was well over a metre long.

Daintree River leading into The Pacific

Prime Rainforest

Yellow-eyed Aeroplane

Cape Tribulation, 'where forest meets the ocean'

Lace Monitor

Returning back to Daintree Andrew and Trish gave us another Thick-knee beach to check out at Wonga, though they admitted it was fairly hit and miss. We duly drove down the coast and on arrival found the tide line fairly low with a mass of exposed sand, as I scanned the horizon I locked on to the huge billed wader out in the distance and grabbed for my scope, with this, my wife piped up 'isn't that one just there' and there, right in front of us was another stonking Beach Thick-knee! The bird performed superbly and I can honestly say that I left on cloud nine! Once again returning to RedMill this time with a successful glow, and on our arrival Trish hurried us up on to the veranda to see a female Satin Bowerbird that had just visited the garden and showed really well. We ate at Eleanor’s in Daintree Village which was a marked improvement on last nights offering! Again be aware that BBQ sauce can be potentially put on anything so ask them to hold on it if you don’t fancy it!

Beach Thick-knee

On the move

Bird of the Trip?

May 30th – Down on the quay this morning at six o’clock for another boat trip, this time with local birder Chris Dahlberg. We had an enjoyable couple of hours along the river and although some prime targets did not give themselves up (Great-billed Heron, Nankeen Night heron, Black Bittern, Papuan Frogmouth) we did see several Azure kingfisher, a tiny Little Kingfisher, Tree Martin, Large-billed Gerygone and a fairly hefty looking Amethystine Python coiled around some branches over the water. Returning to Red Mill, and after a delicious local fruit and yogurt breakfast (followed by a fry up!) we packed up and headed south and into the Tablelands.

Azure Kingfisher

Little Kingfisher (video grab)

ATHERTON TABLELANDS

2007-11-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

En route I had planned to detour to Mt Lewis for various specialities, but due to the weather back in March the road was now impassable, so we called in at the enigmatically named Abattoir Swamp just south of Mount Molloy. It was fairly quiet here with nothing of note from the hide but in the surrounding area we did pick up Brush Cuckoo and Brown Honey-eater. Continuing south we entered Mareeba and found the Golf course on the west side of town where we saw the sizable group of Grey Kangaroo, now just loafing under the shade of the trees. These turned out to be our best encounter of wild ‘roos of the trip! We now headed west of Mareeba to Granite Gorge. This was a major hit with the family with the opportunity to feed ‘wild’ Mareeba Rock Wallaby’s, fortunately there were few people about so the wallaby’s were pleased to see us! The birding here wasn’t too bad either with Noisy friarbird, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike (3) Yellow Honey-eater, Aus Black-shouldered Kite (2) and a Horsefield’s Bronze Cuckoo. After this enjoyable stop we decided to head for our accommodation at Rose Gums, east of Yungaburra. After what felt an age we finally arrived at the jewel of our holiday. The Rose gums stilted cabins are set in your own piece of rain forest with nothing else to spoil your view and trails into the rainforest with no one around-heaven! One of my main targets here was not a bird but a marsupial, the Duck-billed Platypus. News was not good however because the locals had not seen any for several weeks, again due to the March monsoons, the rain had raised the water levels too much. Nevertheless after being on the road all day, I and my son took another drive out (on the way out we saw a flock of Chestnut-breasted Mannakin) to some known locations along Topaz Road, where on our arrival a shape appeared on the waters surface and dived again! For about the next hour we enjoyed watching 3 Duck-billed Platypus feeding in the small ponds up until dusk. Back at Rose Gums spent the evening unsuccessfully trying to lure in Lesser Sooty Owl.

Brush Cuckoo

Mareeba Rock Wallaby

Granite Gorge

"give me five"

Duck-billed Platypus

May 31st- Up at dawn for a dawn chorus to beat them all! The forest was full of Chowchilla calling, with only two brief views of a couple of males. Along with Grey and Rufous Fantail, Spotted Catbird, Wompoo Fruit-dove, White-throated Treecreeper, Victoria’s Riflebird, Eastern Spinebill, male and female Satin Bowerbird, and Dusky Honey-eater new birds seen included Brown Gerygone, Pied Monarch, Tawny Grass bird, Bowers Shrike-thrush, Grey Whistler, White-headed Pigeon and a confiding Tooth-billed Bowerbird. The huge split bamboo logs in front of the main lodge had been topped up with food and were now attracting lots of Rainbow lorikeets and a few King Parrots. Back at the cabin, and after breakfast (and de-leeching myself!) I found it difficult to be drawn away from the area, but there were trees and waterfalls to be seen elsewhere apparently! The rest of the day was spent visiting the more touristy sites of the tablelands including some impressive waterfalls and the huge Curtain tree Fig, but did manage fleeting visits to Hasties Swamp where we saw lots (200) of Plumed Whistling-ducks and a Buff-banded Rail, and Bromfield swamp where we counted 14 Sarus Crane in the valley there. After dining in the evening at a Swiss(!) restaurant near Yungaburra our route home found us watching a Southern Boobook hunting along one of the roads giving excellent views.Still no Lesser sooties from the cabin.

Tawny Grassbird

Tooth-billed Bowerbird

Maclay's Honey-eater

White-headed Pigeon

Curtain Fig Tree

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Sarus Crane

June 1st - Today we’d pre-booked a visit into the Undara larva tubes to the west of Ravenshoe. A long drive through endless eucalyptus scrub provided little in the way of wildlife with just a couple of Wedge-tailed eagles scavenging along the roads of note, and the occational wallaby. At Undara we found the experience somewhat disappointing considering the distance travelled- and were expecting to travel deeper into the lava tubes. On top of this, the fact that the buffet facilities had a limited choice of food and a strict dining time, the whole day was really something of a let down. Birding was fairly limited too, with Red-winged Parrot and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo being the most notable. We dined at the cabin tonight-bought a grilled whole chicken, some rolls, a bit of salad and some baking potatoes and a tin or two of Foster’s. Spent the evening mothing and Sooty Owling, the former more productive than the latter!

June 2nd – Early start again this morning and back on the Rose Gums nature trails, on top of the birds seen previously I birded hard for the local speciality Wrens but drew a blank, though did pick up a delightful Yellow-breasted Broadbill, a Red-browed Finch, (2) Barred-Cuckoo-Shrike, and best of all (and after a lot of research afterwards) a female Golden Bowerbird which was apparently a first for the site! After packing up (once again!) we said our goodbyes to Jon and Peta and headed for Cairns (picking up Brown Quail on the access road on the way out!) but not before stopping at the ponds to get a last glimpse of the Duck-billed Platypus, that showed well for the whole family. We took the Gillies highway route back, and though veritably scenic, we didn’t stop for any length of time. With the wife suffering from retail therapy withdrawal symptoms we headed for Cairn’s ‘beach’ (mud) front. Along with shops and restaurants here the Cairn’s Esplanade is also well known for something else-birds! A walk along the front with a low tide produced Australian Pelican(10), Great Egret(30), Little Egret(20), Black-winged Stilt(1), Caspian Tern(10), Gull-billed Tern(10), Silver Gull(40), Great Knot (10), Whimbrel(2), Bar-tailed Godwit(4), Eastern Reef Egret(dark morph), Osprey, Intermediate Egret(2), Pied Oystercatcher (2) and Royal Spoonbill. After finding our spacious, but overall disappointing accommodation we returned to Cairn’s in the evening for food and souvenir shopping with a bonus as we came away late on, as along with the Fruit bats being very obvious feeding around Cairn’s, we were parked next to a roost of 40 or so Metallic Starlings!

June 3rd - Today was a purely touristy day with a prebooked trip up to Kuranda, in the hills above Cairns, via the Mountain Steam Railway. Some spectacular veiws on the way up, we did manage to add Peregrine to the trip list. The trip back was even more stunning as we travelled on the SkyRail-a cable car suspended over the rainforest canopy for about five miles (or thats what it felt like!)

Kuranda Sky Train

June 4th- With the promise of some warm sunshine on last nights forcast, the family opted for some sunbathing and pool time today, giving me a days grace to do what ever I please! After speaking to a birder we met a couple of days ago on the Esplanade I opted to head back inland to Mareeba Wetlands. I chose an early start like any good birder would but true to reports the reserve did not open until 10:00am! I decided to bird the access road whilst waiting, which was a good move as another target bird, Blue-winged Kookuburra was present here with upto 3 seen. Also here I saw Double-barred Finch 4, a family of Red-backed Fairy-Wren 4, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, Blue-faced Honeyeater 6, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike 5, Buff-breasted Crake2, Brown Falcon, Collared Sparrowhawk, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo3, Red-winged Parrot 4, Pale-headed Rosella 2, and Brown Honeyeater. With the gates finally open I drove down to the visitors centre on the lake shore. At first there seemed very little bird life (and especially no big black and white geese that I was really hoping to see!) but closer inspection of the vegetated areas on the open lake revealled little gems in the form of Comb-crested Jacana 5, Green Pygpy-Goose 10, Cotton Pygmy-Goose 5, Wandering Whistling-Duck 25, Plumed Whistling-Duck 1, and White-faced Heron 2. Here they also have a conservation programme involving Gouldan's Finch with an aviary where you can see these little rainbows breeding. Armed with a trail map and some local info from one of the staff I headed off into the outback and immediately came face to face with a pair of Emu that nonchalantly wandered past me giving the most cursory of glances! Following a dry creek bed, the land around was peppered with variously sized concreate hard Termite mounds. The birds were few and far between out here but I did bump in to a delightful group of Grey-crowned Babbler 6, and eventually attained descent views of my target bird here, Black-throated Finch 6. With the sun high in the sky now and temperatures rising I decided to head back towards Cairns and back to the Esplanade. With an incoming tide there were fewer birds about today but there were Whimbrel 20, and at least 8 Grey-tailed Tattler. Heading toward the Mangroves I tried a number of sites here and near the airport for Mangrove Robin but failedonly managing to pick up Varied Honeyeater, Shining Flycatcher and many Sand-fly bites (and you know when they are biting you!) Coming away from the airport an Australian Hobby was seen zooming over the road.

Comb-wattled Jacana

Wandering Whistling-Ducks with Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Emu... with no sign of Rod Hull

Concrete-hard Termite mound

Little Pied Cormorant

Little Black Cormorant

Black-throated Finch

Striated Parladote

June 5th- With our flight home this afternoon not alot of commited birding done. I decided to bird the modest grounds of our accommodation on Cairns outskirts: Spectacled Monach, Grey Fantail, Dusky Honeyeater, Macleay's Honeyeater, Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Brown Gerygone, Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, Barred Cuckoo-Shrike and Figbird. Our flight included a shedualled stop into Darwin in the Northern Territories, unfortunately we couldn't exit the tiny (portacabin!) terminal, however our final aussie bird seen on take off proved to be a pair of Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.

Systamatic List

2007-10-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Systematic List:

1. Emu - A pair at Mareeba Wetlands
2. Southern Cassowary - Cassie, Charlie and Colin at Licuala Lodge, Mission Beach delighted daily.
3. Orange-footed Scrub-fowl - Seen at both Mission Beach and Daintree
4. Brown Quail - Along access road to Rose Gums in Tablelands
5. Australian Pelican - seen in Brisbane and Cairns
6. Brown Booby - 1 seen from jetty Mission Beach
7. Little Pied Cormorant - noted at Samford and Mareeba
8. Little Black Cormorant - As above
9. Great-crested Grebe - 60 Lake Samsonvale near Samford
10. Australasian Grebe - Samford golf course
11. Black Swan - Noted at Lake Samsonvale and Mareeba
12. Wandering Whistling-Duck - c25 at Mareeba Wetlands
13. Plumed Whistling-Duck - 200 at Hasties Swamp, Tablelands with a single at Mareeba
14. Pacific Black Duck - Seen at Samford golf course and Lake Samsonvale
15. Grey Teal - c15 Lake Samsonvale
16. Hardhead - Again seen at Lake Samsonvale and Samford golf course
17. Australian Wood Duck - Seen around the suburbs in Samford
18. Cotton Pygmy Goose - 5 seen at Mareeba Wetlands.
19 Green Pygmy Goose - 10 also at Mareeba.
20. Buff-banded Rail- Pairs seen at Hasties Swamp and on the road to Mareeba.
21.Dusky Moorhen - noted at Samford.
22. Purple Swamphen - Seen at Samford Golfcourse.
23. Great-billed Heron - One seen at dusk flying down Daintree River.
24. White-faced Heron - Seen on the beach at Mission Beach and a Mareeba.
25. Cattle Egret - Hundreds in Daintree going to roost at dusk.
26. Great Egret - Seen off Cairns Esplanade and the Daintree River.
27. Intermediate Egret - 2 also of the Esplanade.
28. Eastern Reef Egret. - A dark morph in with the above.
29. Glossy Ibis - 10 noted at Lake Samsonville.
30. Australian White Ibis- Our first aussie bird and fairly widespread
31. Straw-necked Ibis- Seen daily around Samford suburbs, even feeding on the lawn.
32. Royal Spoonbill - 6 at Lake Samsonville and a single off Cairns.

33. Yellow-billed Spoonbill- Single flew over B&B at Samford.

34. Black-necked Stork - Seen in the Daintree and at Mareeba-don't call them Jaribu-they're South American!
35. Sarus Crane - 14 seen at Bromfield Swamp though no Brolga
36. Whimbrel - 20 Cairn's Esplanade
37. Grey-tailed Tattler- Half a dozen also seen at the above.
38. Great Knot - 10, Ditto
39. Comb-crested Jacana - Seen lily trotting at Mareeba
40. Bush Stone-Curlew - Seen at Samford, Daintree and heard in Cairns

41. Beach Stone-Curlew- One of the avian highlights, a pair were watched on Wonga Beach, Daintree
42. Pied Oystercatchter - 2 Cairns Seafront
43. Masked Lapwing - All over! both miles (Daintree) and novaehollandiae (Brisbane) races seen.
44. Black-fronted Dotterel - Seen at Lake Samsonville and on the Daintree River
45. Red-capped Plover- Noted at Lake Samsonville
46. Black-winged Stilt - Also seen on Lake Samsonville and Cairns Esplanade.
47. Silver Gull - Single Lake Samsonville and c40 in Cairns
48. Caspian Tern - 10 off Cairns.
49. Gull-billed Tern - Also seen in Cairns, this endemic race is apparently a potential 'split'.
50. Crested Tern - Seen off Mission Beach enroute to Great Barrier Reef.
51. Pacific Baza - A confiding bird seen very near Licuala Lodge, Mission Beach with a pair noted later
52. Australian Black-shouldered Kite - Great views at Lake Samsonville, also seen from the car heading to Daintree and at Granite Gorge
53. Osprey - Seen at Cairns front.
54. Black Kite - Birds of the race affinis were seen in suitable habitat, often from the road.
55. Whistling Kite - First noted at Lake Samsonville, further birds seen from the road as in the species above especially around Bribane.
56. Brahmniy Kite - Seen along coastal rain forest at Mission Beach on a number of occations.
57. White-bellied Sea Eagle - Seen over Lake Samsonville and at Mission Beach.
58. Wedge-tailed Eagle- Singles or pairs noted at Lake Samsonville, Samford Valley and along the highway enroute to Undara.
59. Collared Sparrowhawk - One seen at Lake Samsonville
60. Grey Goshawk - A bird flew over the road as we climbed through Samford Valley toward Mount Glorious.
61. Spotted Harrier - One showed well at Lake Samsonville on May 21st.

62. Swamp Harrier - Up to 4 at the same location as above.
63. Peregrine Falcon - One seen from the Kuranda Railway, Cairns.
64. Australian Hobby - Singles seen over surburban Cairns.
65. Brown Falcon - First noted at Lake Samsonville near Brisbane.
66.Nankeen Kestral - Seen along the main Cook Highway between Cape Tribulation and Mission Beach.
67. Wompoo Fruit-Dove - Seen at Licuala Lodge Mission Beach, Red Mill House Daintree and Rose Gums on the Tablelands.

68. White-headed Pigeon - Seen at Rose Gums in front of cabin.

69.Spotted Turtle Dove - Seen around Samfords gardens and meadows.

70. Brown Cuckoo Dove- Singles noted at Lamington NP and at Licuala Lodge.
71. Peaceful Dove - Seen in urban Cairn's.
72. Bar-shouldered Dove - A regular garden visitor to The Valley B&B in Samford.
73. Emerald Dove - A rainforest species seen at Licuala Lodge and Red mill House.
74. Crested Pigeon - Another regular around Samford surburbia.
75. Wonga Pigeon - One seen at the Maliala Tea Rooms Mount Glorious.
76. Red-tailed Black Cockatoo- Seen at Undara, along the entrance road to Mareeba and from the departing plane at Darwin, NT.
77.Glossy Black Cockatoo - A pair flew over The Valley B&B just after dawn May 18th
78.Galah - Seen around, over and in the gardens of Samford.
79. Long-billed Corella - The 'bird table' bird at The Valley, demolishing it daily!
80. Sulphar-crested Cockatoo - These noisy parrots generally seen in suburban areas in Brisbane, Cairns and Daintree.
81. Rainbow Lorikeet- Another noisy blighter, seen all over the place.
82. Scaly-breasted Lorikeet- Only seen once at Lone Pine Koala Sanctury.
83. Double-eyed Fig-Parrot- Singles seen at Mission Beach and Daintree.
84. Australian King-Parrot - Birds can be hand fed at Lamington NP. Also seen at RoseGums on feeder troughs.
85. Red-winged Parrot- Seen around Undara and at the main gate at Mareeba Wetlands.
86. Crimson Rosella - Partner in crime with King-Parrots at Lamington NP.
87. Eastern Rosella - Seen in Samford and at Mareeba.
88. Brush Cuckoo- One seen well at Abbatoir Swamp near Mount Molloy
89. Horsefields Bronze Cuckoo- One at Granite Gorge on Tablelands. Another bronze-cuckoo, at Mission Beach remains unidentified.
90.Pheasant Coucal - These big tailed birds were noted enroute to Lamington NP, and down the road from Licuala Lodge.
91. Southern Boobook- One seen on the road late evening returning to Rose Gums after eating out. Our only owl sighting.
92. Papuan Frogmouth - Another avian highlight, one was seen superbly along the Daintree River on Dan Irby's night trip.
93. White-rumped Swiftlet - Noted over Mission Beach and Daintree.
94. Azure Kingfisher - Several seen along the Daintree River both during the day and at night!
95. Little Kingfisher - One of these tiny kingfishers seen along Daintree River form Chris Dahlberg,s River trip.
96. Laughing Kookaburra - The ultimate aussie bird did not disappoint, big, brash and loud! Seen at all sites.
97. Blue-winged Kookaburra - Had to wait to nearly the end of the trip before catching up with this species at Mareeba. Missed one at Daintree several times.
98. Rainbow Bee-eater- Sightings throughout in Samford, Mission Beach and Daintree.
99. Forest Kingfisher - Plentiful around Mission Beach and Daintree Village.
100. Sacred Kingfisher - Also seen around Mission Beach in much the same habitat as above.
101. White-throated Treecreeper - One seen Mount Glorious, Samford and Rose Gums, Tablelands.
102. Red-backed Fairy-wren - A family group seen on access road to Mareeba. Several long tailed feather-balls flew across roads whilst driving throughout and remain unidentified.

103. Spotted Pardalote - Seen from O'reilley's Road on House Mountain early morning.

104. Striated Pardalote - the race melanocephalus was noted at the location above and from the trails at Mareeba Wetlands.
105. Large-billed Scrubwren - Seen from the Licuala Walking Track, South Mission Beach.
106. White-browed Scrubwren - Noted at O'Reilley's, Lamington NP.
107 Yellow-throated Scrubwren - Also seen at the above site.
108 Fairy Gerygone - Seen at Licuala Lodge and the walking track. I eventually found out that Gerygone is pronounced "Jer- ridg -o-nee"!
109 Brown Gerygone- Seen in the rainforest at Rose Gums near Yungaburra.
110. Large-billed Gerygone - Chris Dahlburg put us on to these on the Daintree Boat trip.
111. Helmeted Friarbird- Seen at close quarters in the gardens of Red Mill House, Daintree.
112. Noisy Friarbird - Seen in the more open, arid habitat at Granite Gorge.
113. Blue-faced Honeyeater - Seen at Samford Golfcourse and at the entrance gate at Mareeba.
114. Macleay's Honeyeater - Noted at Licuala Lodge, Daintree, Rose Gums and suburban Cairns.
115. Bell Miner - The only bird heard but not seen, in the Samford Valley.
116. Noisy Miner - A common suburban resident around Brisbane area.
117. Lewin's Honeyeater - Seen, and heard in Samford, Mission Beach and Daintree.
118. Yellow-spotted Honeyeater - Seen at Red Mill House Daintree.
119. Graceful Honeyeater - Noted high in canopy around Licuala Lodge.
120. Bridled Honeyeater- Seen from the beach at Cape Tribulation
121. Yellow-faced Honeyeater- Noted from O'Reilley's Road, House Mountain
123. Varied Honeyeater- Seen whilst being bitten to beggery looking for Mangrove Robin around the mangrove swamps north of Cairn's
124.White-throated Honeyeater - Again seen from O'Reilly's Road, Samford area.

125. Eastern Spinebill - This distinctive honeyeater was noted at Lamington NP and Rose Gums
126. Dusky Honeyeater - Generally widespread in FNQ.
127. Logrunner - Another highlight bird, seen at O'Rielly's, Lamington and found by my wife and son!
128. Chowchilla - A dailly raucous dawn chorus at Rose Gums was accompanied by fleeting glimpses of this cousin of the previous species.
129. Eastern Whipbird - Heard regularly in FNQ rainforest, but like the previous species a swine to see!
130. Grey-crowned Babbler - A family party seen in the Outback at Mareeba.
131. Red-capped Robin - One up at House Mountain, Samford.
132. Eastern-Yellow Robin - Seen in most rain forest areas.
133. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher - Noted at Mareeba Wetlands, possibly overlooked prior to then.
134. Grey-headed Robin - One seen at Milla-milla falls on the Atherton Tablelands.
135. Pale-yellow Robin - The only one seen was at Jindalba Board Walk, on the way to Cape Tribulation.
136. Little Shrike-Thrush - Seen in the rainforests around Licuala, Mission Beach.
137. Bowers Shrike-Thrush - Seen around the grounds of Rose Gums on the Tablelands.
138. Grey-Shrike-Thrush - bird of the race harmonica seen from Mt O'Rielley Road, Samford.
139. Golden Whistler - Seen and heard same day same place as above.

140. Grey Fantail - Noted from most sites, first seen from House Mountain.

141. Rufous Fantail - First noted at Licuala Lodge, then seen in most areas of FNQ rainforest
142. Willie Wagtail - Common as muck! everywhere.
143. Leaden Flycatcher- One seen in the gardens of Red Mill House
144. Shinning Flycatcher -Several, both male and female, along The Daintree River. Also a probable male on the beach at Mission Beach.
145. Restless Flycatcher - Seen at Australia Zoo, Beerwah.
146. Yellow-breasted Boatbill - A delightful bonus at Rose Gums, great little bird!
147. Spectacled Monach - Seen in Licuala Forests and at Rose Gums.
148. Pied Monach- A bird seen along walking trails at Rose Gums.
149. Magpie Lark-Widespread in suburban areas, very un-lark like!
150. Spangled Drongo - Seen in the grounds of Red Mill House, Daintree.
151. Yellow Oriole - Bird feeding on Andrew's beloved fruit trees at Red Mill House.
152. Olive-backed Oriole -A bird seen at House Mountain, Samford
153. Australian Figbird - Adults and juveniles seen along the Daintree River.
154. Victoria's Riflebird - The only bird of paradise seen on the trip, noted at Licuala and Rose Gums.
155. Tooth-billed Bowerbird - Good veiws gained at Rose Gums.
156. Spotted Catbird - Seen at Licuala and Red Mill House, the bizarre 'crying baby' call an erie sound from the rainforest!
157. Golden Bowerbird - A female on the morning of June 2nd at Rose Gums was most unexpected and a new bird for the site.
158. Satin Bowerbird- A confiding female at Red Mill House, Daintree and a male with a female seen at Rose Gums.
159. Black-faced Cuckoo - Shrike - Several birds seen at Lake Samsonvale
160. White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike - Seen at Granite Gorge justwest of Mareeba
161. Barred Cuckoo-Shrike - Only birds noted seen in flight over Rose Gums
162. Varied Triller - Seen in the grounds of Licuala Lodge.
163. Masked Wood-Swallow - Single bird seen over the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.
164. White-breasted Wood-Swallow - A flock in Mission Beach favoured the powerlines behind the Main Street.

165. Black Butcherbird - A juvenile was rather confiding at Licuala Lodge.
166 Grey Butcherbird -Noted early on first day at the Valley B&B
167. Pied Butcherbird - Seen around Samford village, especially the golfcourse.
168. Australian Magpie - Widespread and noisy, daily early morning alarm call at Samford!
169. Pied Currawong - First noted up at House Mountain, Samford.
170. Torresian Crow - Seen in Samford
171. Welcome Swallow - Seen around Samford daily.
172. Tree Martin- Seen over the Daintree River.
173. Fairy Martin - Seen in a mixed flock of Hirundines at Lake Samsonvale.
174. Australian Pipit - Noted on some cleared ground behind the Licuala Lodge.
175. Golden-headed Cisticola - Seen in the extensive grasslands at Lake Samsonvale
176. Tawny Grassbird - Seen in the rough grassland at Rose Gums
177. House Sparrow - First seen at cyclone struck Innisfail
178. Double-barred Finch - Seen around the entrance to Mareeba whilst waiting for it to open!
179. Black-throated Finch - Target bird secured in the outback around the Mareeba Wetlands.

180. Red-browed Finch - Single bird landed briefly before moving off at Rose Gums.

181. Chestnut-breasted Manakin - Seen along the access road to Rose Gums.
182. Olive-backed Sunbird - Noted at Mission Beach and in Cairns.
183. Mistletoebird- Seen at Licuala Lodge and the walking track.
184. Silvereye - Several small parties noted around Samford on several dates.

185. Metallic Starling - Seen in the evening roosting in trees in Cairns, directly behind the night market.

Accommodation

2007-10-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Brisbane - Valley House B&B. Run by expats Steve and Sylvia in the village of Samford west of the Bribane suburbs, great hospitality and an English Breakfast!

http://www.thevalleyhouse.com.au/

Mission Beach - Licuala Lodge. Another expat couple, Sue and Mick from Nottingham, run this Queenslander style accommodation located in the Rain forest not far from the beach. A must for Cassowary hunters! Breakfasts are set as a challenge, as in can you eat all of it!

http://www.licualalodge.com.au/

Daintree - Red Mill House. Set in the heart of the village of Daintree (Daintree is a big area, with some Daintree accommodation a fair distance from here) Andrew and Trish are keen birders and are bang up to date with local birding knowledge. Tropical fruits from the garden at breakfast were as fresh as you could get!

http://www.redmillhouse.com.au/

Atherton Tablelands - Rose Gums Wilderness Retreat . Stunning 'tree house' accommodation units set within their own area of private rainforest this is a must stay if doing the Tablelands. A reputable site for Blue-faced Parrot-Finch in the breeding season.

http://www.rosegums.com.au/