Sunday 1 February 2015

1st February 2015 Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge

THE LAST BLOG

Yes it is the last blog from Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, number 264, before we hand over the Lodge after 9½ years. The new owners from the 4th February are Carol and Andrew Iles who have bought the business and property. They have had a long association with the Lodge working as bird guides in 1999-2003 and again for the last four years working with us and running their own guiding business as well as helping out around the Lodge. It is good to know that the Lodge is going into their capable hands to continue on for future guests to enjoy. They will probably be posting interesting sightings on Facebook so keep an eye out for that. Please note that the Lodge is closed in February and the camp ground and bunkhouse will also be closed in March.

Weather Report
The weather has been extremely unpredictable over the last few weeks, it has been very hot, showery with thunderstorms and plenty of sunny days. This is more like the weather we would expect in November as the “Wet Season” approaches. It has been up to 34ºC and down to the low-mid 20ºC with humidity going from 35 to 100%. We have managed to miss most of the storms but we have had a couple of good downpours of 67mm and 71mm with a total of 223.5mm for the last three weeks.

Last Three Weeks Bird Sightings:-
These can be found on the Eremaea eBird site.11th- 17th January ,18th- 24th January and 25th- 31st January The first week had species recorded and the second week .

Birding Highlights:-
The last three weeks have been hectic with the transfer of the Lodge to the new owners so birding has taken a back seat. However we did host the BirdLife North Queensland's annual Australia Day weekend which saw three days of intensive birding in and around the Lodge. At least one Australian Brush-Turkey was trying to scrape up a nesting mound outside the accommodation units. This one was getting away from the wetter ground perching on a vine in the rainforest .


Australian Brush-Turkey


Waterbirds have been scattered with the onset of the wetter weather with only a few species seen including a few Wandering Whistling-Duck, Pacific Black-Duck, Grey Teal and Hardhead. One week saw a few Little Black and Pied Cormorant visit along with a single Australasian Darter. Others to appear briefly were Intermediate and Great Egret, a White-faced Heron, a Glossy Ibis and several Australian White Ibis. Raptors were also light with only Black and Whistling Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle and a single sighting of a Pacific Baza. Once again the pair of Red-necked Crake have been putting on a show for most of our guests both in the evening and morning at the Crake Pool. Pale-vented Bush-hen have also been showing around the roadsides and cane paddocks but patience is required to see them. Superb Fruit-Dove have been calling with good numbers around the Lodge and a pair of Torresian Imperial Pigeon were found nesting. Lesser Sooty Owl has been coming around once or twice a week and was seen one night flying around the Lodge hawking for insects. We have been hearing our one Papuan Frogmouth calling during the night and occasionally seeing it roosting in our orchard. Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher have been going in and out of their nests so we presume they are sitting on eggs. One pair near our cookshed have been performing well for our guests who have been able to relax in a chair and watch at a distance. Could not help but put another photo of these special birds into our last blog! 

 
Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher


Other good birds around include Noisy Pitta, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Pied Monarch and nesting Olive-backed Sunbird.


Yellow-breasted Boatbill - male

Further Afield:-
Mt. Lewis is still accessible, but there is always the chance of a tree coming down on the road at this time of year. Blue-faced Parrot-Finch are being seen, but they are still in low numbers and elusive, most of the “Wet Tropic” endemics have been seen over the last few weeks. One surprise over the Australia day weekend was a Rose-crowned Fruit Dove calling not far from Abattoir Swamp, this is usually a bird of the coastal areas and offshore islands with very few sightings in our region. There has been large flocks of Pacific Swift (Fork-tailed) in the Julatten - Mt Molloy area, these have been reported on Eremaea e-Bird.

Reptiles and Mammals:-
28 mammals and reptiles were reported for the last three weeks including Green Ringtail Possum, Platypus, Boyd's Forest Dragon, Lace Monitor and Carpet Python. Frogs were vocal when the rain was coming down with nine species recorded.

 
Northern Sedge Frog



Dainty Green Tree Frog


 Had to put in an image of our favourite frog at the Lodge!

White-lipped Tree Frog


Insects:-
The rain also triggered the termites to swarm out of some nests, the flying ones descended on us in their thousands dropping wings everywhere. These ones were not coming out of one of the mounds but a log on the ground.
 

 
Termite sp.



Termite sp.


Fungi:-
The wetter conditions certainly encouraged the fungi to pop up everywhere, here is a selection of some of them.

Unidentified fungus - complete with Wolf Spider


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus

Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus


Unidentified fungus

Finally we would like to thank all those people who have supported us during our time at the Lodge and those who followed our blog. We have had over a thousand guests staying each year for the last ten years with many regulars and have met some wonderful people. Thank you to Carol and Andrew for helping with the weekly sightings and also for taking on the Lodge to continue to offer a great wildlife experience for guests. We are retiring to our home in Julatten and look forward to some travel over the next few years.
Keith & Lindsay.

We have had many emails from guests over the years, but this one from a Japanese gentleman remains our favourite.

Thank you very much for your full attention shown to me. Three days flew like an arrow as every moment I experienced there was woderful. Thanks to your help, I am very happy to have taken nice photos, specially kingfisher. These photos goes with nightcap before falling into sleep, taking the place of bankbook of no more balance. Thanks again for your kindness.

 
The End.

10 comments:

john said...

I certainly will miss the armchair adventures that I had from reading your blog posts. I also hope that you do more posts from wherever you are going.

Keith and Lindsay Fisher said...

Thanks John, glad you enjoyed the blog. It has been fun doing it. We will take a break before deciding on next move.

B. Mallett said...

We have only stayed with you twice, Keith and Lindsay, but were made extremely welcome on both occasions... The accomodation was clean and comfortable and the wildlife was magnificent... I know that our friends Carol and Andrew will continue to give an equally excellent service... We wish you both well and hope that our paths might cross again in the future... Cheers, Barry and Flo Mallett

Gary Davidson said...

I too will miss the blogs, Keith. They remind me of my time in Australia and particularly FNQ. All the best to you in retirement!
Gary Davidson
Nakusp, BC
Canada

Madeline said...

Here in the US, my friends and I sing this when we are leaving each other:

"Happy trails to you,
until we meet again."

Best wishes for a wonderful retirement!

Madeline

Tim Dolby said...

Big thanks Keith and Lindsay for your wonderful hospitality! You've been simply tremendous hosts of Australia's best birding lodge - I remember how exited you were when you first took it over! You must be looking forward to relaxing in the new pad! I'll be sure to drop around when I'm next in the area. Also, you'll have to start another natural history blog at the new address!! I look forward to reading it!

Thanks again,

Tim Dolby

Keith and Lindsay Fisher said...

Hi Barry and Flo,
Thanks for your kind comments, no doubt see you both sometime into the future.

Keith and Lindsay Fisher said...

Hi Gary,
Thanks for the comments, maybe get to your part of the world one day.
cheers, Keith & lindsay.

Keith and Lindsay Fisher said...

Hi Madeline,
You know where we live, we expect you to visit!
K & L

Keith and Lindsay Fisher said...

Hi Tim,
Yes at last we can retire, we have had a great time with all our guests and will miss the interaction. Do call by next time you are up this way, Carol and Andrew will give you details.
Cheers,
K & L