19th October 2014 Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge

Weather Report

One day we had 6.5mm in a short shower, this was the total rain fall for the last two weeks. With the humidity dipping down to 34% and lots of sunshine and temperatures reaching 32ºc which is unheard of for this time of year, the rain did little to settle the dust.

Last Two Weeks Bird Sightings:-

These can be found on the Eremaea eBird site. 5th- 11th October and 12th- 18th October The first week had 104 species recorded and the second week 110.

Morning and Evening Guided Walks:-

Morning bird walks produced between 54 and 66 species which was very good for 2½hrs. Highlights were two male Superb Fruit-Dove in a tree beside Bushy Creek, male Common Koel, male and female Double-eyed Fig-Parrot feeding in Cluster Fig and nesting nearby.

Double-eyed Fig-Parrot - female at nest

A Noisy Pitta was seen most mornings and two Great Bowerbird were attending a very well constructed bower. 

 

Great Bowerbird Bower

White-throated Honeyeater were building a nest and mating plus a Lemon-bellied Flycatcher was sitting on its tiny nest, the smallest of any bird in Australia. This one is about 10m off the ground.

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher - on nest

(The full morning walk species lists can be found on the Eremaea eBird site. Click on Explore Data then Hotspots and type in Kingfisher Park – you will then see the Lodge in the drop down menu. Click this on and a map will appear with two markers, click these and you can have access to all our records. It sounds long winded, but it is really easy. Alternatively you can click this link which will take you directly to Hotspots http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspots).

One highlight on a night walk was the eclipse of the moon, we watched it as we went spotlighting and ended up in Geraghty Park to have great views of the event as we listened to two Australian Owlet-nightjar calling to each other. 

Eclipse Of The Moon

Other good sightings were a very brief glimpse of a Lesser Sooty Owl as it flew over and away from us, Giant White Tree Rat, Green Ringtail Possum, Water Rat and three Northern Leaf-tailed Gecko on one night.

Other Birding Highlights:-

One Female Black-necked Stork in a lagoon behind Geraghty Park as well as two Latham's Snipe along the edge, both species not seen for many months. One Australian Pelican flew over the Lodge on the 17^th October, probably heading for one of the lagoons along McDougall Road. A Grey Goshawk was seen to fly into a tree, adjacent to the Lodge orchard, carrying an Eastern Water Dragon and luckily the camera was at hand to whiz off a couple of shots before it moved off clutching its meal.

Grey Goshawk with Eastern Water Dragon

Pacific Baza have been around but not regularly and a pair of Brown Goshawk were circling over the Lodge one morning. Red-necked Crake was seen briefly late one afternoon as it was getting dark at the Crake Pool, it was also heard on several occasions. Pigeons and doves have been around to take advantage of fruiting trees and vines; those seen were Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Superb Fruit-Dove, Torresian Imperial Pigeon and Topknot Pigeon plus the regular Emerald Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove and Peaceful Dove. Lesser Sooty Owl was seen about 4.00am perched in a tree near our bunkhouse and heard on numerous other occasions. Barking Owl have been vocal with one roosting high up in a eucalypt tree near the bunkhouse one afternoon. A pair of Papuan Frogmouth have made a nest in a fern on a tree branch at a nearby private property, they laid on the 10^th October and usually take about 40 days to incubate.

Papuan Frogmouth - female on nest

Dollarbird returned on 16^th October along with Brush Cuckoo. Also on this day the Cicadabird started calling. Lovely Fairy-Wren were seen by our neighbours Carol and Andrew Iles (our local bird guides) in their garden, they also saw a Red-necked Crake run under their veranda. Spotted Catbird have been coming to the feeder to gather fruit and head off with it so they maybe feeding young. 13 species of honeyeater were seen and Black-chinned heard. The Eastern Whipbird mentioned in the last blog is still hanging around the area calling whilst it visits all the adjoining rainforest habitats as well as the Lodge grounds. Barred Cuckoo-shrike have been visiting the fruiting trees in and around the Lodge, mainly Blue Quandong. Groups of Spangled Drongo have been passing through the area on their southern migration with up to 50+ seen at a time. Black-faced Monarch are around in increasing numbers and calling and a single female Leaden Flycatcher was heard and seen, the first for seven weeks. A few Pale-Yellow Robin have been seen feeding fledged young whilst others are still sitting on nests. A Bassian Thrush was still around the grounds in the first week but was not sighted in the second.

Further Afield:-

Mt. Lewis is still producing all the 12 “Wet Tropic” endemics but not all at once! One Blue-faced Parrot-Finch was seen near Abattoir Swamp but no reports of them up on Mt. Lewis yet. Maryfarms between Mt. Molloy and Mt. Carbine has displaying Australian Bustard, still at least eight Australian Pratincole and Carol Iles saw an injured Oriental Plover with the pratincole. Photo courtesy of Carol Iles.

Oriental Plover- broken wing

Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo were seen around the Mowbray National Park in Julatten on several occasions. Abattoir Swamp has been good for honeyeaters and White-browed Crake. Up to 12 Spotted Whistling-Duck have been reported at Keatings Lagoon near Cooktown, 2 hours north from the Lodge.

Reptiles and Mammals:-

The Water Rat seen in Bushy Creek whilst on a night walk was the most exciting mammal over the two weeks followed by the elusive Green Ringtail Possum seen once. Three Giant White-tail Rat were seen one night; they have not been seen much lately so must have woken up. Platypus have been very cooperative appearing in the morning and late afternoon with up to two. Boyd's Forest Dragon and Major Skink have also been appearing with the warmer weather. Several snakes have also woken up with sightings of Australian Scrub Python, Slaty Grey and Green Tree Snake – one in our downstairs toilet was a surprise. Just having a look around in the first photo before it retreated back inside. It eventually left by the window with a bit of encouragement and headed for the rainforest.

Green Tree Snake

Green Tree Snake

 

Thanks to Carol and Andrew Iles our roving bird guides for helping with the bird lists and area sightings. If you need any guiding in our local area contact us and we can put you in touch with them, contact through our secure bookings and enquiries web page. 

 

30th June 2013 Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge

Two weeks without any rain with some cloudy days, but mostly great weather with cool nights and warm sunny days – ideal! Temperatures ranged from 13ºC to 27ºC.

Past Two Weeks Bird Sightings:-

Bird sightings for the first week were 102, 98 seen and 4 heard, second week sightings were 103 seen and 2  heard. The last two weeks bird lists can be found on the Eremaea Birds Website:- 16th June - 22nd June and 23rd June - 29th June

Birding Highlights:-

Australian Owlet-nightjar was heard and then seen at the entrance to a roost hollow on the edge of Geraghty Park whilst on a guided morning walk and presumably the same bird was spotlighted the same evening in the vicinity of the day roost. White-faced and White-necked Heron returned to the lagoons along McDougall Road and up to three Eurasian Coot are still present here as well. Raptors have been good with sightings of Black-shouldered Kite, Pacific Baza, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Whistling, Brahminy and Black Kite, Grey Goshawk, Spotted and Swamp Harrier, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Nankeen Kestrel, Brown Falcon and Australian Hobby. This image shows the distinctive "W" pattern on the wings and rounded tail of the Whistling Kite.

Whistling Kite

A Red-necked Crake was seen walking along path to Bushy Creek from the orchard at 5.45 one afternoon but no other sightings. At least 20 Double-eyed Fig-Parrot have been feasting on a fruiting fig tree at the end of Mt. Kooyong Road along with many honeyeaters, Barred Cuckoo-Shrike, Australian Figbird and Silvereye. Barking Owl have been calling and seen several times, mainly at the entrance to the Lodge and often on our Lodge sign, but not when we had the camera with us! Eastern Barn Owl have been seen in their nest hollow and are possibly starting to nest as it is the right time of year. Little Kingfisher has been fishing in the Crake Pool on several occasions late in the afternoon. Spotted Catbird has started to come to the feeder by reception and a Great Bowerbird was foraging on fruits in Geraghty Park. Lovely Fairy-wren have been seen along McDougall and Mt. Kooyong Roads. Large-billed Scrubwren do not appear to have returned to the nest reported in the last blog, but they maybe sitting. Plenty of honeyeaters around including three Black-chinned (Golden-backed form) foraging and calling in a Queensland Blue Gum at the entrance to the Lodge grounds. A pair of Macleay's Honeyeater were found on the ground locked together having a fight for over 20 minutes, they ended up exhausting each other and lay prone on the ground recovering, still locked together. One was playing dead in the first image but soon came alive when disturbed and flew off looking none the worse for the ordeal!

Macleay's Honeyeater

Macleay's Honeyeater

Both Yellow and Olive-backed Oriole have been calling and seen in the area. A Northern Fantail was foraging around the Bushy Creek bridge one morning whilst on a guided morning walk. Pied Monarch have been seen around the grounds and at Bushy Creek late afternoon bathing. Yellow-breasted Boatbill have been calling and see around the Lodge grounds along with a female Victoria's Riflebird who came into the reception area feeder one morning. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher were taking advantage of freshly mown grass in Geraghty Park with six of them pouncing onto the ground to pick up exposed insects. 

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher

Tawny Grassbird have been heard in the adjacent cane paddocks but are likely to get moved on soon as the cane is being harvested.

Further Afield:-

A trip to Cairns afforded us the opportunity to call into the Cattana Wetlands to look for the reported Cotton Pygmy-goose which we did not see.

Cattana Wetland

There were plenty of other birds found here in a great little wetland area, the full list can be found here: http://www.eremaea.com/Lists.aspx?List=183541

 

Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo seen near Bushy Creek at the bottom of the Mt. Lewis Road, Blue-faced Parrot-Finch was heard at the same location. Fan-tailed Cuckoo were along Sides Road, Julatten, a Pacific Baza showed at the Mt. Lewis clearing 10km up from Bushy Creek and a Red-backed Kingfisher was at Maryfarms, south of Mt. Carbine. Flocks of several hundred Budgerigar were along the Kondaparinga Road north of Mt. Carbine. The budgies were resting in the heat of the day in the shade.

Budgerigar

Also here were at least eight Black-throated Finch. These ones were preening after having a bathe in the dam.

Black-throated Finch

In the same trees were Diamond Dove and many Brown Treecreeper. The Brown Treecreeper occurring here is in a broad intergrade zone between the Cape York sub-species melanotus and the nominotypical picumnus, which occurs in much of Queensland (except South-East), inland New South Wales and Victoria west of the Great Divide. This intergrade zone extends across the Burdekin-Lynd divide from about Cooktown and Croydon further north - west and about Hughenden and Townsville further south.

Brown Treecreeper

Also in the dam were these water lillies.

Water Lillies

Four Australian Shoveller were reported at Hasties Swamp by several observers. A Diamond Dove was seen in Mt. Molloy, another unusual sighting. A Radjah Shelduck was standing beside the Mulligan Highway (Peninsula Road) opposite Lake Mitchell between Mareeba and Mt. Molloy on the afternoon of the 29^th, which was not the place we expect to see one. Also on the 29^th at Port Douglas on a cut cane paddock there was a Peregrine Falcon and an Australian Hobby standing on the ground 5m apart before they took off and went their separate ways. It was a good opportunity to view these two species and compare the obvious differences, don't think we'll see that again! Researchers on Mt. Lewis came across a Southern Boobook owl race lurida which is not often seen. Thanks to Eridani Mulder who kindly let us use her image of the S. Boobook.

Southern Boobook -  Race lurida

Reptiles and Mammals:-

Quite a few sightings of Platypus, especially in the second week. One sighting at about 7.45am had the Platypus swimming to the bank of Bushy Creek and climbing up onto a log where it started to preen and scratch itself. A Tree Mouse Pygonomys sp. was another good sighting as this elusive mammal is not often seen, it was only first recorded in Australia in 1974. Striped Possum have been seen infrequently and both Long-nosed and Northern Brown Bandicoot have been in short supply with only one or two of each species seen. A Water Rat was seen whilst on a night walk poking its head out of the rock wall at the Platypus viewing area along Bushy Creek. Frog sightings were well down with only one sighting of a Jungguy Frog, White-lipped Tree Frog, Desert Tree Frog and a couple of Cane Toad.

1st February Report

This week had 66 bird species seen and a further 7 heard plus 13 reptiles and Mammals in and around the lodge grounds. Rainfall for the month of January was 626.5mm (24.66 inches) and for the week 36.5mm.

Highlights for the week included 2 adult Pacific Baza with 2 juvenile birds which meant last weeks report was wrong, where we stated that only one juvenile survived. The adults were kept busy catching insects including large Cicadas and a very large green caterpillar which the adult half ate before giving it to one of the juveniles.

Pacific Baza

Two adult Double-eyed Fig-Parrots were seen foraging with 2 juveniles in tow and the Masked Owls were showing well. Two owls came out of their roost hollow they have been using for the last 6+ months and flew off, we then saw two Masked Owls in last years nest tree but could not be sure they were not the two we saw before. Another night had one owl in the roost tree and another in the nest tree and at least another two calling in the distance. An Australian Owlet-nightjar was sitting in his roost hollow one evening before he flew off. A newly fledged Buff-breasted Paradise–Kingfisher was reported by our neighbour Ron Stannard in his garden, this is the first record this season. Our six nests still had birds in at the end of the week. An immature male Victoria’s Riflebird was foraging around Bushy Creek at the back of our orchard and could very well be the female reported several weeks ago. We had good looks at this bird whereas the previous sighting was a quick glimpse.

An interesting Preying Mantis appeared on the edge of the rainforest

Preying Mantis

and the continuing wet weather has kept the fungi emerging.

Fungi

Further afield a day trip into Cairns allowed us to check out the Cairns Esplanade and find the Laughing Gull which has re-located from Palm Cove and was still present at the end of the week, it was with a group of Silver Gulls. Also present were plenty of Grey-tailed Tattler, Lesser and Greater Sandplover, Curlew Sandpiper, Great Knot, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, a Grey phase Reef Egret, Striated Heron, Little Egret, Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Crested Tern and a pair of Pied Oystercatcher. A bonus on the way home was a white phase Grey Goshawk swooping down over the highway near Yule Point (south of Port Douglas). It landed beside the road and gave us good looks as we drove past, not a common sight in these parts of Far North Queensland.