25th August 2013 Report Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge

25^th August 2013 Report.

Another two weeks of great weather, dry and cool overnight 13ºC with mild daytime temperatures up to 23ºC. Ideal birding conditions.

Past Two Weeks Bird Sightings:-

Bird sightings for the first week were 103, 102 seen and 1 heard, second week sightings were 110, 103 seen and 7 heard. The last two weeks bird lists can be found on the Eremaea Birds Website:- 11th August - 17th August and 18th August - 24th August.

Morning walks were good with between 52 and 56 species seen and heard.

Birding Highlights:-

The strangest sighting was of five Australian Pelican standing in a cut cane paddock looking lost. Not sure what they were thinking, probably wondering where the water has gone!

Australian Pelican

Topknot Pigeon have started to show in increasing numbers with two landing in a Blue Quandong Eleocarpus grandis tree in the orchard one morning, others have been flying over. 

Topknot Pigeon

Bar-shouldered Dove numbers continue to increase, this one was on a fence post around a nearby cane paddock.

Bar-shouldered Dove

Large-tailed Nightjar have been heard calling around the Lodge over the last week and other reports have them further afield in the district. A White-necked Heron was along McDougall Road, this is a species we don't see very often in our 1.5km recording area. Six Straw-necked Ibis turned up foraging in a cut cane paddock late one afternoon and was just about the most we have seen together all year. Pacific Baza came for a day calling and flying over the Lodge and Geraghty Park before they disappeared. Whistling Kite have been hanging around the cut cane paddocks,

Whistling Kite

Red-necked Crake appeared behind the cookshed late one afternoon at the water bowl and again crossing the path to Bushy Creek from the orchard on another occasion when it was almost dark. One even called out late on another afternoon after being quiet for several months. Double-eyed Fig-Parrot have been flying over the Lodge but on a guided morning walk a male and female were seen high up in a Blue Quandong tree and seen again in the same tree next day. A Brush Cuckoo was seen sitting on a fence post along McDougall road by Carol our guide whilst out with two guests, this must be the first one for the season as we have not had any other reports. Barking Owl were seen on a nightwalk inspecting or actually using a hollow in a Queensland Blue Gum to nest in. A Barking Owl was seen on another nightwalk a week later in a different tree just perched high up not doing anything so we are not sure what they are up to. Rainbow-bee-eater are still around but their numbers seem to be decreasing.

Rainbow Bee-eater

14 Honeyeater species including Bridled and Black-chinned were seen over the past two weeks, only one Noisy Friarbird was heard and no Helmeted Friarbird who may have gone back down to the coast. This Varied Triller looks like a young adult male race Yorki .

Varied Triller

The male Golden Whistler  previously mentioned is still with us and has now been around for a few months, must be close to heading back up to the mountains for the summer. Rufous Whistler have been calling in the drier woodland area of Geraghty Park where this male was calling.

Rufous Whistler

A single Bower's Shrike-thrush has been around the Lodge ground but not for the last 10 days. This average image shows the black bill and grey upperparts, richer rufous underparts with streaked breast.

 

Bower's Shrike-thrush

This female Australasian Figbird was taking advantage of old Metallic Starling nests to steal nesting material for herself.

Australasian Figbird - female

An Olive-backed Oriole was feeding in a small bush in Geraghty Park, whilst we were on a guided walk, giving great views of this bird low down rather than straining to see it high in the trees where they usually hang out. At least one Spangled Drongo is still around; its been coming into our feeder to get sugar water and chasing all the other honeyeaters away. Rufous, Grey and Northern Fantail have all been seen along with an increasing number of Willie Wagtail. There were three female Victoria's Riflebird foraging in a Striped Cucumber Vine Diplocyclos palmatus in the orchard on one occasion and one also seen foraging on these small black fruit of a Celerywood tree. Note long bill of female, immature males have a shorter bill.

 

Victoria's Riflebird

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher have been showing well in Geraghty Park, often sitting on the handrail around the oval. Two Bassian Thrush turned up in the orchard and adjacent rainforest for a couple of days and then disappeared. They come down from the mountains behind the Lodge in the cooler winter months usually earlier in the year; this year we have only had a juvenile Bassian Thrush come for one day, previous years we often have up to five stay for a few months. The pair of Olive-backed Sunbird who regularly nest around the buildings in Geraghty Park were back refurbishing last years nest (well the female was) but unfortunately it fell off the piece of wire it was attached to. We put it back up but so far the birds have not been back. Our neighbours have been hearing Blue-faced Parrot-Finch, occasionally seeing one or two in their backyard and telling us they were heading our way but so far no sightings in the Lodge grounds.

Further Afield:-

Best sighting in the area was by Del Richards from Fine Feather Tours who had a Grey Falcon being harassed by a group of Black Kite at Cooktown Crossing on the Mitchell River off the Hurricane Station Road north of Mt. Carbine. There has been previously very rare sightings of Grey Falcon in our region. Mt. Lewis has still been generally quiet but with a lot of patience and time most species can be found. Our guide Carol had a great day recently with two of our guests seeing three adult male Golden Bowerbird and two female/juvenile birds which is the most seen for many years. One fruiting Celerywood tree on the mountain was attracting up to 13 Tooth-billed Bowerbird along with Victoria's Riflebird and many other birds. Hasties Swamp on the Atherton Tableland now has four Freckled Duck and two pairs of Australasian Shoveler. Two Black Falcon were reported on Eremaea Birds website at Kairi on the Atherton Tablelands. Our neighbours reported a Southern Cassowary with three half grown juveniles at Mt. Hypipamee (The Crater) in the car park at 8.00am. It would appear that they are becoming more common here and used to people as they approach looking for food. There must be irresponsible people feeding them (we heard some tour guides were feeding them), which will lead to them becoming aggressive and then there will be calls to remove them, denying others the opportunity to see these magnificent birds, (off the soap box now!). Doug Herrington reported three Australian Pratincole at Mt. Carbine and two Cotton Pygmy-goose at Lake Mitchell.

Reptiles and Mammals:

25 species of reptile and mammals were seen over the two weeks. A Yellow-footed Antichinus was seen carrying nesting material up a tree near the Crake Pool in the orchard one afternoon and at least three Red-legged Pademelon (small rainforest kangaroo) were also in the orchard. Agile Wallaby have been feeding in the cut cane paddocks with up to five seen at any one time and a large male was seen in our orchard. A Green Ringtail Possum was spotted whilst on a nightwalk curled up on a branch of a Blue Quondong tree. Platypus have been seen in Bushy Creek early morning, late afternoon and a couple of times on night walks. Also seen on a nightwalk in Bushy Creek was a Water Rat, not often seen. Frogs have been quiet due to the dry weather but a small sprinkle of rain late in the second week bought out a few Stony Creek Frog Litoria jungguy with the larger females in the orchard and a couple of smaller, yellower males on the rock wall beside Bushy Creek calling – not quite the wet season but these frogs must have been celebrating the end of a few dry weeks! 

 

Stony Creek Frog

A Boyd's Forest Dragon appeared near our restaurant deck on the side of a tree and stayed motionless with its eyes open for four days before disappearing. It later returned when the nights started to warm up at the end of the second week.

 Other Wildlife:
 This moth, called a Tiger Moth , appeared on the wall of the Laundry.

 

Tiger Moth Amata trigonophora

 

7th November 2010 Report

The big news this week was that we were presented with a Wet Tropics Management Authority Cassowary Award for Nature Based Tourism! Hence the late appearance of the blog as we had a day off to receive the award which was presented at Wildlife Habitat at Port Douglas. The awards recognise individuals and groups who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and presentation of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

The only Cassowary you are likely to see at the Lodge!

The weather was not quite as good as last week as we had 4mm of rain, but most of the week was dry and sunny with similar temperatures to last week 19.2ºC – 29.2ºC. Bird sightings were good with 78 seen and 4 heard, mammals and reptiles were 18 seen.

A full species list for the week can be found Here

Highlight for the week was a Noisy Pitta feeding a juvenile bird which is very early in the season to have young. Last season they were still feeding young in the nest in January and fledglings in February, so fledglings in November is very early. The pittas are searching for food in the orchard and showing well with everyone getting good views. Spectacled Monarch were feeding fledglings in February and now there have been some seen being fed last week which is very early, so maybe they will nest a second time. Pacific Baza have started feeding their young in the nest and also bringing in new nest material to spruce up their untidy nest. 

 Pacific Baza with nest material

The baza's are having to run the gauntlet of up to six White-breasted Woodswallow which are harassing them and keeping them away from the nest for long periods.

A flock of Magpie Goose were heard flying over one night honking away. Brown Cuckoo-Dove are feeding in Tobacco Bush with at least five birds present one morning. Papuan Frogmouth have only been at their usual roost twice this week with both the male and female birds sitting within 2m of each other. They are still calling most nights and no sign of any nesting activity has been seen. Cattle Egret numbers have increased with at least 300 gathering in a paddock opposite KFP one evening, most in breeding plumage. White-bellied Sea-Eagle have been active, soaring overhead and calling a lot. Red-necked Crake was briefly seen hurrying through the rainforest near the track to Bushy Creek from the orchard late one afternoon and has also been heard calling every night. 


Scaly-breasted Lorikeet numbers have been building up as more trees are starting to flower and Double-eyed Fig-Parrot were seen at least once. An Eastern Koel, female, was showing well one morning perched high up in a tree behind the accommodation units, but no sign of the males despite hearing them calling. Channel-billed Cuckoo have started to call more frequently after keeping quiet for a few weeks, maybe they have laid their eggs. Azure Kingfisher has been zipping up and down Bushy Creek most days and perching well for good looks. Dollarbird has been calling and displaying in Geraghty Park with at least six individuals soaring around. Also in the park were three adult male Rufous Whistler displaying to one female. The males were chasing each other around, perching then head bobbing and arching with their tails cocked up. Needless to say the female was taking no obvious notice. 

Rufous Whistler - female

Spotted Catbird was seen feeding a very recently fledged bird who was having trouble maintaining balance on a branch. Lewin's Honeyeaters are still hanging around and a few Bridled Honeyeaters have been calling and showing on the grevillea flowers. White-throated Honeyeater are more visible, calling and feeding on flowering eucalypts as well as looking for lerps (small sugary insects).

 White-throated Honeyeater

A male Cicadabird has been calling and spending a lot of time chasing off Australasian Figbird, not sure if they are nesting yet. 

 Australasian Figbird - male

A single Rufous Fantail was foraging high in the rainforest canopy and was the first sighting for several weeks. An Olive-backed Oriole showed itself after many weeks of calling and hiding from us, it was mimicking several other bird species calls as it went about feeding on some small fruits. Golden-headed Cisticola have been calling and showing in the neighboring cane fields and Mistletoebird has been tending his mistletoe which is now coming into full flower and attracting the honeyeaters as well.

Fawn-footed Melomys are coming to the feeder more often lately, better they eat our seed than our car radiator hoses! 

 Fawn-footed Melomys

A Green Ringtail Possum was seen roosting in a tree over the bunkhouse one afternoon but not located since. Northern Brown Bandicoot females are carrying very large babies in their pouches 

 Northern Brown Bandicoot

Two juvenile Platypus have been swimming past the viewing area as well as two adults most mornings and afternoons. They are bad time keepers and are not turning up at any set time in the evening and early morning, you just have to be patient to see them. Spectacled Flying-Fox numbers have increased in the orchard at night feeding on a few fruits including the Blue Quondong. Several Boyd's Forest Dragon are still showing well around the grounds and an Amethystine Python was on the ground beside the track to Bushy Creek from the orchard one evening.

Further afield a Great-billed Heron was reported from Bushy Creek at the beginning of the Mt. Lewis Road; we have records of them along Bushy Creek in August and October. A male Golden Bowerbird was seen flying across the track beyond the tin miners dam on Mt. Lewis. Squatter Pigeon was along the Emerald Creek Falls Road east of Mareeba, also at Emerald Creek was a Rufous Owl and the White-browed Robin that was reported from here a few weeks ago is still feeding a juvenile. A pair of Spotted Harrier were along the Malanda to Atherton Road and can be expected in this area at this time of year.

24th May Report

This week was a complete contrast to last week with overnight low of 8ºC (freezing by our standards!) and brilliant sunny days of around 26ºC. 76 bird species were seen and 6 heard plus 21 mammal/reptile sightings which surprisingly included 6 frog species despite the cool dry weather. Early in the week the Rufous Owl was still showing at night and a close encounter during the day was had when I nearly walked into it whilst it was roosting 2m off the ground in the rainforest, not sure who was more surprised me or the owl! Anyway he just sat there and allowed eveyone to view him from the road. Last sighting was Thursday morning when a gang of small birds chased him out of the edge of the orchard back into the rainforest. The Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo that’s been around for a few weeks was heard way off in the distance during the week and did not return to the lodge grounds. An Australian Owlet-nightjar was seen several times early morning looking out of his roost hollow and also heard calling at night. A lone Pacific Baza called by for a two day visit before dissapearing again and the (Lesser) Sooty Owl was heard on several occassions both in the evening and early morning (5.15) calling for over half an hour before going to roost. A pair of Eastern Barn Owls look like they are nesting with one in a regular nest hollow and another in a tree hollow nearby. One bird was seen entering the nest hollow and leaving with the other bird one night and another night it was seen bringing a big rat to the nest site. A Great Bowerbird was foraging low down on some fruits with a bunch of Australasian Figbirds in Geraghty Park, not very common here unlike nearby Mt. Molloy which has a very healthy population of them. A Golden Whistler was heard calling in the lodge grounds, a winter visitor here and White-throated Treecreeper numbers are increasing with at least 4 birds around the grounds – up from the initial two birds. A Forest Kingfisher was in Geraghty Park trying to get a very large centipede down and succeeded eventually.

Forest Kingfisher

Best mammal sighting was of a Tree Mouse (formerly Prehensile-tailed Rat) Pogonomys sp. which was photographed by one of our guests. This mammal was first recorded in 1974 in Australia and frequently appears in the diet of the (Lesser) Sooty Owl. A Green Ringtail Possum was seen after not spotlighting one for 5 weeks and the Striped Possums seem to be playing hide and seek with us, 3 on one night none the next spotlighting trip. Feather-tailed Gliders were seen in two different places, on a coconut palm and the fruits of a Solitaire Palm and an Amethystene Python was seen heading for cover in the rainforest. One of the six frog species seen was Litoria bicolor Northern Dwarf Tree Frog.

Northern Dwarf Tree Frog

Further afield a half grown Southern Cassowary was seen in Mowbray National Park with the presumed adult male crashing around in nearby vegetation. Not many sightings from this particular site so it is good to know they are around. Also here were a couple of Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo which allowed good views.

5th April Report

The driest week so far this year with no rain, cool nights down to 15ºC and warm days, even the grass is starting to turn brown! Pretty average week with bird species – 62 seen and 7 heard. Mammals and Reptiles were 14 seen including both Striped and Green Ringtail Possum and Feathertail Glider; also a Dingo was seen along Bushy Creek.

The highlight for the week was two White-throated Treecreepers appearing in the orchard area and around the office area for the first time in at least 15 years. They are up on the range behind us including Mt. Lewis where we regularly see them above about 700m, we are at 450m but they have been recorded down to 300m. As I write this they are still around calling, hope they stay awhile. No sign of Black-faced Monarch this week so they may have migrated back north. Our neighbour Ron saw several Dollarbird in Geraghty Park next door which is quite late in the season, maybe they were southern birds heading north. Rufous Fantails are around in small numbers, the main migratory birds don't seem to have arrived yet.

Rufous Fantail

The immature male Victoria’s Riflebird is still around and seen on several occasions. Two Masked Owl are still hanging around last years nest site so we will be keeping an eye on it to see if there is any action. There has been two Azure Kingfisher flying up and down Bushy Creek throughout the week and one regularly foraging in the Crake pool, quite a spectacular Kingfisher.

Azure Kingfisher

Further afield a Satin Flycatcher was reported at Rifle Creek near Mount Molloy, unusual for this time of year in the area. A Common Starling was reported in Cairns, the odd one turns up from time to time, good job it was only one. I saw one several years ago up on the western side of Cape York Peninsula at Pompuraaw during a bird survey, not sure if they make their own way up here but I suspected they are assisted by truck or ship. A trip to Cassowary House in Kuranda during the week to see Sue and Phil was rewarded by the appearance of a very hansom male Southern Cassowary – a regular over many years.