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 4^th 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.

16th June 2013 Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge Report

Another two weeks with drizzle and sunshine, with the last few days of week two clearing up to great weather. Temperatures ranged from 17ºC to 26ºC, still a few degrees above the average for this time of year. Not good photography weather.

 

Past Two Weeks Bird Sightings:-

Bird sightings for the first week were 102, 98 seen and 4 heard, second week sightings were 104, 99 seen and 5 heard. These last two weeks bird lists can be found on the Eremaea Birds Website:- 1st June - 8th June and 9th June- 15th June

Birding Highlights:-

A first for a morning walk was Australian Pelican, two flew over Geraghty Park next to the Lodge. Morning Walk numbers ranged from 50 to 55 species which is quite good for June which is usually a bit quieter than the rest of the year. Straw-necked Ibis have been scarce in the area so far this year so 25 flying over the Rex Highway near Geraghty Park on the 15^th was a surprise. They were coming in to land in a grassy cow paddock. An Emerald Dove was spotlighted roosting in the rainforest whilst on a nightwalk, this was a first for a nightwalk. 

 

Emerald Dove

Two good sightings were had of a Little Kingfisher perched over the Crake Pool on 4^th June and again on the 15^th, both late in the afternoon. A single Blue-faced Parrot-Finch flew over near the end of McDougall Road where the continuous rainforest from the mountains comes down to the lowlands, a first sighting at this altitude this year. Four Satin Bowerbird appeared in our neighbours garden early on the morning of the 7^th, this is an occasional visitor to our area. An immature Olive-backed oriole was along the Geraghty Park Road foraging on some berries on the 8^th and was joined by an adult on the 10^th. A Large-billed Scrubwren, also on the 8^th,, was seen carrying a leaf into a nest it was building about 4 - 5m from the ground. This is about the earliest they have been recorded nesting and the highest off the ground nest we have found in the Lodge, however they have been recorded up to 6m elswhere. Barking Owl have taken to perching on the cookshed roof in the early evening with one staying there for nearly an hour. Three immature Australian King-Parrot turned up on the 11^th and were joined by another four on the 15^th who flew over the orchard. Interestingly other sightings of immatures in 2011 were on the 12^th and 15^th June. A flock of Barred Cuckoo-shrike turned up at a fruiting fig tree, near the Lodge, for a day and cleaned up the ripe fruit. An Eastern Whipbird was heard calling from the hills across the Rex Highway from the Lodge. An overwintering Black-faced Monarch was seen foraging in the rainforest adjacent to the orchard and photographed by a guest. We do have the occasional overwintering birds but have not had any for a few years. Red-browed Finch have been very active with adults, immatures and juveniles around as well as adults displaying and building nests.

Red-browed Finch

Further Afield:-

On the 4^th a Zebra Finch was at Maryfarms near Mt. Carbine, a lot further east than normal and quite a surprise, always a possibility of an escapee but none are known to be kept in captivity in the immediate area. Also here on the same day was a Black-breasted Buzzard. A Cotton Pygmy-goose was on a lagoon at Wetherby Station along the back road to Mount Molloy on the 6th, always an uncommon bird in our area. Also on the 6^th a Crested Pigeon was in the area of the Mount Molloy school, again an uncommon species to be here but not surprising as they are north at Mt. Carbine and south at Mareeba. A Wedge-tailed Eagle was along Macleans Bridge Road in Julatten along with a Collared Sparrowhawk which are two uncommon raptor species in the area. (Thanks to Carol and Andrew Iles for some of these sightings).

 

Hasties Swamp National Park

A quick trip to Hasties Swamp found about 1500 Plumed Whistling-Duck, at least 500 Pink-eared Duck plus many more, a full list can be found on the Eremaea Birds Site.

Pink-eared Duck, Plumed Whistling-Duck and Pacific Black Duck

This Pink-eared Duck is showing the pink ear.

Pink-eared Duck and Plumed Whistling-Duck

Reptiles and Mammals:-

Nightwalks have turned up some good sightings including two Striped Possum, one in trees around the reception and over the bunkhouse plus another in a fruiting Rambutan tree in the orchard, 

 

Striped Possum

White-tailed Rat were climbing around the forest on vines, Spectacled Flying-fox feeding on a Soursop tree and a few frogs – White-lipped Green Tree Frog, Jungguy Frog, Cogger's Frog and Red Tree Frog. There was one sighting of Platypus in Bushy Creek which hopefully means they are back for an extended stay. Our neighbours had a Brown Tree Snake in their garden which was the only snake seen over the two weeks; maybe the cooler weather has slowed them down.

Other Interesting Sightings:-

A tiny inconspicuous luminescent fungi was spotted on the edge of the orchard in the rainforest on one night walk as well as a very colourful fruit sucking moth which was feeding on a fallen Rambutan fruit.

Shop News:-

The latest book in the shop is Australian Rainforest Fruits - A Field Guide - Wendy Cooper and William T. Cooper. This is an excellent guide combining Wendy's expertise in identification and Bill's fantastic paintings. Cost is $60.00.

16th October 2011 Report

Minimum temperatures at the beginning of the week were down to 16.6ºc but for the rest of the week they were quite high around the 17-22ºc mark, which was higher than last week. The maximum temperature was 34.2ºc mid-week, which was the highest we can remember in six years; the rest of the week had temperatures of over 30ºc. Quite unusually high for this time of year. The lowest humidity was 39% and highest 90%. No rain to record for the week but a big storm arrived on Saturday afternoon and dumped 25mm of rain onto us which will get recorded in next weeks statistics.

A great week for numbers of bird species with 112 seen, and 6 heard. Reptiles and mammals were up on last week with 25 seen which equaled our previous highest week.

Highlights around the Lodge grounds were the first records of Little Friarbird since 6^th August 2009 and Brush Cuckoo which was last seen at the beginning of February 2011.

Brush Cuckoo - juvenile

The weeks bird list is on the Eremaea Birds website and morning walk lists can also be found at this link on Eremaea Birds.

Most surprising record for the week was a Bassian Thrush foraging out in the open in a recently cut cane field along Bushy Creek. It was foraging with a flock of 16 Masked Lapwing.

Most surprising behavior for the week was a Pale-yellow Robin who pounced onto the ground to grab a Northern Dwarf Tree Frog Litoria bicolor. The robin proceeded to smash the frog onto a log before it swallowed it. The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds lists the diet of Pale-yellow Robin as Arthropods; mainly insects; sometimes seeds. We have so far not found any reference to them eating vertebrates such as tree frogs. If you have any records of this behaviour we would like to hear from you.

Breaking News: Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher arrived overnight 15-16^th October, were heard calling on the morning of 16^th.

Other sightings:

Cotton Pygmy-goose are still along McDougall Road as are many other waterbirds. Wompoo Fruit-Dove have been seen in the Lodge grounds but the Superb Fruit-Dove have only been heard calling all week, such elusive birds. At least six Pied Imperial Pigeon have been getting around together and Topknot Pigeon numbers have decreased over the week but some are still feeding in the grounds on the Blue Quandong fruits. Our female Papuan Frogmouth disappeared during the week and has not been seen for four days or heard calling at night so hopefully she might have found a mate and gone off to breed. A Large-tailed Nightjar was heard one evening but not a murmur or any sightings of Australian Owlet-nightjar. One of the McDougall Road lagoons had a Black-necked Stork trying to swallow a large snake and six Royal Spoonbill were seen flying over the lodge in the direction of the lagoons. A juvenile Nankeen Night-Heron was roosting on its own in a large fig tree alongside Bushy Creek.

Pacific Baza are still around calling and seen carrying nesting material. A juvenile Brown Goshawk was flying over the adjacent cane field carrying a prey item whilst we were on a morning walk. “Katie” our Buff-banded Rail has continued entertaining our guests but was quite bemused when we has some rain at the end of the week. She has not seen heavy rain before and was quite spooked by the thunder and lightning, hiding under one of our tables on the veranda. She also met up with another rail and chased it away one morning. This is the most recent image of her, now almost six months old.

"Katie" Buff-banded Rail

Two Little Lorikeet were mixed in with the flocks of Scaly-breasted Lorikeet so it is worth checking the flocks of scaly's. Again Double-eyed Fig-Parrot were seen flying over at breakneck speed but not stopping. Pheasant Coucal was along Bushy Creek near a fruiting fig tree which was attracting both male and female Eastern Koel, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Barred Cuckoo-shrike plus large flocks of Australian Figbird and Metallic Starling. Several pairs of Dollarbird were actively looking for nest hollows in the Queensland Blue Gum (Forest Red Gum).

A (Lesser) Sooty Owl put on a show for our guests mid-week when we inadvertently disturbed it from the ground behind our units. It flew into a nearby tree and perched about 3m off the ground. So we got all our guests out, some in night attire, who we thrilled to see this owl who behaved and sat in the tree preening, not taking any notice of us. We managed a few images which showed blood around the mouth, so it was probably feeding when we disturbed it off the ground. Sorry yet another Sooty Owl Image! 

(Lesser) Sooty Owl

 

A Lewin's Honeyeater was seen for the first time in several weeks which was a surprise as we had though they had all gone up onto the mountains behind us to breed. The Brown-backed Honeyeater nest we have been keeping an eye on had a bird sitting one night when we passed it during a spotlighting trip. The following day we saw adults carrying insects to the nest and feeding young. Noisy Friarbird were seen within our 1.5km radius of the Lodge and were the first seen since the beginning of March this year. White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike were seen building a nest in the fork of a tree and Cicadabird were heard every day but not seen. Leaden Flycatcher arrived back this week after being away for several months, both male and females were seen. Black-faced Monarch numbers increased again with much calling and displaying so they might be about to start nesting. Good views of Pied Monarch and Yellow-breasted Boatbill were had most days around the grounds. Grey-headed Robin are still with us with no noticeable drop in numbers, which would signal their return to the higher grounds of the mountains where they breed. Golden-headed Cisticola were along Bushy Creek foraging in the remaining grass clumps. Welcome Swallow had been breeding in a road underpass with at least two nests active. There were two juvenile birds perched on the nests mid-week who fledged the next day after this image was taken. Interestingly one of the mud nests was decorated with Guinea Fowl feathers.

Welcome Swallow - juvenile

Further afield Wedge-tailed Eagle was reported from the Mt Molloy area. A quick trip up to the Mt. Carbine area found 21 Glossy Ibis and 85+ Green Pygmy-goose, full list can be found on the Eremaea Birds site. Also on a small dam near Mt. Carbine was a Snipe sp. , probably Latham's Snipe but cannot rule out Swinhoe's as they also pass through the area. They are very difficult to separate in the field, this cropped hand held shot is inconclusive.

Snipe sp.

Mammals and reptile numbers were good this week mainly due to an increase in frog species towards the end of the week as they anticipated the coming rains. Frog species were Jungguy Frog, White-lipped Tree Frog, Northern Dwarf Tree Frog, Roth's Tree Frog, Dessert Tree Frog, Peter's Frog and Cane Toad. Five bat species were identified, Eastern Horseshoe Bat, Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat, Northern Broad-nosed Bat, Little Bent-winged Bat and Large Footed Myotis. Boyd's Rainforest Dragon were around with at least two seen, an Amethystine Python was seen hunting in the campers amenities block and several Eastern Water Dragon were along Bushy Creek.

Finally some interesting insects were in the crack of a tree trunk, this one is from the Order Hemiptera, the True Bugs. Unknown species at the moment.

9th October 2011 Report

Minimum temperatures at the beginning of the week were down to 15.3ºc but for the rest of the week they were around 17-18ºc mark. The maximum temperature was 31.4ºc at the beginning of the week with one overcast and cloudy day only getting up to 24.8ºc, it even tried raining this day but the sprinkle was dry before it hit the ground. The lowest humidity was 52% and highest 90%.

Another good week for numbers of bird species with 107 seen, and 11 heard. Reptiles and mammals were down on last week but still good with 22 seen and one heard.

The weeks bird list is on the Eremaea Birds website and morning walk lists can also be found at this link on Eremaea Birds.

Highlights around the Lodge grounds were the first Dollarbird for the season at the end of the week, several Wompoo Fruit-Dove showing well foraging on Blue Quondong fruits plus a male and female Lovely Fairy-Wren along Bushy Creek at the Platypus viewing area.

Other sightings:

The Lagoons along McDougall Road were once again producing good numbers of waterbird species including Grey Teal which is a species we have not seen in the Lodge area since the beginning of December 2009. The Cotton Pygmy-goose were still present with a maximum of five, also present were Green Pygmy-goose This image was taken late in the afternoon with the sun reflecting off the ripples caused by the wind.

Green Pygmy-goose - female

Pigeons and doves were again good this week with Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Emerald, Peaceful and Bar-shouldered Dove, Wompoo Fruit-Dove plus Pied Imperial and Topknot Pigeon. Superb Fruit-Dove was only heard. Our female Papuan Frogmouth was visible all week roosting and also heard calling at night but still not able to attract a mate. Australian Owlet-nightjar was seen once at its daytime roost tree and heard on several nights

Australian Swiftlet were around for a couple of days in big numbers with hundreds hawking low over the Lodge and adjacent areas.

The two Pacific Baza reported last week were again near last years nest site calling and seen carrying some small twigs for their nest. This one was spooked by a dive bombing Forest Kingfisher.

Pacific Baza

A single Nankeen Kestrel was again seen once perched on a power pole alongside the Rex Highway.

“Katie” the Buff-banded Rail continues meeting the guests and cleaning up the spiders in the rooms, tents and caravans and seems settled at the moment. No doubt the wander lust will kick in and she will be off again. We did see an adult Buff-banded Rail along Bushy Creek foraging at the edge which might tempt “Katie” to head down there. Both Australian Spotted Crake and White-browed Crake were heard in the McDougall Road lagoons but not seen. Black-fronted Dotterel were seen at the Barramundi Farm and also at one of the McDougall Road Lagoons.

Eastern Koel have been calling but not showing but at least three Channel-billed Cuckoo have been seen flying around together. (Lesser) Sooty Owl was not seen this week, only heard and only two Eastern Barn Owl were seen although several others were heard. Blue-winged Kookaburra were heard only and don't appear to be crossing the Rex Highway into Geraghty Park at the moment so they may possibly be nesting. A pair of Forest Kingfisher have been taking an interest in a termite mound high up in the rainforest canopy on a bare tree. They have been calling and making lots of clicking sounds around the mound. One day whilst the Forest Kingfishers were calling a Large-billed Scrubwren fired up and began mimicking the kingfishers call, it was a near perfect rendition. 

Forest Kingfisher - male & female

  
Brown Gerygone was heard on the edge of the rainforest on the border with our neighbours which was the first time for several weeks. Not so many honeyeaters this week with only eleven species. At least five Barred Cuckoo-shrike have been around the area, more often heard than seen. Cicadabird was also heard but not seen unlike the normally secretive Olive-backed Oriole which were seen on several occasions foraging in a fruiting fig tree along with a flock of Australasian Figbird. Several Spangled Drongo appeared on the scene mid-week and at least one Rufous Fantail is still around. Black-faced Monarch have been vocal again this week and seen bathing in Bushy Creek. This male Mistletoebird was active collecting nectar from a flowering Bottlebrush (Calistemon). 
 

Mistletoebird - male

An Australian Pipit was foraging at the nearby Barramundi Farm which is a location they are not seen at very often.

Further afield a small flock of White-headed Pigeon were foraging just off the highway from Julatten to Mt.Molloy near Abattoir Swamp in a patch of rainforest, White-winged Triller have been seen at Mowbray National Park, an unusual location and also at Lake Mitchell a more usual location. Mt. Lewis has been regularly turning up ten out of twelve of the Wet Tropics endemic species with Tooth-billed and Golden Bowerbird (M & F), Fernwren, Atherton Scrubwren, Mountain Thornbill, Bridled Honeyeater, Chowchilla, Bower's Shrike-thrush, Victoria's Riflebird and Grey-headed Robin. 

Chowchilla - male

 
Hundreds of Spangled Drongo were seen migrating southwards along the coast at Newell Beach, just north of Mossman and two Grey Fantail were in Churchill Creek Road off the Mt. Lewis Road. These are the first seen for several weeks and one of few sightings this year. Also along Churchill Creek Road, on a private property, a large flock of Double-eyed Fig-Parrot were seen to come into roost on dusk, probably about 80 birds. We used to get about 120 roosting opposite our house in Cairns about 10 years ago.

 

Mammals were good with a positive identification of a bat species we regularly see along Bushy Creek, Large-footed Myotis. A Giant White-tailed Rat was spotted in a coconut palm biting its way into a coconut husk. Striped Possum was heard several times but not located as it fed high up in the canopy on a Pink Mahogany tree. Platypus was regularly seen in Bushy Creek throughout the week and a Water Rat was also seen here once. Frog numbers were well down with only four species seen, Jungguy Frog, White-lipped Tree Frog, Roth's Tree Frog and Dessert Tree Frog. This White-lipped Tree Frog is doing what frogs do best and that is to sleep!

White-lipped Tree Frog

Talking of frogs we now have the latest revised edition of the “ Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia” available in our shop for $49.95 plus postage. This revised edition contains four more new species, which have been described, one name change and one more (Neobratrachus centralis) has been suppressed. Two recently described frog species, which are not in the book, have been found near Lockhart River on Cape York, you can read about them on the Cairns Post website .

Boyd's Forest Dragon were around at the beginning of the week but hiding towards the end and several Eastern Water Dragon have been regulars along Bushy Creek. An Amethystine Python was checking out the amenities block in the camping area one evening late in the week.

5th October Report

The week started off dry and deteriorated into drizzle and rain towards the end, which reflected in the lower than normal bird sightings, 62 seen, 7 heard and 10 mammal/reptile species. The frogs liked it, White-lipped Green Tree Frog, Dainty Green Tree Frog and the Northern-barred Frog.

White-lipped Green Tree Frog

A morning walk on the 28th produced 53 species of which 45 were seen, highlights were good looks at Topknot Pigeons, a male Red-backed Fairy-Wren posing beside Bushy Creek, Barred Cuckoo-shrikes foraging in a fig tree and Golden-headed Cisticolas preening in the sun.

The good news for the week was that the Noisy Pittas have started calling, 2 pairs. One was 4m up in a tree proclaiming his territory and was seen again on the ground calling with a female in tow. Great news as we had thought that a feral cat had taken them due to them disapearing at the same time the cat was sighted several months ago. The males calling from high in a tree is a precursor to nesting where they are announcing their territory and trying to impress the female.

Noisy Pitta

The Channel-billed Cuckoos are very vocal flying backwards and forwards over the lodge, one was seen stalking a Torresian Crow - a species they parasitise. Good looks were had of them feeding in the same fig tree as the Barred Cuckoo-shrikes.