Birdwatchers Lodge in Far North Queensland, Australia.

56.5mm of rain fell during the week with one 24hour fall of 33mm being the best. This time last year we had over 1300mm, so far this year we have had 335mm so we have had a massive 1m less rain! Most rain fell in the late afternoon and into the night so once again sunny warm days with the minimum temperature slightly less than last week at 21.2ºc and the maximum also slightly cooler at 30.3ºc.

Birds recorded were 95 seen and 7 heard. 16 mammal and reptile species were seen and three frog species 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:

Rufous Owl has to be top of the list this week, thanks to our neighbour Carol who found one roosting alongside Bushy Creek one afternoon. It was a light coloured bird and probably a juvenile. This is the first one we have seen around the Lodge since 21^st August 2011; this record might account for the lack of Striped Possum sightings recently as they are favourite food for these owls. 

 

Rufous Owl - adult

The three Red-necked Crake juveniles are still foraging with the parents and are starting to get a bit of red on their necks which is another good sign that they might all make it to adults. Only one nest of the Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher have chicks in as one of the two nests left with chicks in fledged at the beginning of the week. As they get a little older they start to come down to the ground to supplement the adults offerings.

Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher

Plenty of juveniles around being fed by the parents making it one of the most successful years over the last six.

Other sightings:

Brown Quail were along McDougall Road with a few more waterbird seen in the wetlands along here as well, nothing out of the ordinary though. Again plenty of Superb Fruit-Dove calling from the rainforest surrounding the orchard but only one glimpse of a bird flying off. Still have at least six Pied Imperial Pigeon and 20+ Topknot Pigeon around the Lodge grounds. No sign of our Papuan Frogmouth this week and heard Australian Owlet-nightjar on three occasions but could not find it in its usual daytime roost hollow. A Black-necked Stork was near the Julatten School and the first for a few months. Five Cattle Egret flew over the grounds but none seen on the ground. Only two raptors this week, White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Whistling Kite very disappointing. White-browed Crake was again heard along McDougall Road but failed to show but Pale-vented Bush-hen did show several times in a gully between the Lodge grounds and our neighbours garden. A few Red-tailed Black Cockatoo flew over the Lodge mid week and a pair of Double-eyed Fig-Parrot were seen in McDougall Road. 

Double-eyed Fig-Parrot - female

A female Eastern Koel was feeding in a tree alongside Bushy Creek just in the Lodge grounds and a few Channel-billed Cuckoo were flying about, still no sign of any build up of numbers. Two Eastern Barn Owl were seen in Geraghty Park and an Azure Kingfisher flew along Busy Creek, first one for a few weeks. Juvenile Forest Kingfisher are still whinging for food but are increasingly being left to fend for themselves. A small group of Rainbow Bee-Eater (5-6) were over the Lodge on Saturday afternoon and a single adult Dollarbird was in the grounds for two days calling. Spotted Catbird have quietened down but still lurking around in the rainforest. Lovely Fairy-wren have been along Bushy Creek near our neighbours garden and have been seen several times whilst Red-backed Fairy-wren are regularly seen on the fence posts of McDougall Road. Ten species of honeyeater plus one heard and Macleay's Honeyeater was seen feeding a juvenile, still not found one of their nests. Brown-backed Honeyeater have started to come into the orchard are which is quite uncommon, they prefer paperbark swamps such as Abattoir Swamp normally. 

Brown-backed Honeyeater

Cicadabird are still around but only heard and Grey Whistler are still very vocal. A Little Shrike-thrush, juvenile, was caught flapping its wings and begging for food from the parent birds who were higher up in the tree searching out food.

Little Shrike-thrush - juvenile

An adult Black Butcherbird was around all week calling and skulking through the rainforest. Black-faced Monarch are still with us and calling well and trying to fool us with black primary wings. Pied Monarch are around but difficult to see but Yellow-breasted Boatbill have been out and about calling and being seen. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher are still around in good numbers as are Australian Pipit with at least ten seen on the edge of the cane field near the Mt. Kooyong nursing home.

Further Afield:-

A Brown Falcon was perched on powerlines between Mareeba and Mt. Molloy, this is the first we have seen this year along here. A Pale-vented Bush-hen with three chicks was seen, after much hanging around to see them scurry across the driveway, on a private property along Euluma Creek Road in Julatten. Also here five White-headed Pigeon flew low over the house heading towards the coast, not a common bird around here and two Sooty Owl called out just before dusk and continued for at least 30 minutes.

Reptiles and Mammals:-

One of our Boyd's Forest Dragon has found out how to steal the birds banana by climbing up the feeder and grabbing more than a mouthful as this image shows. 

Boyd's Forest Dragon - stealing banana

Frogs were the most obvious this week with Jungguy Frog, White-lipped Tree-Frog, Roth's Tree Frog, Cogger's Frog and Cane Toad seen, Striped Marsh Frog, Northern Dwarf Tree Frog and Dainty Green Tree Frog heard. A Green Ringtail Possum was seen on the edge of the orchard late in the week and was a first for six weeks.

Birdwatchers Lodge in Far North Queensland 19th February 2012

Only 9mm of rain fell at the end of the week continuing this very strange dry “Wet Season” weather. So once again sunny warm days with the minimum temperature again much the same as last week, down to 22.0ºc and the maximum was a few degrees cooler, down to 31.6ºc.

Birds recorded were 96 seen and 8 heard. 15 mammal and reptile species were seen and two frogs 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:

Continued sightings of Red-necked Crakes, two adults and three half grown juveniles who have been seen in the rainforest behind the units and out front of the units heading across the road by the reception area. Five of the seven confirmed Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher nests have fledged with youngsters seen and heard in the rainforest. The other two nests with chicks in are not far off from fledging, judging by the noise coming from them and the parents perched nearby trilling.

Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher - juvenile

Three Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo flew over Mt. Kooyong Road which were the first for a few weeks. One Lewin's Honeyeater was seen at the entrance to the Lodge grounds and was the first since one was heard at the beginning of January.

Other sightings:

Wetlands along McDougall Road continue to hold low numbers of waterbirds with only Magpie Goose, two Wandering Whistling-Duck, about 12 Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, two Little Black Cormorant and two Masked Lapwing. Emerald Doves started calling this week which maybe a sign that they are interested in breeding.

Emerald Dove - male

Two Pied Imperial Pigeon in Geraghty Park are still behaving like they are going to nest but no sign of nesting material yet. No sightings of Papuan Frogmouth in the orchard this week or any calling at night but we did hear an Australian Owlet-nightjar calling one evening. About 12 White-throated Needletail flew over the adjacent cane paddock on Friday 17^th and One Fork-tailed Swift was flying over the same paddock paddock late on Wednesday 15^th. Several Black Bittern sightings were along McDougall road in seasonal ponding beyond the Bushy Creek bridge, one took off and followed the creek towards the Lodge. Four raptor species this week, Black-shouldered Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle plus Whistling and Black Kite. One Buff-banded Rail scooted across Mt. Kooyong Road and into the Lodge grounds whist on a morning walk, did not stop to let us know if it was “Katie” or not! A White-browed Crake was in one of the lagoons along McDougall Road and was seen rather than has been the case, only heard. Pale-vented Bush-hen have again been vocal but shy on showing themselves, not enough rain to draw them out of the long grass. A Pheasant Coucal was seen along Mt. Kooyong Road and a male Eastern Koel was in our neighbours garden. 
 

Eastern Koel - male

A few Channel-billed Cuckoo have been calling as they have flown over but not it's not like previous years when flocks of birds passed through heading north on migration at this time of year. We have had up to 60 juvenile birds stop over for 2-3 weeks in February to feast on fruiting figs in the past, maybe they are just late this year. Little (Gould's) Bronze-Cuckoo and Brush Cuckoo are still around and calling. Several Forest Kingfisher pairs have a few juveniles/immatures they are feeding including this one in Geraghty Park. Some of our guests unfamiliar with Australian Kingfishers have mistaken them for Sacred Kingfisher because of the juveniles buffy parts, but of course sacred are green on the upper body parts and forest are blue. 
 

Forest Kingfisher - juvenile

A few Rainbow Bee-Eater were feeding in Geraghty Park and one adult Dollarbird was calling at the beginning of the week after we said that we thought they had left, fatal making those statements! Noisy Pitta made a few calls over the week but did not show, maybe because the grass in the orchard is long and needs mowing again after only a week, it is growing faster than Bamboo. A female Lovely Fairy-wren was seen in two different places, once in Geraghty Park and another time alongside the adjacent cane paddock at the end of Mt. Kooyong Road. Thirteen honeyeater species seen during the week with both Macleay's and Blue-faced Honeyeater coming to the sugar water feeder. Our neighbours have started to get Dusky Honeyeater come to their feeder which is something they never do at our feeder. Also a Bridled Honeyeater was down McDougall Road. Cicadabird are still with us and calling well as are Grey Whistler who have been quiet for a few months. Black Butcherbird has been seen regularly on most days, lurking around in the rainforest. The Leaden Flycatcher nest in Geraghty Park has three chicks in it and they are growing well with the parents bringing a constant stream of insects to them. The Magpie-lark chick, mentioned last week in a nest in Geraghty Park, successfully fledged. Both Pied Monarch and Yellow-breasted Boatbill have been calling and seen. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher have again been along Mt. Kooyong Road and in Geraghty Park with at least four pairs seen. 
 

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher

Horsfield's Bushlark is still along McDougall Road which is the only location they have been seen this year in our area. Egg shells are still appearing under the Metallic Starling nests in Geraghty Park but there is definitely less birds present than has been in previous weeks. Our pair of Olive-backed Sunbird who were nesting have been seen with two juvenile birds which is good news as they have a high predation rate.

Further Afield:-

Another trip to Cairns allowed us to spend a pleasant hour eating lunch and watching the shorebirds in action as the tide came in. Nothing spectacular here but good to have a refresher course on the waders. A pair of Australian Pied Oystercatcher were loafing on their own whilst the other birds were either feeding on the decreasing mud or running along with the tide. 
 

Australian Pied Oystercatcher

Smaller birds were Red-necked Stint, Lesser Sand Plover and Greater Sand Plover, medium size birds were Great Knot, Terek Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler and Masked Lapwing whilst the larger birds were Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit. There was also one Crested Tern and many Silver Gull. Along the area between the shoreline and the road were Varied Honeyeater, Magpie-lark, Willie Wagtail, House Sparrow and Common Myna. Notably absent were Pied Imperial Pigeon who were very obvious a few week previously, maybe they have headed north. Full list on Eremaea Birds site.

On the way back from Cairns we called into to see Sue at Cassowary House in Kuranda and afterwards returned to Julatten via the alternative route along the unsealed Black Mountain Road. It is a four wheel drive/high clearance vehicle road as there are some high whooboys (high piles of dirt across the road to direct water flows to the side) and is quite narrow once it enters the Mowbray National Park section. It is an interesting alternative route with good opportunities to stop for birding. We did not stop as it was getting late in the afternoon but we did see a mixed flock of Sulphur-crested and Black-tailed Cockatoo in one of the pine plantations before we got back into the rainforest. It took us an hour and twenty minutes to get back to the Lodge this way, which is probably around 20 minutes longer in time but a shorter distance in kilometres than the sealed route via Mareeba. Normally this road would be impassable at this time of year if we had been having a “normal” wet season.

Two juvenile Great Bowerbirds were accidentally disturbed on a property along Euluma Creek Road, Julatten, whilst they were roosting 2m off the ground on a vine overhanging a driveway. Also spotlighted here was a roosting Azure Kingfisher and a 2.5-3m Amethystine Python who was hanging around a small lagoon what for one of the many frogs calling to hop past.

Other Wildlife:-

This bee was walking around on the ground in the rainforest and looks like similar ones we have had before which were identified as Italian Honey Bee, not sure if this is the same.

Bee sp.

Also at the beginning of last year (2011) we had a cluster of pupae on a tree which were identified as a species of Oil Beetle, we have revisited this ID and had a beetle expert look at the images and have now found out they are not Oil Beetles but Acerogria oriuda from the big beetle family Tenebrionidae, sorry no common name. Here are two images to remind you of what they looked like.

Acerogria oriuda -  pupae

 

Acerogria oriuda -  Hatching beetles

Birdwatchers Lodge in Far North Queensland 12th February 2012

68mm of rain fell from Tuesday to Friday, 31mm fell in one big storm which also cut the power for five hours. Most rain fell late afternoon and overnight so the days were mainly dry and sunny, not the typical “Wet Season” weather. The minimum temperatures were again much the same as last week down to 22.2ºc but the maximum was a few degrees warmer at 34.8ºc. This was the hottest day we have had in the 6½ years we have been running the Lodge. Humidity was between 55% and 95%.

Birds recorded were 95 seen and 9 heard. 19 mammal and reptile species were seen and two frogs 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:

A small group of Varied Sittella, which we rarely record, were along McDougall Road in an area we had first seen them on 2^nd January 2004, near the first lagoon on left. They are birds of the woodland so we would not expect them in the Lodge but the habitat along McDougall Road (within our 1.5km observation area) is ideal if a little sparse due to clearing. They are more common back towards Mt. Molloy at Abattoir Swamp and nearby Wessels Road. Northern Fantail was around in our neighbours garden for a second week, not a species you would associate with the rainforest but they have appeared in and around this habitat during the last 18 months. Must be a reflection of the relatively dry period over this time frame which makes it feel like their normal woodland habitat. 

Northern Fantail

A mammal highlight was a Musky Rat Kangaroo which shot through the rainforest one morning. This is the first sighting of this mammal since we have been here and possibly a first for the Lodge, hope it stays around and brings a few mates.

Other sightings:

Wandering Whistling-Duck flew over the Lodge ground calling late one afternoon heading towards the wetlands along McDougall Road. Low numbers of waterbird are still along this road, they include Magpie Goose, Pacific Black Duck, Hardhead, Australasian Grebe, Little Pied and Little Black Cormorant and a pair of Comb-crested Jacana with at least two chicks. Brown Cuckoo-Dove were back after a few weeks away and a pair of Pied Imperial Pigeon were making a nest high up in a Queensland Blue Gum in Geraghty Park. This is quite late in the season to be nesting, last year a pair had young in the nest at the beginning of February before Cyclone Yasi blew it away. Small flocks of up to 14 Topknot Pigeon are still around the orchard and Bushy Creek. Our female Papuan Frogmouth continues to hide from us and only make one appearance this week. Australian Owlet-nightjar was heard calling early one morning from the direction of its daytime roost but by the time we got to check it out it started to rain and the bird retreated back into its hollow. A Black Bittern was flushed from a small wet season lagoon near the Bushy Creek bridge along McDougall Road and was the first seen for nine weeks along here. A few Cattle Egret were also along here for the second week since returning. We even had three raptors this week, a pair of Black-shouldered and a Whistling Kite again along McDougall Road plus two White-bellied Sea-Eagle flew over Geraghty Park just after nightfall as we were spotlighting our way to a residents meeting in the hall (also saw a pair of Easter Barn Owl ). 

Whistling Kite

Red-necked Crake have also been showing well this week, a pair with their three juveniles were foraging in a water run off drain behind the units one afternoon, an adult was seen from our bedroom window one morning calling and making its way through the rainforest, also in this same area an adult called at exactly 3.00am and woke us up, spooky. If you want to see some photos of the crakes and chicks check out Ian Montgomery's excellent web site as he has photos taken at the Lodge last week. A Pale-vented Bush-hen was seen along Bushy Creek near the Platypus viewing area where it flew across the creek and walked through the rainforest giving glimpses as it moved along the bank calling. An Australian Bustard was displaying in a paddock alongside the Rex Highway and seen in the same location the next day, probably the same bird that has been reported over at least the past six months around Julatten. A few Scaly-breasted Lorikeet are still in the area along with a few Double-eyed Fig-Parrot. Four cuckoos were recorded with Pheasant Coucal, Eastern Koel and Little Bronze-Cuckoo heard and Brush Cuckoo seen, including a juvenile.

Brush Cuckoo - juvenile

Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher are calling in the vicinity of their nests with at least one nest having fledged, another five have birds almost ready to fledge and one has only just hatched chicks. This pair of birds were late last year, about two weeks after the rest had fledged. When the chicks are first out of the nest they tend to go high into the rainforest canopy to be fed making them difficult to spot but after a while when they are flying well they come down lower and easily seen as they perch waiting for the next meal. Forest Kingfisher were seen feeding two juveniles along Mt. Kooyong Road down towards the nursing home from the Lodge. A few Rainbow Bee-Eaters flew over the Lodge and only one juvenile Dollarbird was seen, no sign of any adults. Also no sign of Noisy Pitta not even a call, so we can assume that their nest was unsuccessful for the second time, would like to be proved wrong! Spotted Catbird (Clements has this as a sub-species of Green Catbird now) have been very vocal in the dawn chorus but quiet for the rest of the day. Scarlet Honeyeater were back around with one heard in the Lodge grounds and a pair seen in Geraghty Park, they were one of 11 species of honeyeater recorded. This Graceful Honeyeater was foraging along Bushy Creek.

Graceful Honeyeater

A Cicadabird male was seen feeding a juvenile at the entrance to the Lodge, the juvenile has a very spotted breast unlike the female who has barring on the breast. The first image has the juvenile just taken an insect from the male who had smashed it against the branch to make sure it was dead and the second image shows the breast patterning of the juvenile.
 

Cicadabird -  black/grey male and juvenile

  

Cicadabird - juvenile

Grey Whistler have been around the grounds but have stopped calling making them even more difficult to track down. Australasian Figbird have been sharing a fig tree in Geraghty Park with Metallic Starlings, this one is having a break from mouthfuls of red figs.

Australasian Figbird - male

Black Butcherbird, mainly an immature bird, has been around calling and catching frogs. A Rufous Fantail was at the bottom end of McDougall Road and has probably come down off the nearby mountains, a bit too early for southern migrants? A pair of Leaden Flycatcher have been feeding at least two, possibly three chicks in a nest in Geraghty Park, this image shows the female bringing in food to the nest which is about 15m from the ground.

Leaden Flycatcher - female

 A Magpie-larks nest previously reported, also in Geraghty Park, has a very large chick just about to fledge as this image shows, the bird is perched on the rim of the nest which is also about15m from the ground.

Magpie-lark - chick

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher numbers have increased with sightings along Mt. Kooyong Road and Geraghty Park. A Horsfield's Bushlark was once again seen along McDougall Road, an uncommon sighting in our area. Metallic Starling numbers have decreased but they are still nesting and building new nests. We did observe several small flocks of starlings heading north one morning whilst along Euluma Creek Road in Julatten. Our nesting Olive-backed Sunbird have left their nest but we have not seen any juvenile birds unlike our neighbours pair who still have juveniles with the after about a month.

Further Afield:-

Still plenty of Black Kite along the road from Mt. Molloy to Mareeba. The Brady Road lagoon north of Mareeba has dried back a little and now has more birds on it, four species of egret – Eastern Great, Intermediate, Little and Cattle in breeding plumage.

Little, Intermediate and Cattle Egret

There were also both Straw-necked and Australian White Ibis, Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck, Magpie Goose and an Australian Hobby swooping overhead.A full list can be found on the Eremaea Birds website

Reptiles and Mammals:-

The Fawn-footed Melomys have been down at our neighbours house getting stuck into the seeds collected from the Metallic Starling nests in Geraghty Park, better that than chewing our car electrics! Yellow-footed Antichinus has been around this week climbing up onto the feeder near the reception to feast on banana. Striped Possum was again in our neighbours garden and only one Northern Brown Bandicoot has regularly been coming to the feeder at night. A Long-nosed Bandicoot was seen in Geraghty Park. Frogs have been surprisingly quiet this week despite the rain with only Roth's and Cogger's Frog showing plus Dainty Green Tree Frog and Northern Dwarf Tree Frog heard. Tube-nosed Bat were heard and seen as were Boyd's Forest Dragon, Eastern Water Dragon shown loafing on a log in Bushy Creek and several Major Skink.

Eastern Water Dragon

Other happenings:-

Work on the bunkhouse has progressed with some structural timber and internal paneling replaced. The roof has been relaid outside and awnings fitted to the windows to keep any rain out. New curtains are also being fitted. This work should be finished by the end of February, then we have a student group using it for the whole of March. It should be open for bookings at the beginning of April, weather permitting.

Birdwatchers Lodge in Far North Queensland 5th February 2012

Quick update on knee – walking around normally now and have OK from specialist but have to reassess how it is going in three months for any further work on it.

Meanwhile we had 24mm of rain and big winds at the end of the week causing a tree to fall onto our bedroom roof, little damage and tree now sawn up into logs! The minimum temperatures were much the same as last week down to 22.9ºc but the maximum was a few degrees warmer at 32.1ºc , humidity was down to 66% and up to 95%.

Birds recorded were less, due to the inclement weather and restricted walking distance at the beginning of the week, with only 87 seen and 12 heard. 18 mammal and reptile species were seen and three (frogs) heard which was a lower than normal number due to no night walks. 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:

A small group of seven Cattle Egret returned and were found foraging in a paddock along McDougall Road, they had been absent for five weeks. Red-necked Crake parents are still looking after their three juvenile offspring and have been seen several times, heading across roads and bathing.

Other sightings:

Waterbirds are still scarce in the area with only Pacific Black Duck, Little and Little Black Cormorant plus Intermediate and Cattle Egret seen early in the week but right at the end Magpie Goose, Wandering Whistling-Duck, Hardhead and a Comb-crested Jacana turned up. Wompoo and Superb Fruit-Dove were only heard whilst only one Pied Imperial Pigeon was reported along with at least 50 Topknot Pigeon sitting high up in a Blue Quondong tree. 

Topknot Pigeon

Our female Papuan Frogmouth was only found once roosting in the orchard on the edge of the rainforest. Three raptors were seen, Black-shouldered Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Whistling Kite. A lone Buff-banded Rail was foraging on the lawn out the front of the nearby Barramundi Farm and two Pale-vented Bush-hen were in our neighbours garden. A few Scaly-breasted Lorikeet were feeding on flowering Queensland Blue Gum in Geraghty Park and two Double-eyed Fig-Parrot flew over the Lodge grounds. A single Channel-billed Cuckoo was perched in a tree along Mt. Kooyong Road and probably contemplating the trip north to Papuan New Guinea/Indonesia which should be taking place very soon. Sooty Owl and Eastern Barn Owl were only heard due again to no spotlighting. Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher now have seven confirmed nests with another two unsure but still with birds in the vicinity of nest mounds. A few Rainbow Bee-Eater have been foraging in Geraghty Park and a very recently fledged Dollarbird was perched in the Lodge grounds looking very bewildered, wondering what to do next. One Noisy Pitta was seen in the orchard and heard calling on two other occasions but no sign of any juveniles. There was a reported 1.5m Red-bellied Black Snake in the vicinity of the nest, lets hope it did not predate the chicks. Red-backed Fairy-wren were along McDougall Road and Lovely Fairy-wren were in our neighbours garden. 

Red-backed Fairy-wren - male

Large-billed Gerygone were again at their nest over Bushy Creek at the beginning of the week but not seen there towards the end, so we are not sure how the chicks have fared. Nine species of honeyeater were seen and one, Scarlet, heard. Macleay's and Blue-faced Honeyeater along with Graceful and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater are all now regulars at the feeder by reception. Barred Cuckoo-shrike were around at the end of the week and a pair of Cicadabird were foraging in Geraghty Park and calling around the Lodge. 

Cicadabird - female

Spangled Drongo continue to have their offspring following them around and a Willie Wagtail was foraging in the orchard, something they have not been doing for several months. Leaden Flycatcher have been calling around the grounds as have Black-faced Monarch. The Spectacled Monarch nest beside Bushy Creek, mentioned last week, had two chicks being fed by the adults on Saturday morning but by the afternoon they had fledged and were being fed near the nest. 

Magpie-lark in Geraghty Park were still sitting on a nest, this female was perched nearby as the male sat. 

Magpie-lark - female

Pied Monarch have a very recently fledged juvenile following them around and it was on hand to get its photo taken. This is the youngest Pied Monarch that we have found and a plumage stage that is little reported. 

Pied Monarch - juvenile

Several Lemon-bellied Flycatcher were on the edge of the Lodge grounds along Mt. Kooyong Road foraging in a Queensland Blue Gum; not too many around at the moment. The Metallic Starling colony in Geraghty Park lost 5-6 nests due to the high winds with at least two containing chicks. One nest had two chicks in and was upside down, we turned it over with the entrance hole upright and out popped two chicks who were almost ready to fledge. They flapped off along the ground and the parents came down to feed them. Our Olive-backed Sunbird is still sitting on its nest with the chicks near fledging, the location is quite safe from predators hanging off the safety chain in the gas bottle compound.

Olive-backed Sunbird nest

Further Afield:-

Still a surprising number of Black Kite along the road from Mt. Molloy to Mareeba. An unfortunate juvenile Pacific Baza was picked up dead along Euluma Creek Road in Julatten. It had a broken neck and will be lodged with the Queensland Museum in Townsville. A report of a nesting Satin Flycatcher in Mareeba has to be confirmed, if it is one then this will be a significant breeding record this far north in Australia.

Reptiles and Mammals:-

Highlight for the week was the previously mentioned Red-bellied Black Snake which was on the path to the orchard before it shot off into the rainforest at 100kph! We rarely see this snake around the grounds. Yellow-footed Antichinus was around again this week raiding the Mango on the feeder and running along the veranda outside the units. Giant White-tailed Rat was at the feeder late in the week and Striped Possum was seen in our neighbours garden. Bandicoot numbers seem to have decreased with only one Long-nosed and a couple of Northern Brown Bandicoot seen. 

Long-nosed Bandicoot

No Platypus sightings this week in Bushy Creek, probable due to the fast flowing murky water making observing difficult. A few small Major Skink were around but no sign of the larger adults. 

Major Skink - immature

There were however several Eastern Water Dragon lounging around on a few fallen logs, no doubt resting after too much celebrating for the Chinese New Year of the Dragon!

Eastern Water Dragon

29th January 2012 Report

A shortened week due to having to go into Cairns for a knee operation for two days. Knee appears to be coming along OK but it will curtail most birding activity for a few more days.

70mm of rain over the week and a big thunderstorm, which we missed being in Cairns, knocked the power out for six hours one night. Temperatures were much the same as last week 22.5ºc to 29.4ºc with the humidity 77% to 95%.

Birds recorded were less due to the reduced effort on our part, but our neighbours Carol and Andrew were out and about recording the birds in our area which kept the numbers up to a respectable 84 seen and a high 14 heard. 21 mammal and reptile species were seen and one heard, thanks to James Cook University (JCU) students who were camped here for boosting this number. 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:

Two Red-necked Crake with three chicks bathing in a pool beside the orchard, they were very flighty and took cover at the slightest movement. Great to see three chicks again this year, hope they all survive. Olive-backed Sunbird at our neighbours fledged two chicks at the end of the week and they seem to have survived longer than the last two they tried raising. Our sunbirds are still sitting on their nest.

Other sightings:

Waterbird numbers were again down this week with birds spread out over the permanent and temporary wetlands formed by the “wet season” rains. Only a few Magpie Goose, Pacific black Duck, Hardhead, an Australasian Darter, Little Pied and Little Black Cormorant, Eastern Great, Intermediate and Little Egret plus a White-faced Heron and a couple of Australian White Ibis. 

Pacific Black Duck

Topknot Pigeon were back with at least 50 foraging around the edge of the orchard at the end of the week. A few Pied Imperial-Pigeon were seen and both Wompoo and Superb Fruit-Dove heard. No sighting of our female Papuan Frogmouth for the week, she had been roosting in one of our fruit trees as this image shows, trying to look like one of the dead leaves.  
 

Papuan Frogmouth

and only one raptor sighting, a Whistling Kite. Several Buff-banded Rail were seen but not “Katie” who seems to have found new pastures. Spotless Crake was heard along McDougall Road where a dead one was found on a barbed wire fence a few weeks ago. Pale-vented Bush-hen are certainly getting excited with the rain and are calling a lot and even showing themselves along Mt. Kooyong Road on rare occasions. Pheasant Coucal have also been calling and sitting on fence posts but all the other cuckoos have only been heard, Eastern Koel, Channel-billed, Little (Gould's)-Bronze and Brush Cuckoo. 

Pheasant Coucal

Azure Kingfisher was along Bushy Creek and our Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher now have six confirmed nests with chicks in. Another nest with chicks is in our neighbours garden. Several Rainbow Bee-eater passed over the Lodge late in the week and Dollarbird have started to call again. Noisy Pitta have been seen in the orchard collecting food and flying into the rainforest, so it would appear they are feeding chicks in a nest. Unfortunately we found a dead Noisy Pitta outside one of our two bedroom units. It had been picked clean with only a few primary feathers showing the green edging and white wing marking plus a few loose turquoise feathers allowing the skeleton to be identified. It was probably one of the juveniles from this year. Spotted Catbird have been perching in the rainforest and calling intensely, mainly early morning but often throughout the day, they really put a lot of effort into their calls. They have also been coming to the water bowls as this one is.

Spotted Catbird

Fairy Gerygone are calling and flitting around high up in the trees but this female came down low before fleeing to the higher rainforest canopy.

Fairy Gerygone - female

Scarlet Honeyeater were heard for the first time in three weeks and Blue-faced plus Macleay's Honeyeater have returned to the nectar feeders. 

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Also coming to the water bowls are Yellow-faced Honeyeater. It really is worth putting out a few water bowls as birds will come in even if it is pouring with rain!

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Male Cicadabird has been calling and flying around the Lodge grounds for brief glimpses. White-breasted Woodswallow are still perching on fences along McDougall Road along with Australian Pipit and a few Metallic Starling, all appear to be feeding on the road but could not see anything resembling suitable food. Black-faced Monarch are still calling from several locations around the grounds and must be sitting on nests as they have been calling from the same spot for several weeks. The Spectacled Monarch reported last week nesting alongside Bushy Creek is still sitting but has chicks in the nest now. Pied Monarch and Yellow-breasted Boatbill have both been showing and calling. Metallic Starling are still collecting nesting material and building more nests as they have been doing since early August last year. There are more starlings around this year than any of the previous six years and they show no sign of letting up with their breeding; probably trying to make up for last year when Cyclone Yasi cut short their breeding season. Still plenty of Blue-faced Parrot-Finch on Mt Lewis.

Further Afield:-

We managed to fit in some birding during our trip to Cairns and visited Yorkey's Knob Lagoon, Cattana Wetlands, Centenary Lakes (Cairns Botanic Gardens) and of course the Cairns Esplanade. Yorkey's Knob Lagoon was full to almost overflowing with very few birds in the area, the highlight was a Crimson Finch who came to investigate us and sat outside our car looking in. The only waterbird was an Australasian Darter.

Australasian Darter

Cattana Wetlands was a bit more productive with a few more waterbirds and some bush birds. Green Pygmy-goose, Magpie Goose, Little Pied Cormorant and Australian Grebe were on the water whilst the most prominent bush bird was Black Butcherbird lurking around in the mangroves along the board walk. The presence of so many butcherbirds was probably the reason we saw fewer numbers of smaller birds. Cattana Wetland is well worth a visit whilst in Cairns, a brochure with species list can be downloaded from the BirdLife Australia NQ website http://www.birdsaustralianq.org/pdfs/Cattana_Wetlands_No_33.pdf. Centenary Lakes was as good as ever with Black Bittern, Rajah Shelduck, Comb-crested Jacana and Bush Stone-curlew amongst the 27 species we saw in just over an hour. The visit to the Cairns Esplanade was cut short by a rain storm but it made little difference as the tide was extremely high (highest for the year) with few birds visible. Another visit had the tide way out which also did not help finding waders. We did manage to see Eastern Reef Egret, Lesser Sand Plover, Masked Lapwing, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Grey-tailed Tattler, Great Knot and Red-necked Stint. 

Great Knot

There were many more birds we could have seen but we did not have the scope. On land there was the reliable Varied Honeyeater, lots of Pied Imperial Pigeon plus Rainbow Lorriket and Metallic Starling coming in to roost in trees along the Esplanade. The complete species list from our visits can be viewed on the Eremaea Birds site. Another search for Buff-breasted Button-quail south of Mt. Molloy, by one of our guests, failed to find any birds; the habitat here is becoming unsuitable with the grass becoming taller with the rains.

Reptiles and Mammals:-

A few interesting reptiles and mammals this week, JCU students heard Marbled Frog Limnodynastes convexiusculus a species we have not knowingly heard before, certainly not recorded one here in six years. Maybe we have been overlooking them as they have been recorded in the past. Queensland Tube-nosed Bat with their distinctive whistling call were heard by our neighbours, not one we have heard very often. Yellow-footed Antichinus have been active during the day with one coming to the feeder to enjoy some mango. Striped Possum was heard and seen once and a Platypus was seen whizzing along under the Bushy Creek bridge on the Mt. Kooyong Road. On nearby Mt. Lewis the JCU students spotlighted a Daintree River Ringtail  possum which usually occurs at higher altitudes than the Lodge. They are said to come down to 420m (we are 450m) but normally they are found on Mt. Lewis above 800m and are found in greater densities at higher altitudes (above 1000m). Information from "The Mammals of Australia" 3rd Edition. Steve Van Dyck and Ronald Strahan.

Daintree River Ringtail