[edenwatcher]

In the second half of October I visited eastern Australia (QLD and NSW) on an organised tour. This is not really the ideal way of visiting the country as 2 weeks is not long enough to do it justice and it is easy enough to cover independently. However given that my annual birding holiday is time away from the family, and thus has time constraints, it is a much more efficient way of doing things. Also, never having visited Australia before, it was going to be steep learning curve. I am eternally grateful to my (birding) wife for permitting me such indulgences, whilst she looks after the boys ... Payback time will follow once they are older!
I left Edinburgh on a grey afternoon on Sunday 18th October and flew down to Heathrow. My onward flight to Singapore with British Airways left late evening. After a sleepless night, mitigated by excellent in-flight entertainment, we landed in Singapore around 5pm local time. After collecting my boarding pass for the onward flight to Cairns via Darwin, there was enough daylight to see if I could find some birds from the terminal building. I managed 4 species, but 2 were lifers: Javan (white-vented) myna and Pacific swallow, ... which was nice.
The flight to Cairns was with Jetstar, a Qantas codeshare partner. We were on the ground in Darwin for about 90 minutes in the middle of the night and reached Cairns shortly before 08:00 local time (BST + 9) on 20th October. Having confessed to grubby shoes in my luggage they received a thorough cleaning at customs - they hadn't been that clean since I got them! Perhaps inevitably my first Australian bird was house sparrow and, quite possibly, common myna was next!
Sunbird's Australia tour comes in 3 parts, of which I was doing the last. The leader and some of the participants were arriving from Darwin around 10:00 so I birded the area between the international terminal and domestic arrivals, quickly racking up lifers. In the context of what I was to see later I guess the best species seen were chestnut-breasted mannikin and fairy martin. The flight was a few minutes early and we took a taxi into Cairns to meet the rest of the group and pick up the minibus.
We visited the Esplanade but the tide was high so no waders and no sign of the long staying laughing gull (which we never did catch up with). However, who goes to Australia for laughing gull? Our first proper birding stop was at Centenary Lakes, where lifers came thick and fast. Notable species were a brown-backed honeyeater, young rufous night heron, Australian swiftlets and rainbow bee-eaters. We moved on to the cemetery and successully located a pair of bush stone-curlews with chick, along with scaly-breasted lorikeets. By now it was lunchtime, so we went back into Cairns to grab something to eat.
TBC

Rob

[birdboybowley]

Knowing most tour companies prices wouldn't it of been cheaper to've taken the family....!?

[cheshirebirder]

Myself and my wife were there in September , so I'm interested to hear about the rest of your trip. The waders on the Esplanade were like seeing a host of birds I'd twitched at home all at the same time !

[chowchilla]

Night Heron's a good tick for the Lakes. I'll be interested to see what else you get in the next installments.

[edenwatcher]

Originally Posted by birdboybowley

Knowing most tour companies prices wouldn't it of been cheaper to've taken the family....!?

Well ... I know what you mean, but on the whole, this was pretty good value for money.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

20/10/09 contd.
After lunch we headed north, pausing by the airport to view the colony of metallic starlings. A dark phase eastern reef egret was seen from the moving vehicle before we reached some fields where a flock of 17 little whimbrel had been reported. As we arrived the birds were flying around over their favoured field - indeed they were very mobile all the time we were there. However given the heat haze the views were actually better when they took to the air. Also here was an Australasian pipit.
Soon after we headed inland and climbed through rainforest to Kingfisher Park birdwatchers' lodge. Whilst the rooms were being allocated we watched the feeders, seeing a host of new species. These included all 3 of the confusing Meliphaga honeyeaters (graceful, yellow-spotted and Lewin's), red-browed finch and the restricted range endemic - grey-headed robin. Behind my cabin I found a very obliging Pacific baza which gave great views to all. A walk around the grounds at Kingfisher Park proved very productive. First thing of note was a giant white-tailed rat – not hugely appealing, but there you go. 2 roosting Papuan frogmouths were much appreciated and other goodies included bridled honeyeater, spotted catbird and orange-footed scrubfowl – together with its monstrous mound.
Down at the creek there was lots of activity including spectacled monarch, little shrike-thrush and large-billed scrub-wren. These were totally eclipsed by a platypus swimming past! As we walked back to the lodge a yellow-breasted boatbill showed for some of us. We had a pre-dinner spotlighting session to see the rather controversial local owls. Long considered to be masked owl, they are now thought to be Eastern barn owls. (Larry you may need to amend your list ...) Anyhow 2 birds performed very nicely emerging from their roost hole. Even at dinner (excellent food here!) there were things to see, with mammals visiting the feeders. Highlights were northern brown and long-nosed bandicoots. So ended a rather bewildering first day on which I had over 50 lifers!

Rob

[edenwatcher]

21/10/09
I woke with a mild fever – some sort of allergic reaction, which continued off and on for about 3 days. Fortunately it had no impact on birding. A pre-breakfast walk featured a pair of forest kingfishers excavating a nest in a tree termites’ colony and the frogmouths again (looking a bit soggy after overnight rain). After breakfast we loaded up and set off for nearby Abattoir Swamp. A spotless crake had been reported here, but we were unable to find it. Best bird was the handsome white-cheeked honeyeater, other notable sightings including brush cuckoo and pheasant coucal. Next destination was the Mary Farms roads, where we located 3 huge Australian bustards, one of which showed very nicely.
The school at Mt Molloy features on many itineraries, and ours was no exception. Grey-crowned babblers were seen as we drove up and a white-throated gerygone as we walked along the entrance path. However the reason people visit is to see great bowerbird and its bower. The bowerbird came and checked us out, but did not stay long, so we were left to admire his handywork (beakywork?). The school caretaker then invited us into her yard for better views of the babblers and we also saw red-winged parrot and double-barred finch. Elsewhere in Mt Molloy a walk across a couple of playing fields brought us into an area with a square-tailed kite’s nest and one bird duly obliged by giving a couple of close fly-bys.
After a packed lunch we headed south to Mareeba, with stops en route for some eastern grey kangaroos (which I picked up) and red-tailed black cockatoo. Two emus were the highlight of the drive into the Mareeba wetlands – unfortunately these are not tickable. The population derives from rescued birds that have been released on the reserve. The stripey juveniles around the visitor centre may be countable in future though … The wetland held a few green pygmy geese and wandering whistling ducks, plus comb-crested jacana. We went out in one of the rangers’ vehicles to search for brown treecreeper and black-throated finch. The treecreeper was found quite quickly but we did not catch up with the finch until we were on our return. In between we saw satin flycatcher, shining bronze cuckoo and a range of waterbirds including our largest gathering of black swans. A definite highlight was seeing a frilled lizard strutting its stuff. As we left the wetlands and returned to the road we saw a party of apostlebirds (nearer 15 than 12) and a blue-winged kingfisher. We then drove to our base for the next 2 nights at Yungaburra in the Atherton tablelands.

Rob

[markgrubb]

A nice report so far Rob

I'll be interested to hear what Sue's idea of a payback girls holiday is. I'm sure HE2 can advise .....

[edenwatcher]

Climbing in the Alps, I strongly suspect.

Rob

[chowchilla]

Excellent stuff.

I still haven't had a chance to go for the Little Curlews as I don't drive, but hopefully soon.

I'm surprised to hear that the Masked Owls have turned into Barn Owls! Just goes to show how tricky these Tytons can be..

Nice to know the ST Kites are still around. Good birds to have.

Satin Fly's a good record for up here. 99% of that little group are usually Leadens.

[edenwatcher]

I think Keith is still not convinced about the owls. There are definite barn owls there, which behave rather differently (intolerant of spotlighting among other things). He sent a road kill bird to CSIRO for DNA testing but they lost it ...

Rob

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by edenwatcher

I think Keith is still not convinced about the owls. There are definite barn owls there, which behave rather differently (intolerant of spotlighting among other things). He sent a road kill bird to CSIRO for DNA testing but they lost it ...

Rob

Lol, typical CSIRO!

I knew both species occurred in the area, so I wonder if this was a one off misID? When I get up there again, hopefully in the not too distant future, I'll get a good look myself.

Are the BF Parrot Fiches not around anymore? There was a reliable site near Kingfisher Park.

[edenwatcher]

I think the parrot finches disappeared due to lack of rain ...

Rob

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by edenwatcher

I think the parrot finches disappeared due to lack of rain ...

Rob

Ah, pity.

[edenwatcher]

22/10/09
There are various rainforest patches of different sizes around Yungaburra and before breakfast we visited one of the larger ones at Lake Eacham. We spent a couple of hours in the car park watching the comings and goings. Birding was excellent, with our first brush turkeys on the entrance road, scarlet honeyeaters, female Victoria’s riflebird, tooth-billed bowerbird, brown cuckoo-dove, fan-tailed cuckoo, topknot pigeon, yellow-breasted boatbill, barred cuckooshrike and a close double-eyed fig parrot which unfortunately vanished before everyone could get on to it.
After breakfast we went up to the curtain fig – a spectacular strangler fig with a boardwalk around it. Avian highlights were Bower’s shrike-thrush, Atherton scrub-wren and pied monarch but these were usurped by a superb Lumholtz’s tree kangaroo. This was unusually active and slithered down one tree before climbing another. They really aren’t terribly proficient in trees – just as well no monkeys reached Australia! We also saw a couple of green ringtail possums. Next we had a change of habitat: ploughed fields held flocks of sarus cranes, whilst an unremarkable farm field was crammed with magpie geese. Our next stop was at Hastie’s swamp, a very productive wetland area. Purple (black-backed) swamphens were everywhere and plumed whistling ducks were well into 4 figures. In addition to 6 royal spoonbills there was a single yellow-billed spoonbill (thereby completing my set), the only white-necked heron of the trip, grey teal, square-tailed and whistling kites, red-kneed and black-fronted dotterels and a snipe sp. (presumably Latham’s, but we couldn’t exclude Swinhoe’s).
After sandwiches in Atherton we returned to Yungaburra before heading out to Lake Barrine for the afternoon. The lake was covered in great crested grebes (150+) along with a number of hardheads and pacific black ducks. Whilst watching these we were acosted by a brush turkey. The trail through the rainforest was fairly quiet but things picked up with a party of chowchillas, digging industriously. Top birds. Interestingly a musky rat-kangaroo seemed to be associating with them. A male Victoria’s riflebird called from an invisible perch but tooth-billed bowerbirds were much more obliging, with at least 3 males along a short stretch of trail. The latest HBW suggests that this may be an exploded lek species (like screaming piha), which would fit. The “bower” of one bird, with leaves turned pale side up, was nicely visible. However it was another bird which stole the show, singing lustily at eye level, just a few feet from the path. A female eastern whipbird was in the same area. Near the end of the trail some of us saw a wompoo fruit dove, but it didn’t linger.
Back in Yungaburra we spent some time at the platypus viewing screen – one performing very nicely. After dinner we went back to the curtain fig for a spotlighting session for mammals. We found a common ringtail possum and the striking coppery brushtail possum, along with a leaf-tailed gecko.

Rob

Photos will follow in the fullness of time ...

[edenwatcher]

23/10/09
The day started with an Australian hobby steaming through in (unsuccessful) pursuit of scaly-breasted lorikeets. Our pre-breakfast excursion involved driving back roads around Yungaburra looking for brown quail and tawny grassbird – unsuccessfully (though we did have very close views of buff-banded rail). We ended up at Red Cedar Tree searching for the elusive fernwren, which also failed to oblige. However we did have excellent views of wompoo fruit dove, yellow-breasted boatbill and (for some of us) superb fruit dove. Chowchillas were singing vigorously here.
After breakfast we loaded up (after a look in Nicolas’s room, where a very large spider had wandered in during breakfast) and set off for Longlands Gap – a higher alltitude bit of rainforest. Not far from Yungaburra some likely habitat yielded a tawny grassbird. The rolling grassy hills proved good for raptors, with another Australian hobby, a brief spotted harrier and no fewer than 3 magnificent wedge-tailed eagles. We began to run into showers as we neared Longlands Gap and we arrived there in steady rain. Notwithstanding we quickly encountered a flock of mountain thornbills and some friendly grey fantails. The track here has become very overgrown so we abandoned our chance of finding golden bowerbird. Lower down we visited The Crater NP, where the weather was kinder but fernwren again failed to oblige. Bridled honeyeater, spotted catbird, our first eastern spinebill and another 2 tree kangaroos were good though.
We had lunch in Atherton once again, before heading to the dry country to the east of Mareeba. Here there were signs of a new (and soon destined to be extinct) mammal – the not-agile-enough wallaby – it was carnage. We had good views of red-tailed black cockatoos, a close fly-by from the vast channel-billed cuckoo (what a frightful noise!), olive-backed orioles, red-winged parrot and finally nice views of our main target – squatter pigeon. It was now time to return to Cairns. A few km north of town a flying black-necked stork led us to find another 2.
On arrival in Cairns we immediately headed for the Esplanade where, although it was around high tide, neap tides meant the waders were still present and very close to the boardwalk. A number of other birders were around, including John Crowhurst who would be accompanying us the following day. The waders were excellent, although it was about the only lifer free bit of the trip! Great knot and sharp-tailed sandpiper were the most numerous species, with plenty of red-necked stints and bar-tailed godwits, grey-tailed tattler, black-tailed godwit, Pacific golden plover, curlew sandpiper, greater and lesser sand plovers. Other birds included gull-billed tern, royal spoonbill, eastern great and little egrets. A bizarre incident then occurred when a local yob on a mountain bike cycled up, clapped his hands and flushed all the birds. He was confronted by one of the local birders, who got a cycle helmet in the face from a head butt for his trouble. The guy protested that he’d done nothing but being heavily outnumbered (and finding no support from passers by) went on his way. When the birds landed again the Asiatic dowitcher was showing very nicely! Another group of waders further along the esplanade included 2 broad-billed sandpipers, a terek sandpiper and several eastern curlews. We finished up at the mangroves at the north end of the esplanade, where high winds prevented all but a brief view of a varied honeyeater.

Rob

[birdboybowley]

Yeah, interesting that the owls at Geraghty Park are thought to be controversial. I spent two nights watching them and can't see any problem with them being MO's - far too big and dark for BO's with a very dark facial disc..and certainly bigger than LSO which is about the same size as a BO. I watched a pair of BO's at Hasties Swamp the following night and these were smaller, cleaner underneath and lighter above. Strange!

[skink1978]

I'm really enjoying this report. I missed out on the Tree Kangaroos on my visit, but I remember getting very excited about a Giant White-tailed Rat!

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Enjoying the report too - it's a good comparison. I'm almost glad I didn't see the owls in Geraghty Park, although really I wished I did.

[chowchilla]

Originally Posted by edenwatcher

23/10/09
A bizarre incident then occurred when a local yob on a mountain bike cycled up, clapped his hands and flushed all the birds. He was confronted by one of the local birders, who got a cycle helmet in the face from a head butt for his trouble. The guy protested that he’d done nothing but being heavily outnumbered (and finding no support from passers by) went on his way. When the birds landed again the Asiatic dowitcher was showing very nicely! Another group of waders further along the esplanade included 2 broad-billed sandpipers, a terek sandpiper and several eastern curlews.
Rob

Hey, I must've just missed you! I arrived about an hour after that incident to find John Seale (the bloke who confronted that idiot) with blood on his forehead and left leg! Sounds like it all got a bit nasty... John laughed it off, and I remember remarking, "God, it's a dangerous business this birding!"

That little circuit you did of the Tablelands is one of my favourite little local trips. There's so much to see in such a small area, and it sounds like you did well, apart from those pesky Fernwrens...

[edenwatcher]

I hadn't thought of birding as a contact sport before then!
Shame we missed each other.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

Some photos ...

Rob

[edenwatcher]

and some more from Kingfisher Park.

Rob

[edenwatcher]

More narrative:
24/10/09
This was a big day – our visit to Cassowary House, and with any luck its eponymous species. We knew that chances were good as 2 birds had been visiting regularly (and independently). We arrived at 6:50 and David went to inform Sue Gregory of our presence. He came back and invited us to the patio – where both birds were loitering with intent! It was a mesmerising experience with 2 such huge creatures almost within touching distance. The larger female is quite placid, but according to Sue the male can get aggressive if he feels cornered. Given the weaponry at his disposal we weren’t going to do that! Other species present were a black butcherbird, Victoria’s riflebirds (a male at last) and several highly strung musky rat kangaroos. We were given breakfast at 8:00, which got off to a slow start as at that moment a red-necked crake appeared. Macleay’s and yellow-spotted honeyeaters visited the feeders and the male riflebird, remained sitting in the depths of a tree by the balcony.
After breakfast we set off to bird the surrounding area, with a grey goshawk seen (probably in the vicinity of a nest) and a flighty cicadabird. Noisy pittas would not come out to play though. We drove up to Mackenzie’s Pocket and readily found both of our target birds – lovely fairy wren and fairy gerygone. Back down the road towards Kuranda everyone caught up with double-eyed fig parrot, with a pair visiting a fruiting tree, and we also saw a pair of varied trillers. The grounds at Cassowary House held a range of interesting species including wompoo fruit dove and rufous fantail. At lunch there was still one cassowary present and the male riflebird was much more obliging.
We then returned to Cairns, stopping first at the mangroves at the north end of the esplanade. Varied honeyeaters showed well and we also had good views of mangrove robin, whilst a male fig parrot posed at close range. Next we paid a return visit to Centenary Lakes, where new species included large-billed gerygone, yellow oriole and a very obliging pair of collared kingfishers; though we failed to find little kingfisher. A visit to the esplanade was next, where trees opposite McDonalds are a traditional roost site for rufous night heron. We readily found some – quite how many was hard to judge as you needed to change position for each sighting. We concluded that probably 3 birds were present. Our final destination was the library to look at the roost of spectacled flying foxes. Lots of activity in the colony including some well-hung males demonstrating one of the key differences between flying foxes and bats …

Rob

[edenwatcher]

I know the emu isn't countable, but it was mildly amusing ...

Rob