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Vacational Trip Reports
Wonders Down Under: Singapore and Australia June-July 2009
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<blockquote data-quote="Andrew Whitehouse" data-source="post: 1558863" data-attributes="member: 3550"><p><strong>Day 14: 2nd July, Cairns to Daintree, Queensland</strong></p><p></p><p>Early the next morning I set off up the Esplanade again. With the tide fairly well in there were again some waders on show, including <strong>Great Knot</strong> and <strong>Red-capped Plover</strong>. I had a scan with the scope up to the end of the mud and just before the mangroves appeared I could see a pair of rather distant <strong>Beach Stone-curlews</strong>. These looked very weirdly proportioned birds even at a considerable distance and I was looking forward to getting a closer view. Sadly, when I checked a minute or so later the birds had disappeared. A couple of <strong>Sacred Kingfishers</strong>, the only ones of the trip in fact, were near the mangroves.</p><p></p><p>I then headed for Centenary Lakes. My first circuit produced almost nothing except for an <strong>Olive-backed Sunbird</strong>. When I got to the other side of the lakes I came out onto a road where I soon found a lovely <strong>Rainbow Bee-eater</strong>, which lived up to its name (well, at least the 'rainbow' bit anyway). Up in a tree top was a hefty looking <strong>Black Butcherbird</strong>, with a particularly handy looking bill. I walked back through Centenary Lakes and was delighted to find a small group of three <strong>Double-eyed Fig-parrots</strong>. I'm becoming rather a big fan of small parrots and so it was good to get some excellent views of these green, blue and red gems - one of my favourite birds of the whole trip. An <strong>Australian Swiftlet</strong> dashed over and there were also several <strong>Figbirds</strong> and another <strong>Leaden Flycatcher</strong>.</p><p></p><p>I headed back into central Cairns, checked out of my hostel and then picked up a hire car. I headed north, along the windy road up the coast to Daintree. I was staying at the lovely <a href="http://www.redmillhouse.com.au/" target="_blank">Red Mill House</a> right in the village. On arrival I received a friendly greeting from Andrew and Trish and was given the run down on birding sites and possibilities in the area.</p><p></p><p>I decided that as good a place as any to start was the garden. I soon found one of the <strong>Orange-footed Scrubfowl</strong> that was responsible for the large mound by the pond. It wasn't long before I was puzzling over honeyeaters. The peculiarly patterned <strong>MacLeay's Honeyeater</strong> was distinctive enough and the coppery-brown <strong>Dusky Honeyeaters</strong> were distinctively indistinct. The tricky ones were the 'lookalike' honeyeaters I was regularly seeing. A <strong>Lewin's Honeyeater</strong>, bulky and with a half-moon ear spot, was easy enough and, after quite a bit of scrutiny, I figured out I'd seen a <strong>Yellow-spotted Honeyeater</strong> too. A bit easier to do were a smart pair of <strong>Emerald Doves</strong> quietly walking the borders. My first <strong>Sulphur-crested Cockatoo</strong> flew noisily over. I was very enamoured of the orange and black <strong>Spectacled Monarch</strong> that was feeding in the canopy. Down at the small pond I had close views of a pair of <strong>Large-billed Gerygones</strong>.</p><p></p><p>After lunch I headed along Stewart Creek Road, which gives entry to a wide range of habitats including river valley, fields and forest. A <strong>Brahminy Kite</strong> was seen from the valley lookout. A little further along I found a pretty pair of tiny <strong>Mistletoebirds</strong>, which were very like the Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers I'd seen in Singapore. Nearby I found my main target, a group of three <strong>Lovely Fairywrens</strong>. These really did live up to their name, particularly the absolutely pristine male. There was another moulting male and a female. The females of this species are quite striking, being bluer above and whiter underneath than other fairywrens.</p><p></p><p>I followed the road down to the bridge, stopping regularly. <strong>Royal Spoonbill</strong> and <strong>Black-fronted Dotterel</strong> were both scoped in the distance on the banks of the river. A few <strong>Forest Kingfishers</strong> were seen well and a couple more <strong>Double-eyed Fig-parrots</strong> flew over. Passerines began to take centre stage and a number of new species were soon encountered including <strong>Little Shrike-thrush, Fairy Gerygone, Varied Triller</strong> and the obscure looking <strong>Grey Whistler</strong>. At the bridge I had wonderful views of a pair of vivid blue and orange <strong>Azure Kingfishers</strong>. Over the fields lots of <strong>Rainbow Bee-eaters</strong> and <strong>White-breasted Wood-swallows</strong> darted. At dusk I had distant views of a large, grey coloured heron flying slowly up the valley; it could only have been a <strong>Great-billed Heron</strong>. Six more flyover fig-parrots brought a really good day to a conclusion.</p><p></p><p>Here are some pictures from Centenary Lakes.</p><p>1. Rainbow Bee-eater</p><p>2&3 Double-eyed Fig-parrot</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Andrew Whitehouse, post: 1558863, member: 3550"] [b]Day 14: 2nd July, Cairns to Daintree, Queensland[/b] Early the next morning I set off up the Esplanade again. With the tide fairly well in there were again some waders on show, including [B]Great Knot[/B] and [B]Red-capped Plover[/B]. I had a scan with the scope up to the end of the mud and just before the mangroves appeared I could see a pair of rather distant [B]Beach Stone-curlews[/B]. These looked very weirdly proportioned birds even at a considerable distance and I was looking forward to getting a closer view. Sadly, when I checked a minute or so later the birds had disappeared. A couple of [B]Sacred Kingfishers[/B], the only ones of the trip in fact, were near the mangroves. I then headed for Centenary Lakes. My first circuit produced almost nothing except for an [B]Olive-backed Sunbird[/B]. When I got to the other side of the lakes I came out onto a road where I soon found a lovely [B]Rainbow Bee-eater[/B], which lived up to its name (well, at least the 'rainbow' bit anyway). Up in a tree top was a hefty looking [B]Black Butcherbird[/B], with a particularly handy looking bill. I walked back through Centenary Lakes and was delighted to find a small group of three [B]Double-eyed Fig-parrots[/B]. I'm becoming rather a big fan of small parrots and so it was good to get some excellent views of these green, blue and red gems - one of my favourite birds of the whole trip. An [B]Australian Swiftlet[/B] dashed over and there were also several [B]Figbirds[/B] and another [B]Leaden Flycatcher[/B]. I headed back into central Cairns, checked out of my hostel and then picked up a hire car. I headed north, along the windy road up the coast to Daintree. I was staying at the lovely [URL="http://www.redmillhouse.com.au/"]Red Mill House[/URL] right in the village. On arrival I received a friendly greeting from Andrew and Trish and was given the run down on birding sites and possibilities in the area. I decided that as good a place as any to start was the garden. I soon found one of the [B]Orange-footed Scrubfowl[/B] that was responsible for the large mound by the pond. It wasn't long before I was puzzling over honeyeaters. The peculiarly patterned [B]MacLeay's Honeyeater[/B] was distinctive enough and the coppery-brown [B]Dusky Honeyeaters[/B] were distinctively indistinct. The tricky ones were the 'lookalike' honeyeaters I was regularly seeing. A [B]Lewin's Honeyeater[/B], bulky and with a half-moon ear spot, was easy enough and, after quite a bit of scrutiny, I figured out I'd seen a [B]Yellow-spotted Honeyeater[/B] too. A bit easier to do were a smart pair of [B]Emerald Doves[/B] quietly walking the borders. My first [B]Sulphur-crested Cockatoo[/B] flew noisily over. I was very enamoured of the orange and black [B]Spectacled Monarch[/B] that was feeding in the canopy. Down at the small pond I had close views of a pair of [B]Large-billed Gerygones[/B]. After lunch I headed along Stewart Creek Road, which gives entry to a wide range of habitats including river valley, fields and forest. A [B]Brahminy Kite[/B] was seen from the valley lookout. A little further along I found a pretty pair of tiny [B]Mistletoebirds[/B], which were very like the Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers I'd seen in Singapore. Nearby I found my main target, a group of three [B]Lovely Fairywrens[/B]. These really did live up to their name, particularly the absolutely pristine male. There was another moulting male and a female. The females of this species are quite striking, being bluer above and whiter underneath than other fairywrens. I followed the road down to the bridge, stopping regularly. [B]Royal Spoonbill[/B] and [B]Black-fronted Dotterel[/B] were both scoped in the distance on the banks of the river. A few [B]Forest Kingfishers[/B] were seen well and a couple more [B]Double-eyed Fig-parrots[/B] flew over. Passerines began to take centre stage and a number of new species were soon encountered including [B]Little Shrike-thrush, Fairy Gerygone, Varied Triller[/B] and the obscure looking [B]Grey Whistler[/B]. At the bridge I had wonderful views of a pair of vivid blue and orange [B]Azure Kingfishers[/B]. Over the fields lots of [B]Rainbow Bee-eaters[/B] and [B]White-breasted Wood-swallows[/B] darted. At dusk I had distant views of a large, grey coloured heron flying slowly up the valley; it could only have been a [B]Great-billed Heron[/B]. Six more flyover fig-parrots brought a really good day to a conclusion. Here are some pictures from Centenary Lakes. 1. Rainbow Bee-eater 2&3 Double-eyed Fig-parrot [/QUOTE]
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Wonders Down Under: Singapore and Australia June-July 2009
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