Cairns and Tablelands 18-25Dec13

From KH

December is a summer month in Australia. At this time of the year, Cairns is as hot as Singapore, while temperature in the Tablelands ranges from a cool 18-30 degrees Celsius. Daylight is 0530-1830. There wasn't much rain except at night.

The target of this trip was the 12 Wet Tropics endemic birds and the Platypus. The first and last day were pretty much for settling in and out of Cairns, so we only birded from 18-24 Dec. We sighted 161 bird species (51 lifers), 7 mammal species and 5 reptile species.

18 Dec

The first day of exploration started right in the city of Cairns. Birders have been reporting a roosting Rufous Owl in the mango tree at the junction of Florence St and Abbott St. Sure enough the bird was there.

So were some Torresian Imperial Pigeons (considered by some to be conspecific with Pied Imperial Pigeon).

Introduced Spotted Doves and House Sparrows added to the numbers.

There were also hundreds or thousands of Spectacled Flying Foxes in the adjacent mango trees. Later during dusk, we witnessed the spectacle of a continuous stream of flying foxes in the dimming light, like a scene out of Van Helsing. Fantastic!

After lunch, we headed to the Centenary Lakes. By now, it was very hot and we only got 15 species of common birds. In the lakes were Pacific Black Ducks, Radjah Shelducks, a Little Egret and a Great Egret.

The male and female Australasian Figbirds look quite different. Left male, right female.

Here are some of the others:

Left: Yellow Oriole. Right: Helmeted Friarbird

Left: Spangled Drongo. Right: Magpie Lark

Left: Orange-footed Scrubfowl. Right: Australian Brush Turkey

We checked into Hides Hotel to escape from the hot sun. We chose this hotel mainly because it is a very affordable hotel which is only 10 mins walk to the Esplanade and Marlin Marina (for Seastar Cruise). It turned out to be a great choice, as it included free breakfast at a veranda overlooking some trees. So you could still bird while having breakfast! We booked a Heritage ensuite and got upgraded to a Superior ensuite! It was also right in the middle of the city, with a Woolworths supermarket, a daily night market and lots of shopping.

The best time to go to the Esplanade is in the evening when the sun is at your back, and when the tide is low and rising. On the mudflat, we got 14 species of waders, 1 Gull-billed Tern, some Silver Gulls, 1 Pied Cormorant, 1 Australian White Ibis, 1 dark morph Pacific Reef Egret, 1 Great Egret and 1 Little Egret.

Eastern Curlew

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Left: Dark morph Pacific Reef Egret. Right: Great Egret

There were Australian Swiftlets, Welcome Swallows and Torresian Imperial Pigeons flying over the shore. In the surrounding trees were Rainbow Bee-eaters, Rainbow Lorikeets, Brown Honeyeaters and Australasian Figbirds.

19 Dec

Today, we went to the Great Barrier Reef. The initial plan was to bird around Michaelmas Cay, but we ended up snorkeling more than birding. We took the Seastar Cruise from Marlin Marina. While waiting to depart, a few birds were spotted at the pier - Black-necked Stork, Little Tern, White-breasted Woodswallow, White-bellied Cuckooshrike and more Brown Honeyeaters.

White-breasted Woodswallow

Michaelmas Cay is an island off Cairns where a colony of Brown Noddies, Sooty Terns, Lesser Crested Terns and a few Brown Boobies were nesting. Other seabirds can also be found flying around - Lesser Frigatebirds, Great Crested Terns and Black-naped Terns. There were also a Ruddy Turnstone and a Silver Gull on the Cay.

Left to right: Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern and Lesser Crested Tern

Brown Noddies (front), Lesser Crested Terns (back), 1 adult Sooty Tern and 1 Black-naped Tern

Lesser Frigatebird

Brown Boobies with chick.

After Michaelmas Cay, we went to Hastings Reef. Through the glass bottom boat, we saw more fish, corals and Giant Clams than while snorkeling. A word of caution when going on such cruises: more than half of the passengers were feeling seasick, so do take the pill before the ride (or purchase from the operator).

We reached Marlin Marina at about 4 pm and took a short walk down Esplanade. Nothing new was spotted.

20 Dec

While enjoying breakfast at the veranda, we also enjoyed the common birds that dropped by. I found a pair of Torresian Imperial Pigeons nesting in one of the trees. Then a pair of Double-eyed Fig Parrots of the endemic macleayana subspecies flew by!

After checking out, we made our way to Cattana Wetlands. We ticked off some wetland birds - White-browed Crake, Comb-crested Jacana, Darter, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Magpie Goose and Green Pygmy Goose.

Left: White-browed Crake. Right: Comb-crested Jacana.

Green Pygmy Geese are all in pairs. Female left, male right.

In the trees were Brown-backed Honeyeaters, Crimson Finches, Metallic Starlings and Olive-backed Sunbirds.

Metallic Starlings. Adult left, juvenile right

On the ground were Orange-footed Scrubfowls and Pale-lipped Shade Skinks (Saproscincus basiliscus).

After Cattana Wetlands, we took Captain Cook Highway along the coast and added Osprey and Purple Swamphen. Lunch was at Port Douglas and then it was a detour to Daintree Village. As it was rather hot by now, there was not much activity, but we still ticked off Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.

Upon reaching Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, we were briefed on the recent activities by Lindsay Fisher and she showed us the resident Boyd's Forest Dragon.

Kingfisher Park has a nice orchard surrounded by tall trees. Some of the star birds here were Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher and Noisy Pitta.

There were several pairs of Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfishers nesting in the termite mounds.

There was a pair of Noisy Pittas nesting in the orchard.

According to Lindsay, birds would start bathing in Bushy Creek at about 4:30 pm. Sure enough, Spectacled Monarch, Large-billed Scrubwren, Little Shrike-thrush, Pale Yellow Robin, Grey Fantail and honeyeaters all showed up. So we nailed our first of the 12 Wet Tropic endemics - Macleay's Honeyeater. Note: Remember to spray insect repellent if you want to avoid mosquitoes bites.

Macleay's Honeyeater

Left: Pale Yellow Robin nana subspecies. Right: Grey Fantail keasti subspecies

Left: Large-billed Scrubwren. Right: Little Shrike-thrush

Left: Spectacled Monarch. Right: Black-faced Monarch

In the orchard, we waited at the Crake Pond to no avail. However, a Black-faced Monarch did show up. Keith Fisher was also out shooting and he got a Pied Monarch that I missed... Nevertheless, it was still singing and I managed to learn its song. Other birds present were Emerald Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Sulphur-creasted Cockatoo, Spotted Catbird and Red-browed Finch.

21 Dec

I started the morning in the orchard and nailed the Red-necked Crake in another pond. After that it was time to make the drive up Mt Lewis - the place to be for all the 12 endemics. At Mt Lewis, we added 6 endemic species.

Left: Atherton Scrubwren. Right: Fernwren carrying nesting material

Left: Mountain Thornbill. Right: Grey-headed Robin

Left: Bridled Honeyeater feeding. Right: Tooth-billed Bowerbird

We also got an endemic subspecies: Yellow-throated Scrubwren cairnsi.

The non-avian highlight was a metre-long Red-bellied Black Snake slithering away as we exited the trail.

After lunch, we drove to East Mary Road for the Australian Bustard. My wife spotted two, while I only scored one.

Moving on to Julatten, we got the Great Bowerbird beside the shelter opposite the primary school.

On Euluma Creek Road, we added Yellow Honeyeaters, White-throated Honeyeater, Pacific Baza and Forest Kingfisher.

We tried for Lovely Fairywren at Pinnacle Road without success, but got Red-backed Fairywren instead.

Back at Kingfisher Park, having learnt the Pied Monarch song, I managed to whistle it out. That was our eighth of the 12 endemics.

Lastly, the Blue-faced Honeyeater completed Day 4.

22 Dec

A morning walk around Kingfisher Park revealed Metallic Starlings nesting at Geraghty Park. I also added Silvereye.

As we exited Kingfisher Park, a Nankeen Kestrel was spotted.

Here is another round at Mt Lewis, but this time more targeted at the endemics that we missed. The tally is now 11 out of 12, with the Golden Bowerbird to go.

Left: Male Chowchilla. Right: Female Victoria's Riflebird

Bower's Shrike Thrush

Another try for the Lovely Fairywren ended with failure... Nevertheless, we were glad to add Wompoo Fruit Dove, Eastern Yellow Robin and Dusky Honeyeater. The endemic Macleay's and Bridled Honeyeaters were also around.

Wompoo Fruit Dove

Along Euluma Creek Road, firstly, Fairy Martins put on a show.

Then, an Agile Wallaby was spotted on the road. It was a rather unusual wallaby as most would hop into the bushes upon seeing a car approaching. However, this one remain on the road for several minutes even as we got closer!

While the wallaby was carrying out its antics, a pair of Brown Quails made crossings (left to right and back to left!) Also, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters were feeding in the trees.

23 Dec

After three nights, we checked out of the lodge, which is the place to stay if you want birdlife just at your doorstep and easy access to nearby birding spots. We stayed in a self-contained unit, but bunkhouses and caravan sites are also available. Stopping by the ponds at MacDougall Road, we ticked off Australasian Grebe and Whistling Kite.

Along the way to Lake Mitchell, we saw a pair of Pheasant Coucals, as well as several Black Kites.

One of the Black Kites was mobbed by White-breasted Woodswallows!

At Lake Mitchell, we added Brolgas, Common Coots, Black Swans, Whiskered Terns, Double-barred Finches and Golden-headed Cisticolas.

Left: a pair of Brolgas. Right: Darter sunning itself

At Pickford Road (access road to Mareeba Wetland, which was closed), we saw White-necked and White-faced Herons, and 3 species of egrets. After lunch at Mareeba, we headed to Hasties Swamp. There were so many birds here! - 7 species of ducks, 3 species of ibises, spoonbills, cormorants, stilts, coots, swamphens.

A Common Coot with Pink-eared Ducks and Plumed Whistling Ducks.

Flying Pink-eared Ducks with a Freckled Duck in the water

3 Grey Teals with 3 Pacific Black Ducks

A short stop at Curtain Fig added Golden Whistler to the list.

At the driveway into Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge, a Laughing Kookaburra was whacking a snake!

At Peterson Creek, the Platypus started appearing at 6:15 pm.

After dinner, it was time to visit the night mammal viewing platform at Chambers. Four Sugar Gliders and one Long-nosed Bandicoot made an appearance. So did many Cane Toads and one White-kneed Cricket.

Left: Long-nosed Bandicoot. Right: Sugar Gliders

Left: Cane Toad, an introduced species. Right: White-kneed King Cricket, a large cricket

24 Dec

At Chambers, one of the things to do is to put out fruits on the veranda for birds. We only got a Spotted Catbird and a Lewin's Honeyeater visiting.

Left: Spotted Catbird. Right: Lewin's Honeyeater

At Mt Hypipamee (aka The Crater), before the car park, a male Victoria's Riflebird was displaying to a female.

Then a Topknot Pigeon was spotted high above.

However, the highlight here was a male Golden Bowerbird at its bower.

Moving on towards the crater, we missed the tree kangaroo by seconds! At the crater itself, a Grey Goshawk was being chased by White-breasted Woodswallows, and a pair of Pied Currawongs flew across.

Along the trail to Dinner Falls, a Brown Cuckoo Dove and a Superb Fruit Dove stayed for some photo-taking.

Left: Brown Cuckoo Dove. Right: Superb Fruit Dove

A short stop at Lake Eacham revealed it was more for swimming than birding. However, Lake Barrine had quite a good trail. Even in the afternoon, we saw several Tooth-billed Bowerbirds and a Pied Monarch, among other birds. Non-avian highlights were two Musky Rat Kangaroos. Another visit to Peterson Creek in the evening connected us with the last species of this trip: a Barred Cuckooshrike and an Eastern Water Dragon.

25 Dec

Another round of bananas on the veranda attracted a male Victoria's Riflebird, but it got spooked by the overzealous me before getting a bite. Chambers is the place to stay not only for birds, but also night mammals because it is right in the middle of the rainforest. After checking out on a Christmas morning, it was time to head for Cairns Airport for our morning flight back to Singapore.

Bird list. 161 birds seen in this trip. 51 lifers (L) of which 12 are endemic (E) to the Wet Tropics.
Ch: Chambers, CL: Centenary Lake, CW: Cattana Wetlands, EC: Euluma Creek Road, Es: Esplanade, HS: Hasties Swamp, KP: Kingfisher Park, LB: Lake Barrine, LM: Lake Mitchell, MC: Michaelmas Cay, MtH: Mt Hypipamee, MtL: Mt Lewis, PfR: Pickford Road, PnR: Pinnacle Road

1. Australian Brush Turkey - Ch (1), CL (2), LB (1), Lake Eacham Rd (2)
2. Orange-footed Scrubfowl - CL (1), CW (1), KP (1)
3. Brown Quail - EC (1 pair)
4. Magpie Goose - CW, HS
5. Plumed Whistling-Duck - HS
6. Wandering Whistling-Duck - HS
7. Freckled Duck (L) - HS (1)
8. Black Swan - HS, LM
9. Radjah Shelduck - CL (5)
10. Green Pygmy-goose - CW, LM
11. Pacific Black Duck - CL, CW, HS
12. Grey Teal - HS
13. Pink-eared Duck (L) - HS
14. Hardhead - HS
15. Australasian Grebe - MacDougall Road (2), HS
16. Brown Booby (L) - MC
17. Australian Darter - CW, LM
18. Little Pied Cormorant - CW, HS, LM
19. Pied Cormorant - Es (1), HS, LM
20. Little Black Cormorant - CW (1), LM
21. Australian Pelican - LB (1), LM, Es (1)
22. Lesser Frigatebird - MC (2)
23. White-faced Heron - PfR
24. Little Egret - CL (1), Es (1), PfR
25. Pacific Reef Heron - Es (1 dark morph)
26. White-necked Heron (L) - PfR (3)
27. Great Egret - CL (1), Es (1), PfR
28. Intermediate Egret - PfR
29. Glossy Ibis - HS
30. Australian White Ibis - CL (1), HS
31. Straw-necked Ibis - HS
32. Royal Spoonbill - HS (2)
33. Black-necked Stork - Es (1 in flight)
34. Osprey - Captain Cook Hwy (1 in flight)
35. Pacific Baza (L) - Julatten (1 in flight)
36. Black-shouldered Kite - Julatten (1), Kennedy Hwy (1)
37. Black Kite - Mulligan Hwy, Kennedy Hwy
38. Whistling Kite - Julatten (4)
39. Grey Goshawk (L) - MtH (1)
40. Nankeen Kestrel - Julatten (1)
41. Brolga - LM (2)
42. Red-necked Crake (L) - KP (1)
43. Buff-banded Rail (L) - Kennedy Hwy (3)
44. White-browed Crake - CW (3)
45. Purple Swamphen - HS, Peterson Creek
46. Common Coot - HS, LM
47. Australian Bustard (L) - East Mary Road (3)
48. Bar-tailed Godwit - Es
49. Whimbrel - Es
50. Eastern Curlew - Es
51. Common Greenshank - Es
52. Terek Sandpiper - Es
53. Grey-tailed Tattler - Es
54. Ruddy Turnstone - MC (1)
55. Great Knot - Es
56. Red-necked Stint - Es
57. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (L) - Es
58. Curlew Sandpiper - Es
59. Broad-billed Sandpiper - Es (1)
60. Comb-crested Jacana - CW (1), LM (1)
61. Black-winged Stilt - HS (4)
62. Grey Plover - Es (1)
63. Lesser Sand Plover - Es
64. Greater Sand Plover - Es
65. Masked Lapwing - CL, Es
66. Silver Gull - Es, MC
67. Gull-billed Tern - Es (1)
68. Lesser Crested Tern - MC (nesting)
69. Great Crested Tern - MC
70. Black-naped Tern - MC (5)
71. Little Tern - Es (1)
72. Sooty Tern (L) - MC (nesting)
73. Whiskered Tern - HS
74. Common Noddy (L) - MC (nesting)
75. Rock Dove - Cairns City
76. Spotted Dove - Cairns City
77. Brown Cuckoo Dove (L) - Lake Eacham, MtH, MtL
78. Emerald Dove - KP (2), Ch (1)
79. Peaceful Dove - Es, HS, LM
80. Bar-shouldered Dove - KP (4)
81. Wompoo Fruit Dove (L) - KP (heard), PnR (2), Ch (heard)
82. Superb Fruit Dove (L) - MtH (1)
83. Pied Imperial Pigeon - Cairns City
84. Topknot Pigeon (L) - KP (1), MtH (1)
85. Galah - Mt Carbine Caravan Park
86. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo - KP (3), LB (1)
87. Rainbow Lorikeet - Cairns City, Daintree, Julatten
88. Double-eyed Fig Parrot (L) macleayana - Cairns City
89. Brush Cuckoo - KP (heard)
90. Pheasant Coucal - Kennedy Hwy (2)
91. Rufous Owl (L) - Cairns City (1)
92. Australian Swiftlet (L) - Es
93. Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher (L) - KP (a few pairs)
94. Laughing Kookaburra - Ch (1 eating snake), KP (4), Peterson Creek (4)
95. Blue-winged Kookaburra - PfR (1)
96. Forest Kingfisher - EC (4)
97. Rainbow Bee-eater - Es (3), LM (3)
98. Dollarbird - Geraghty Park (1)
99. Noisy Pitta (L) - KP (1 pair)
100. Red-backed Fairywren - EC (2)
101. Fernwern (L) (E) - MtH (1), MtL (3)
102. Yellow-throated Scrubwren carinsi - MtL (>10), LB (2)
103. Atherton Scrubwren (L) (E) - MtL (>5)
104. Large-billed Scrubwren (L) - Curtain Fig, KP, MtH, PnR
105. Brown Gerygone (L) mouki - Curtain Fig (2)
106. Mountain Thornbill (L) (E) - MtH (2), MtL (>5)
107. Helmeted Friarbird (L) - CL (>5)
108. Blue-faced Honeyeater (L) - KP (>4)
109. Macleay's Honeyeater (L) (E) - Ch (2), KP (4), PnR (1)
110. Lewin's Honeyeater (L) - Ch (1)
111. Yellow-spotted Honeyeater (L) - KP (>4)
112. Graceful Honeyeater (L) - KP (>4)
113. Bridled Honeyeater (L) (E) - Ch (1), MtL (1), PnR (2)
114. Yellow-faced Honeyeater (L) barroni - EC (2)
115. Yellow Honeyeater (L) - EC (2), KP (1)
116. White-throated Honeyeater - EC (1)
117. Brown-backed Honeyeater (L) - CW (1)
118. Dusky Honeyeater - PnR (1)
119. Brown Honeyeater - Es (5)
120. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher - CW (1)
121. Pale Yellow Robin (L) nana - KP (2), MtL (2), MtH (2)
122. Eastern Yellow Robin - PnR (1)
123. Grey-headed Robin (L) (E) - Ch (2), Lake Eacham Rd (common), MtL (2)
124. Chowchilla (L) (E) - MtL (2 groups of 4 each)
125. Eastern Whipbird - Ch (1 pair)
126. Grey Whistler - MtL (1)
127. Golden Whistler - Curtain Fig (1 male)
128. Little Shrike-thrush - KP (4)
129. Bower's Shrike-thrush (L) (E) - MtL (3)
130. Black-faced Monarch (L) - KP (1)
131. Spectacled Monarch (L) - KP (3)
132. Pied Monarch (L) (E) - KP (1), LB (1)
133. Magpie Lark - common
134. Grey Fantail keasti - KP (1), MtH (2), MtL (2)
135. Willie Wagtail - common
136. Spangled Drongo - CL (2), MtL (1)
137. Barred Cuckooshrike (L) - Peterson Creek (1)
138. White-bellied Cuckooshrike - Es (1), Kennedy Hwy (1)
139. Yellow Oriole - CL (3)
140. Australasian Figbird - CL (3), EC (2), Es (2)
141. White-breasted Woodswallow - common
142. Australian Magpie - Mulligan Hwy (2)
143. Pied Currawong - MtH (2)
144. Victoria's Riflebird (L) (E) - Ch (1 male), MtH (male displaying to female), MtL (2 heard, 1 female)
145. Spotted Catbird (L) - Ch (1), KP (2), MtL (2)
146. Tooth-billed Bowerbird (L) (E) - LB (4 including 1 at bower), MtL (2, including 1 at bower)
147. Golden Bowerbird (L) (E) - MtH (1 male at bower)
148. Great Bowerbird (L) - EC (1 male at bower)
149. House Sparrow - Cairns City, Malanda
150. Double-barred Finch - LM (5)
151. Crimson Finch - CW (2)
152. Red-browed Finch - KP (>5), MtL (2)
153. Chestnut-breasted Mannikin - Daintree (3), KP (>5), PnR (>10)
154. Olive-backed Sunbird - CW (1 male), KP (1 male)
155. Mistletoebird - MtL (1 male)
156. Welcome Swallow - common
157. Fairy Martin (L) - EC (>10)
158. Golden-headed Cisticola - LM (4)
159. Silvereye - KP (2), MtH (4), PnR (1)
160. Metallic Starling (L) - CW (3), Geraghty Park (nesting)
161. Common Myna - Cairns City, Malanda

Mammals
1. Platypus - Peterson Creek (2)
2. Musky Rat Kangaroo - Lake Barrine (2)
3. Red-legged Pademelon - Mt Lewis (2), Chambers (1)
4. Agile Wallaby - East Mary Road (1), Euluma Creek Road (1), Kennedy Hwy (1)
5. Sugar Glider - Chambers (4)
6. Long-nosed Bandicoot - Chambers (1)
7. Spectacled Flying Fox - Abbott St at Cairns (hundreds/thousands)

Reptiles
1. Saw-shelled Turtle - Peterson Creek (common)
2. White-lipped Shade Skink - Cattana Wetlands, Kingfisher Park (common)
3. Eastern Water Dragon - Peterson Creek (1)
4. Laced Monitor - Euluma Creek Road (1)
5. Red-bellied Black Snake - Mt Lewis (1)

Amphibian
1. Cane Toad - Chambers (common, introduced, nocturnal)