Birding Cape York August 2012
Day one August 21.
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| Forest Kingfishers were common |
After hiring a Pajero and buying supplies we didn’t waste
any time heading straight for the Cairns Cairns
We then headed up to Julatten and along the way had some
Sarus Cranes in a field and Bush Curlews out in the open. We finally arrived at
Kingfisher Park
Day two Julatten to
Musgrave Station – August 22.
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| Typical Cape York Woodland |
We heard a Barking Owl calling just outside our cabins and
it proved to be a bit of a dog to find in the pre-dawn gloom but Steve
eventually collared it with his torch beam. We were on the road at dawn and it
didn’t take long to start finding plenty of the more common birds as we headed
north and by the time we reached Laura we had come across our first Cape York specialty in the form of a Black-backed
Butcherbird. We spied these in the park next to the petrol station there.
By early afternoon we arrived and set up camp in the
Musgrave Station campgrounds which turned out to be much more comfortable than
anticipated with shady, lawn-covered campsites, and all right next to a well
supplied café restaurant. We wasted no time setting up camp as we were keen to
get back out to Artemis Station were Mike had arranged for us to hook up with
Sue Shepherd who is the unofficial Queen and protector of the endangered
Golden-shouldered Parrot.
Sue met us at the homestead and before long she jumped
astride her 4-wheel motorbike to lead us a short distance to the secret
location of these enigmatic birds. We stopped our vehicles at a patch woodland
that looked about as unpromising as you could imagine. Burnt-out, rocky ground,
all sparsely covered with native grasses and a few straggly gums. But after a
hundred metres or so we soon sighted out first Golden-shouldered Parrot. Then
another, and another, and then some more! What a bird! The colour-combo of
turquoise flanks, red vents, and bright golden shoulders were as stunning as
they were unusual. The whole area was
crawling with them – literally. The parrots were almost oblivious to our
presence as they scrabbled around in the coarse earth looking for grass seeds and
we were able to get close views and easy photos. This was definitely one of the
highlights of the trip. It was a privilege to see these rare and beautiful
birds at such close quarters. After having our fill of the parrots we talked
with Sue about the management of the birds and I was amazed to discover that this
task falls largely to her. We made a donation to the cause and Sue also gave us
directions to a site where we might get the chance of seeing a Red Goshawk at
the nest.
Only a short time later we homed in on the Red Goshawk site
and sat at a safe distance and waited. There was already an adult, presumably the
female, on the nest but she was keeping a low profile. After fifteen minutes or
so another adult Red Goshawk came to the nest and sat obligingly on an open
branch. This was too good to be true; two rare and wonderful birds in one day.
The exact location of this site completely escapes me as I write but I believe
Sue might be able to help you out with the details. Needless to say we were
pretty pumped and well satisfied with a great day’s birding.
Day three, Lakeland
After the success of the previous day it was hard to imagine
how we could possibly top it today. Nevertheless we headed hopefully into
Lakefield NP in search of such targets as Star Finch, Black-throated Finch, and
a host of other waterbirds, and bush birds besides. Amazingly the woodland here
was full of birds and it didn’t take long to start racking up all the usual
suspects at various roadside stops along the way. Most stops had us chasing multiple
sightings in every direction and we soon had the Black-throated Finches under
the belt.
Further along the road we entered the broad flat grassland/wetland
area where we had reliable intel about the whereabouts of Star Finches. Being
the end of the dry season the swamps were much reduced. Sadly it was all too
evident that the pig population was very healthy and the swamps were consequently
very unhealthy. The reed beds and sedges where all churned up and trampled and
the margins pocked with wallows. We saw plenty of pigs both here and in the
forests but were not so fortunate with the Star Finches. We poked around
several other sites but it was generally pretty quite and so we decided to head
back to the well known Low
Lake
Eventually we headed back out to the open grasslands again,
but I was not feeling all that optimistic about our chances after we missed the
finches in the early morning. We headed to a small creek/billabong in the
grassland where we had been reliably informed that the finches might be seen.
Before we had even stepped out of the Pajero Steve and Mike were excitedly
pointing toward some low bushes that were swarming with finches. From where I
sat I thought I was looking at Red-browed finches but then my bins finally
focussed on the red face and spotted flanks of an adult male Star finch. At
last! What a relief! We hopped out of the vehicle to take it all in and I
decided to set up the scope once more for a better look. There were hundreds of
Star Finches here all crowded in a few small shrubs near the creek. This was
definitely another trip highlight for us all.
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| Starfinch country |
A little later another vehicle stopped nearby and some more
birders joined the fray. The sign on the 4x4 indicated this was a professional
birding outfit and Dave (Chook) Crawford soon sidled over and introduced
himself to us. Dave is not a man you could describe as particularly shy and we soon
fell into an interesting conversation about all things birdiferous. Dave gave
us a hot tip about a venue where we might do a bit of night birding but we are
sworn to secrecy about the exact location of this venue. All I will say is that
it is nowhere near Perth
We carried on birding is serval other locations including
some riparian forest where we spied some relatively uncommon species for this
region such as White-gaped Honeyeater, Fairy Gerygone, and Papuan Frogmouth.
This was to be the first of many Papuan Froggies would see over the next few
days. I couldn’t help noticing there was some movement in the water and quietly
put together a small travel rod I had packed in my bag and managed to extract a
decent Barramundi from the water before setting it free. We also headed up to
the mangroves for a squiz but the sandflies staged a brave and formidable
defence and successfully kept us out of the densest forests. We did manage a
Red-headed Honeyeater on what must be the furthest eastern extremity of their
range.
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| Mozzie time |
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| Barn Owl |
As the sun set we headed to the secret night-birding spot
and waited. But as the darkness closed in so did the mossies. I thought the
sandflies in the mangroves were bad but this was a whole other level of
blood-sucking badness. Unless you soaked yourself liberally in deet and then set
yourself on fire it was pretty much impossible to blunt the enthusiasm these mini-monsters
had for a draught of your blood. Fortunately as the temperature dropped so did
the number of mossies. Suddenly I became aware of a presence overhead. I shone
my torch in the general direction and there above me was the ghostly figure of what
a thought was a Grass Owl! I assume it was a Grass Owl as its talons hung well
beyond its tail feathers. But it was only a fleeting glance. I called to Mike
and Steve and together we began spotlighting in earnest. Before long we began
to capture a whole variety of night birds in our torch beams. First it was Barn
Owls, then another Grass Owl confirmed by its larger wingspan and trailing
talons, then a Barking Owl, and then a Boobook owl put in an appearance as
well. A little further on we spied a Papuan Frogmouth, a Tawny Frogmouth, a
Large-tailed Nightjar, a Night Heron, a Bush Curlew, a Pratincole and most
amazing of all: a Partridge in a pair tree! Well it seemed like Christmas to
me. That was the most night birds any of us had ever seen in a single session
and we were pretty chuffed and decided to call it a day, which was strange
really as it was night.
Day four, Iron Range
NP – August 24.
As good as the last two days had been we were all itching to
get to Iron Range
That’s when it begins. You know what I’m talking about, the
lame excuses and philosophical banter. “It’s not all about the birds after all,
it’s just a privilege to be in a place like this…” and so on. It’s a lie of
course but what can you do? We reasoned that we had simply missed the dawn chorus
and decided to head for our accommodation in Portland Roads instead. Mike had
arranged for us to stay at the Portland Roads Beach Shack and it turned out to
be a brilliant place with a fantastic view of the little beach and north coast.
It was basic but charming. We decided to try the café next door for lunch and
were completely overwhelmed by the class of food and service in such a remote
location. This meal would have put many an upmarket inner city café to shame.
We unanimously decided where lunch was going to be each day. There were plenty
of Sunbirds, Honyeaters, and Gerygones here to entertain us as we ate but we
were still keen to get some of the rainforest species under the belt.
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| Iron range forest |
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| Papuan Frogmouth in Portland Roads |
When it cooled down a bit we headed hopefully back to the
forest and finally managed our first Iron
Range
Day five, Iron Range
NP – August 25
Next day we had a bit of a look around the Portland Roads
area and picked up both species of Frigatebird right overhead out front of our
accommodation before heading back into the forest. We decided we would simply
have to put in the time and the kilometres today if there was any hope of
working through our list of hopeful ticks. We headed to the southern end of the
Old Coen Road
Then in a nice patch of vine forest we eventually found a party
of birds and for a few hectic minutes managed a couple of our target species
with nice views of White-eared Monarchs and best of all a Fawn-breasted
Bowerbird. It was good to the see the Bowerbird, especially as they are
reportedly becoming scarcer and harder to find.
We pressed on but that was pretty much it. After about 11am the birds
just shut down and the forest fell silent. Very frustrating. After another
sensational lunch at Portland Roads we eventually waddled around the immediate environment
near our accommodation where we had Collared Kingfisher, Reef Egrets, Sacred
Kingfishers, Broad-billed Flycatchers and Rose-crowned Dove. Both Mike and
Steve had purchased 400mm SLR camera outfits before the trip and were having a ton
of fun capturing some of the memories with some spectacular images of these
birds.
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| Deplanchea tetraphylla |
Mid-afternoon we headed hopefully toward Chilli beach where we
tried the short walking track behind the camping area and were rewarded with
views of the non-descript Green-backed Honeyeater. On the way back we had a
look at a small freshwater lake where we jagged a group of Palm Cockatoos
flying overhead.
Eventually we returned to the dump for another look at the
large-tailed nightjars. Before the sun fully set we could hear Eclectus Parrots
calling from the nearby forest and after pushing through the dense grass and
pushing through a little forest we had brilliant views of both the male and
female parrots roosting high in the trees. So far we had only seen the male of
the species which, although pretty spectacular in its own way, is nothing
compared to the bright red and blue female. Once the sun set, the Nightjars
came out to play and eventually we spot-lighted one at close quarters.
Speaking of spot-lighting we headed back to the main forest
and walked for kilometres along the road with our lights in the hope of seeing
a Marbled Frogmouth or some of the other nocturnal wildlife known to inhabit
these forests but nothing stirred. Apparently it had been unusually dry lately
and I guess this had an affect on the birds and animals. But who really cares?
It’s just a privilege to be in such a magnificent part of the world really….. Steve
hit me with a stick at this point.
Day six, Iron Range
NP – August 26
By now we were starting to get desperate and decided to put
in an extra early start. Back in the rainforest at dawn the first call we heard
was the strangely human like whistle of the Magnificent Riflebird. We had been
hearing this call all over the place but so far had not really put in the effort
to get a decent view. We chased this one down and eventually managed to get an
eyeful of the female of the species. A little later we also happened upon the
magnificent male of the species as well - which explains the name I guess.
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| Female Yellow Billed KF |
After finally seeing the magnificent Magnificent Riflebird
we decided to simply walk along the Portland Roads road. Slowly but surely we
began to grind through our list of target species. First it was the dainty
little Yellow Legged Flycatcher, then the charming Frilled Monarch. We also had
fleeting glimpses of Red-cheeked Parrots as they dashed overhead. Another bird
we were real keen to eyeball was the Yellow-billed Kingfisher. We often heard
their trilling refrain coming from the densest part of the forest but they only
called infrequently. There was nothing for it except push into the forest
through vines festooned with dagger like thorns and clouds of biting insects
and wait for them to repeat their bleat. Our first several attempts went
unrewarded but eventually we chased down a call about 100 metres into the
forest and while we were all waiting silently in the gloom the Kingfisher
trilled only a few metres to our left. We had stunning views of a female
Yellow-billed Kingfisher at close quarters.
High Fives all round. On the way back to Portland Roads we happened upon
a couple of comical Palm Cockatoos in the woodland and managed to snap a few
photographs. They really are worth the trip to Iron range.
At lunchtime Steve swore blind that he had seen a
White-streaked Honeyeater in the trees near the restaurant which sent Mike and
I and a whole bunch of other birders into a mild panic but it turned out it was
just a common Varied Honeyeater. An easy mistake to make I’m sure you’ll agree
and Mike and I were careful not to ridicule Steve for this little blunder or
remind him of this event ever again, which I think was very good of us.
In the afternoon we managed to turn up a party of Lovely
Fairywrens in the vine forest near Portland Roads before heading back to Chilli
beach again. With the aid of the scope we were able to identify Black-naped
Terns on the little island just offshore here. We also saw plenty of Pied
Imperial Pigeons roosting on the island as well. It was windy here and
apparently the Sou Easter is fairly persistent at this time of year. We
reviewed the walking track again and managed to see another Yellow-billed
Kingfisher with relative ease. It had been a tough day but we were pretty happy
with the results.
Day seven, Iron Range
NP – August 27
Next day we were back at it at dawn. So far we had dipped on
the White-streaked Honeyeater despite repeated attempts to track one down in
the woodland areas. On the way over to the main forest we stopped off in the
stunted woodland near the highest point of the road and after a while I finally
managed to get onto an adult White-streaked Honeyeater in a grevillea. I called
to Mike and Steve and the bird waited til they arrived then promptly disappeared
before either one of them could get their bins on it. We poked around here for
some time until we disturbed the nest of some Paper Wasps that launched a
ferocious attack that had us scurrying back to the vehicle.
We really wanted to see a Trumpet Manucode, but we simply
didn’t hear a peep from one for the whole day. We also hoped for a Northern Scrubrobin and the Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo as
well but time was fast running out. We walked and walked and walked some more
today but the forest was virtually silent and even the common birds were thin
on the ground. We ended up walking about six kilometres for no score. Our only
consolation was finding an Eclectus Parrot nesting in a hole in a large
rainforest tree. We had great views of the female in the nest-hole as the male
attended her.
There were quite a few other birders camping here and
everyone was experiencing the same tough conditions as we were. Fortunately I
was able to console them with the thought that it’s a privilege to be in a
beautiful place like this whether we see the birds or not. Oddly people began
hitting me with sticks.
We birded our way through the rest of the day but apart from
the loan White-Streaked Honeyeater, we simply couldn’t find any more of our
target birds.
Day eight, Iron Range
NP to KFP – August 28
This was our last day in the park before we travelled back
south so we headed to the camping area and had one last thrash but to no avail.
We slowly dragged ourselves away from the forest and reluctantly headed out of
the park. I tried to ignore the fact that we had dipped on a few of the key
birds and reminded myself what a privilege it was to even be here when just as
we left the park I couldn’t help but notice that some heartless public servant
had erected a totally unnecessary and hurtful sigh with the word “DIP”
emblazoned in large bold letters on a bright yellow sign. Who are these
people? Talk about the lemon juice of
torment being poured on the paper-cut of disillusionment.
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| Hurtful |
Day nine, Michaelmas
Cay, Cairns
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| Steve snaps an easy shot of the Noddies |
Next day we were up before dawn – yet again – in order to
get down to Cairns to take a boat out to Michaelmas Cay where we hoped to sight
a few terns and some other tropical seabirds. I’m afraid I get sea sick at the sight
of a rocking boat. I’m close to the magical 600 on my Australian list and could
easily attain it with a couple of pelagic trips but the thought of hurling
breakfast at the birds all day just doesn’t work for me. Fortunately we had
picked a calm day and the cruise out to the cay was okay. The cay is a
brilliant jewel in a turquoise sea and is covered with Common Noddies and Sooty
Terns. Also present were Brown Boobies, Frigatebirds, Crested Terns, Lesser
Crested Terns, Black-naped Terns, and Little Terns but we dipped on the resident
Red-footed Booby and the Roseate Tern. I
know that some of you reading this are expecting me to make some kind of lame attempt
at humour by talking about other kinds of boobies we may or may not have seen
but I do have my limits and I’m afraid I refuse to indulge your childish desires.
Although I will say this: there was a woman on the boat who had an enormous
hat. We also had the chance to snorkel on two sites on the reef which was nice
and we also saw a Humpback Whale.
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| Fish boatside |
Back in Cairns we headed over
to the Centennial
Lakes
Day ten, KFP and Mt
Lewis – August 30
We had been sleeping in Kingfisher Park Del
We gradually made our way up Mt Lewis finding most of the
target birds that Mike and Steve were looking for such as Pied Monarchs,
Paradise Riflebird, Fernwren, Tooth-billed Bowerbird and Bower’s Shrike-thrush.
It was amazing to me just how well Del
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| A view from KFP |
We tried for a Golden Bowerbird
in several places but it was not to be. Just as we were about to call it a
morning Del
That afternoon we tried for both
the Blue-faced Parrot Finch and the apparently non-existent Squatter Pigeon in
the traditional demoralising way with the traditional demoralising lack of success.
Back to KFP and Mike and Steve managed to have good sightings of the Little
Kingfisher at the crake pool.
Day eleven, KFP near
by – August 31
This was to be our last full day and we decided to try a
whole bunch of different venues. That’s the amazing thing about KFP – there are
so many options from open woodland, grassland, wetlands, rainforest and more
all within sight of each other.
We had another tilt at the Blue-faced Parrot Finch. Nahdah! Then
we tried the Mt Molly cemetery for the Squatter pigeons. Nichts! Then we headed
out toward Mt Carbine where we were had been told we might find a Squatter
pigeons. Zilch! Then we tried some open paddocks at Bustard Downs to see if we
could find a Bustard for Steve which we unbelievably did! Lucky bustard. Then
we headed back up Mt Lewis to see if we could find a Chestnut breasted Cuckoo.
Nawt! It had been an eventful morning so we decided to repair to the Mt Molly
café where we ordered unbelievably enormous servings of food. Steve ordered a
hamburger which had a trolley full of food shoved between two car-door sized
slabs of bread.
We had one last chance at the Squatter Pigeons further south
so we headed off hopefully toward Mareeba. As we were approaching our
destination Steve and Mike were arguing about something of small importance
when I noticed a squad of Squatter Pigeons crossing the road in front of us. I
inarticulately blurted out “On the road, there, there, on the road…!” and
contemplated throwing myself out of the moving car in a death roll to make sure
I finally ticked these nemesis birds. Eventually sanity prevailed to some
degree before we all threw ourselves out of the car in a death roll. High fives
all round.
Day twelve, KFP to Cairns
This was our final day and so once again we dragged
ourselves out of our beds at some unearthly hour. While we were messing around getting
ready to go Dave Crawford turned up to meet some clients and we were able to
thank him for his invaluable intel and regale him with the stories of our
successful sortie. Steve moved in and gave him a big bear hug which was fun to
watch as I’m pretty sure Chook is not a man who is overly comfortable with man
hugs, or for that matter, skim milk, hair gel, sandals, or non-kaki coloured
cloths. But he recovered tolerably.
We had one last lurch
at Mt Lewis and essentially reviewed all the birds we had seen two days before.
We said our final goodbyes to Keith and Lindsay (who are incidentally looking
to sell their interest in KFP if anyone is looking for a tree change) before
heading back along the coast to Cairns
It had been an incredible trip with many happy memories with
225 species of birds and for me 24 ticks. Sure we dipped on a few nice birds
but that gives us an excuse to come and visit this amazing region again. In any
case it’s just a privilege to even be in a place like this….
