| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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Queensland North |
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Two Robins are easy to add to your list at the Kingfisher. My
favorite was the Grey-headed Robin shown at left. The most outstanding
field characteristic of this bird is the very long legs. Simpson and Day show
it with almost no legs.. The owner of the Kingfisher, Ron Stannard feeds the
robin shredded cheese. I have never seen anyone in North America feeding
shredded cheese to birds. The Pale-yellow Robin replaces the Yellow Robin in north Queensland. |
| I first saw the Buff-banded Rail sneaking around in the brush behind my campervan. It also visits the feeder every day for shredded cheese. There is a Red-necked Crake on the property, but it wasn't visiting the feeders while I was there. |  |
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Park Managers and resident Bird Guides Andrew and Carol Isles
lead walks in and around the park for modest fees. You can pay for lodging and purchases at the gift shop with credit card. Guided walks require cash. Carol made reservations for me for the Daintree River trips with Chris Dahlberg and the Mangrove Man. They both have a lot of good birding information to share. It is a good idea to start your north Queensland birding at the Kingfisher Park. I was able to purchase the Where to find Birds in North-East Queensland book here. I did not see it anywhere else and it was not available from ABA. You absolutely need this guide. |
Andrew and Carol lead a night trip around the grounds for AU$20. We started with a stakeout at the nesting hole of a Lesser Sooty Owl. By late August, the Sooty Owl chicks have usually left the nest hole. This year the Sooty Owl got a late start perhaps because there is a proliferation of Barn Owls in the area and one of the Barn Owls took over the Sooty's nest hole forcing the Sooty pair to find another. Lucky for me, one of the Sooty chicks is still hanging out at the nest hole and with some quiet waiting we were able to see it in the spotlight. North Queensland did not have a normal wet season this past year. The lack of the wet may have caused the proliferation of Barn Owls. We also saw the Barn Owls.
Back at the feeders we were able to spotlight the Giant White-tailed Rat. Back home one doesn't look for rats on a spotlighting trip, but this is a rabbit sized native rodent not the imported Norway Rat that has become such a pest around the world.
Andrew wanders away from the group finding interesting frogs, toads, and other critters. When he finds something of interest he signals Carol who brings the group. We heard the Bush Stone-curlew calling. Andrew found the Papua Frogmouth sitting upright in a tree. This is a hard bird to see at night when it is at work.
The rabbit sized Long-nosed Bandicoot is another nocturnal marsupial we saw that night. We ended the night at the creek hoping to see the Platypus. The female is sitting on eggs at this time and only the male is out feeding. The nocturnal Platypus is one of my most wanted targets for this trip. I came back in the morning and still was not able to see the Platypus here.
Morning Bird Walks
The next morning Andrew took two birdwatchers on a morning trip. This trip also costs AU$20 and he usually only offers it if two people want to go. The highlights of the morning walk: Northern Fan-tail, Leaden Flycatcher, Little Shrike-thrush, Grey Goshawk, White-throated Honeyeater, Golden Whistler, White-eared Monarch, Large-billed Gerygone, Silverye, Sunbird, Barred Cuckooo-shrike, Golden-headed Cisticola, Tawny Grassbird, Large-billed Scrubwren, Olive-backed Oriole, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Torresian Crow..
Later I was able to talk Andrew into another morning trip with just me because he really just loves to bird. Again we walked about the park and adjoining land.Dusky Honeyeater, White-faced Heron, Grey Goshawk, Brahminy Kite, Brown Falcon, White-rumped Swiftlet, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Sunbird, White-breasted Woodswallow, Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, Bowers Shrike-thrush, Little Shrike-thrush
Andrew is a good birder and a good leader. After the morning walks I would make the same rounds by myself usually seeing some of the birds again. In this way I began to get better at identifying the smaller birds.
| Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge Ron and Susanne Stannard Lot 1, Mt. Kooyong Rd. Julatten, Qld 4871 self-contained units, campground with powered sites no meals, camp kitchen |
Phone: (07) 4094 1263 Fax: (07) 4094 1466 stannard@tpgi.com.au www.birdwatchers.com.au |
Mount Lewis
Carol took me on a guided walk up Mount Lewis for AU$110. To get to Mount Lewis go 1.5 km past the gate to Kingfisher. Turn on Mount Lewis road and go 1.5 km to the bridge. We had 11 Bush Stone-curlew at the bridge.
After the bridge the road is graded dirt and very steep. Carol drove her 4-wheel drive vehicle and I would not recommend that you attempt this road without such a vehicle. We stopped only once for Brown Cuckoo Dove on the way up. We parked at a clearing and took a hidden path to see Victoria Riflebird perched on a display post. A display post is usually a bare broken off tree or high branch. The bird had its wings raised, but I missed it. We heard the Tooth-billed Bowerbird. We also saw: Wompoo Fruit Dove, Yellow Scrubwren, Grey-headed Robin, Atherton Scrubwren.
We climbed up another path to the bower of the Golden Bowerbird. The Golden Bowerbird builds an elaborate bower of 3 stacks of dry sticks laced up the trunks of small trees. This type of bower is the maypole type. A horizontal branch from the stacks is kept decorated with flowers. The owner is an immature male. He is here moving around in the upper branches. Carol has been guiding people to this bower for some time. This male recently took over from a fully mature bird.
We saw a Grey Fantail of the race Keasti which is darker and may be split as the Mountain Fantail.A very active pair of Fernwrens were seen with nesting materials. Near a small pond Carol pointed out a very poisonous Red-bellied Black Snake. We looked in the pond for Platypus but they are not usually active during the day. We did see Rufus Night-heron. We also saw the race of White-throated Treecreeper which may be split into the Little Treecreeper. On the forest floor we had a family of Chowchilla with large eye rings. We rounded out the day list with: White-cheeked Honeyeater, Topknot Pigeon, Pale- yellow Robin, Varied Triller, Bowers Shrike-thrush, Figbird.
This is a beautiful birding area. Carol is an excellent birder and guide. I certainly recommend this trip.
Abattoir Swamp
One of the places you can bird from the Kingfisher is Abattoir Swamp where a boardwalk leads to a nice bird hide overlooking a small bit of water. This is reported to be a site for White-browed Crake, but I did not see one on two visits. Bridled Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, White-necked Heron, Magpie Lark, Willy Wagtail, Spectacled Monarch, Forest Kingfisher, White Ibis, White-faced Heron, Masked Lapwing. Straw-necked Ibis.
Mt. Molloy School
The Mt. Molloy State School is home to at least two Great Bowerbirds. The best time to visit the school is on Saturday or Sunday morning when you can wander around by yourself. If you visit during school hours you will need to go inside and ask permission.
Entering the town of Mt. Molloy look for Fraser Road. The volunteer fire department is on the north corner and on the south a general store. Vain Park is on the highway is just south of Fraser Road. Follow Fraser several blocks to the school. Park outside and walk in the gate.
| To the left of the school building you will see a tool shed.
Next to the shed I saw two bowers. The red object on the pebble path was a head
band. There was also a pair of pink sunglasses and other plastic objects around
the bowers. This is the avenue type of bower. There is an arch of dried grass or twigs and a path of stones leading the eye into the bower. The bower is not a nest, but rather a display area for the male to attract females. A single bird will build several bowers at one site. |
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Here is the owner posing in front of his creation. There were
two birds hanging out around the bowers, but this was the only one I could
photograph. You can see the red headband and the pink sunglasses to the
left. It takes patience to get the bird to pose in front of the bower. Usually the owner will fly up into nearby trees when you approach.. |
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