| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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Queensland North |
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Peter Cooper is a retired tobacco botanist who now offers
tours into the mangrove swamps at the lower end of the river. His boat docks
near the ferry terminal amid the crocodile boats. Note: Peter has moved his
main focus to the Mossman River. See below. He bills himself as the "Mangrove Man" and his tour covers the biology of the mangroves. A mangrove is any plant that only grows between high tide and mean sea level. Many unrelated species of plants are classified as mangrove species. There is even one orchid that meets the criteria of a mangrove species. |
| Peter knows his birds and drifting slowly among the mangroves
we saw:Mangrove Robin, Collared Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Common
Sandpiper, Golden Plover, Little Kingfisher (right) , Azure Kingfisher, Grey
Fantail, Dusky Honeyeater. Peter really likes to have at least two people on his trips, but he did a trip just for me as a favor to the Kingfisher Lodge. I strongly recommend combining this trip with Chris Dahlberg's trip as they visit two entirely different parts of the river. |
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| Mangrove Man Peter Cooper |
Phone (07) 40982066 Mobile: 0409 982 066 mangrovemantours@bigpond.com.au |
Recent Correspondence from Peter Cooper
I now also work the Mossman River for my bird watching trips. I do a run there every morning starting at around 6.00am (depending on the season). It is a great river for birding as it is much smaller than the Daintree. In a 2 hour cruise I get to look at a wide variety of habitats. We start at the river mouth and go about 5 K upstream to the rainforest to turn around. I think we are averaging 45-50 bird for the trip so far. I am still working the Daintree but to a lesser degree these days. It still is a beautiful river and I do enjoy going there.
Cape Tribulation
After my Mangrove Man tour I drove a short distance south to the Wonga Beach Campground. This is a large campground with lots of facilities and an internet terminal. My campsite was under a huge curtain Figtree. One of the strangler figs, the tree grows as a vine around a living tree until finally the host tree dies leaving the fig tree. The center is usually hollow and the roots of the fig hang down like a curtain. It makes a great fort.
A group of about 15 children from several families were playing in the tree. One very articulate young man told me that his family had sold their home and taken to the road in a small caravan and tent. I asked what they were doing about school and he said his mother was home schooling them. I didn't see any schooling going on while I was there, but this young man was obviously receiving some education. In the hot afternoon, the children took to the two pools at the campground. Of course they could also enjoy the adjoining beach.
The next morning I was first in line for the 6:30 AM ferry across the river to Cape Tribulation. Welcome Swallows landed on the boat and I saw Emerald Dove and Little Shrike-thrush. Past the ferry there is a sealed road north for about 20 km. There are several campgrounds, hotels, beaches, restaurants along the road. I drove up and back in one morning hoping to get lucky and see a Cassowary.
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Jindalba Boardwalk My first stop along the road was at the Jindalba Forest where there is a beautiful boardwalk through the rainforest. I was the only car in the parking lot in the early morning. The boardwalk is mostly uphill and quite steep. The most exciting bird was a Noisy Pitta hopping among the leaves. Usually you can see this bird at the Kingfisher Park, but this year they have been quite scarce. A Cassowary was reported from this boardwalk recently. I certainly did not see one, nor did I notice any Cassowary pooh long the trail. . I did see Pale Yellow Robin and MacLeah's Honeyeater. |
Behind the Fan Palms Cafe is a privately owned boardwalk into a grove of Fan Palms. (AU$2 if you do not patronize the restaurant.) Cassowary is possible here according to Masie. I didn't have any luck seeing birds here but the palms are worth a look. On my way back I stopped at the cafe for lunch on the veranda outside. I suggested to the owner that is was a perfect place to install some bird feeders. Unfortunately she didn't see the opportunity.
The Mardga Boardwalk is a long trail into the mangrove swamp. I saw Rufus Fantail and Sunbird along the trail. Otherwise this like most well traveled boardwalks was very disappointing. I think the main problem with such tracks and boardwalks is that people make too much noise. I returned to the ferry in the early afternoon and returned to the Kingfisher Park.
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