| Birding
On My Own - Australia and New Zealand 2002 Emmalee Tarry |
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Queensland North |
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| John Crowhurst A fixture along the esplanade is John Crowhurst. John used to be the park gardener and unofficial bird guide. Now retired he comes to the esplanade every day he is able and helps tourists and birders identify the birds. There is a kiosk in the park with pictures of the waders and an explanation of the importance of the mud flats. |
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Here is John in action pointing out the birds to a couple
from Great Britain. John is available for other bird guiding in the Caines
area.
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| Flotilla of Pelicans fishing in formation just off the
esplanade. Other birds seen here were: Caspian, Gull-billed Terns, White-belied Sea Eagle, Sacred Kingfisher, Osprey, Jaiburu |
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These Whimbrel are roosting at the very high tide
waiting for the tide to turn to start feeding again. Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwings, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-fronted Dotterel, Great Knot Red-necked Stint, Red-capped Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Greenshank, Pied Oystercatcher, Curlew Sandpiper, Golden Plover, Terek Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler |
Michaelmas Key
Caines is known as for the Great Barrier Reef. The city offers many choices of scuba diving and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. For the trip to Michaelmas Key you can go on a big fast boat or choose the smaller birder friendly Sea Star II with Captain Ray Brooker.
For AU$7, a bus picked me up at the Coconut Grove saving me the hassle of finding a parking place and worry about someone breaking into the campervan while I was gone all day.
| There were 5 people aboard the Sea Star II. Most were divers.
On the trip out we had 2 Pied Imperial Pigeons flying toward shore. A
Brown Booby on a piling in the outer harbor. Crested Terns. You
may also see Masked Booby on the island. Michaelmas Key is a small coral island about 40 km northeast of Caines. At peak times up to 30,000 birds can be found here. It is a popular tourist destination and to protect the birds, a small area of beach is roped off for people. The rest of the small island is for nesting birds. Captain Brooker took me and another birder in a rowboat around the other side of the island so that we could see all the birds. |
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Crested Terns and Lesser Crested Terns breed on Michaelmas Key. The day I was there we saw: Sooty Terns, Bridled Tern, Ruddy Turnstone, Common ( Brown) Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, Black-naped Tern, Reef Heron |
| Sea Star II Captain Ray Brooker Pier B14 |
(07) 4033 0333 AU$65 for Snorkeling and Birdwatching Scuba Diving Instructors aboard at extra cost |
Caines Crocodile Farm
The crocodile farm is south of Caines. For some reason restaurants serve crocodile. Tastes just like chicken somebody told me. So eat chicken. At any rate the farm opens at 9 AM and charges AU$13 adult admission. The ponds are filled with waders and the surrounding woods can also be productive. And if you didn't see enough crocodiles at Daintree you can certainly see many here.
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Waders included this Black-necked Stilt. I saw a
Marsh Sandpiper here. Spotless Crake flew across my path. I
didn't get a good look at this bird until I got to New
Zealand. Figbird, Sunbird, Spotted Turtledove, Royal, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Plumed Whistling Duck, Glossy ibis, White Ibis, Darter, Little Pied Cormorant, Black Cormorant, Willy Wagtail, Welcome Swallow, Striated Heron, Black-fronted Dotterel |
| I picked upChestnut-breasted Mannikins in the dry
woods around the farm. The Everglades Walk, a raised road along side the pens for the very largest crocodiles, affords views into the tops of the Mangroves just outside the farm. I had Cicada bird and Broad-billed Flycatcher along this road. One of the strangest sights along this road were a pair of Brown-backed Honeyeaters having an altercation that was so violent both fell into the water just in front of a very large crocodile who snapped at them. They were very lucky on this day. |
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End: North Queensland
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