Cape Tribulation

 

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In mid-winter 2023 I wanted to get back out on the Daintree River and so booked into the caravan park at Daintree Village. It was only shortly afterwards that I realised I had seen the words Daintree and Village and booked at a caravan park actually on Cape Tribulation, which is across the river. Never mind, I'll head over on the ferry and stay there. 

I got an early ferry at first light and I was thrilled to see a pair of Olive-backed Sunbird nesting on the end of a lifeboat. They spent the ferry journey flitting from one side of the river to the other and back to the boat. 

I headed up into the cape and my first stop was at the Marrdja Boadwalk. The roads weren't great quality but driving through the rainforest and at times touching the shoreline was just beautiful. The boardwalk was even better with the sun streaming through tall trees onto mangrove floors and a sparkling creek. It was quite poetic! There were lots of birds here but I took no photos of them, preferring to soak up the atmosphere and listen to them. Honeyeaters, monarchs and riflebirds were plentiful.

Once I left the boardwalk, I headed back south stopping at various beaches and lookouts until I reached Diwan and the caravan park. It was a very pleasant place with a long sloping hill at the back and lots of little nooks and crannies to explore. I spent the afternoon wandering up and down it and again, I didn't take any photos. The birds were loud but shy. I even heard a Golden Bowerbird calling from the rainforest at the very top of the garden. 

As I rounded the kitchen in the afternoon, I saw a cassowary wandering in from the bush. As ever, it was absolutely silent and seemingly unconcerned by the people around. It was feeding on native Quandong berries and everyone stood transfixed as it threw them into the air and caught them. It was so special to be in the presence of this wonderful animal.

Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)

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**Updated Cairns Esplanade

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2023 Update

I have returned to Cairns for the second half of 2023 and am loving getting to know the Esplanade area much better. The more time I spend here, the more crazy birds I find, regularly reporting over 50 species. As the 'winter' draws to a close, waders and exotic birds are beginning to return. Here are some of my highlights.

Beach Stone Curlew (Esacus magnirostris)

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma)

Eastern Reef Egret (Egretta sacra)

Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana)

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus regina)

Cairns Esplanade is always my first destination when I arrive in Queensland and it was no different in 2022 although I had spent a few fraught days trapped in my hotel room until Covid regulations were satisfied. The Esplanade is long, I think around 3km north to south and I usually start at the north end and always regret not parking in the middle by the time I am on the return leg. It was incredibly hot in March and I frequently had to seek refuge in the shade of the trees in the parks running alongside the walkway.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

I have lots of highlights from over the years visiting the Esplanade and what follows is a few of them. My choice for 2022 is easy. I was sitting right at the north end on a large pipe, cooling my feet in the water and waiting for the waders to appear as the tide turned. To my amazement, 2 large birds came into view circling around me. Jabiru - the Black-necked Stork is a huge bird with stunning irridescent plumage, contrasting black and white. I took a lot of photos as the flew around me and then landed. They began digging for crabs in the mud and to my surprise swallowed them whole. The lump in the neck of the bird below is a whole (and still protesting) crab. It looked very uncomfortable.

Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)

The sandy beach turns quickly into mud flats and the mangrove swamps to the north always look like they will reclaim the whole area given half a chance. A no-go for humans (you can go in the mud if you like but why?), it is a mecca for wading birds who feel safe there. I have seen many species here and I always love to the see the Eastern Curlew with its huge bill. 

Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)

Always present are godwit and knots and while the Great Knot looks like a fairly non-descript, fat wader, in breeding plumage it is beautiful. 2022 was the first time I have seen them in these colours and I was impressed.

Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)

A popular visitor (I was always asked if I had seen it once people found out I am a birder) this year was the Nordmann's Greenshank. I wouldn't have identified it as a greenshank as it was fairly dumpy with a thick bill but what do I know? I watched it several times and it was full of character as it looked for food and jostled with other waders for position. My first lifer of my 2022 Australia trip.

Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer)

Metallic Starlings can be found during the summer months careening up and down the Esplanade. They are noisy, they squabble and the bully other birds and I love them. Some are all glossy black and some are pied, both with a vivid red eye. This time I photographed them on the rocks at the south end. I'm not sure what they were doing but they looked like it was fun.

Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica)

A local birder gave me a hint that there was a family of Nankeen Night Heron in the fig trees by the kid's pool and I went to see them every visit. My favourite sighting was early in the morning during rain showers. The juveniles were screaming for food, eyes on the horizon waiting. When the bedraggled adults returned they were mobbed. After feeding, they all set about preening which was when I got these fabulous photos. 

Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus)

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**Updated Daintree

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2023 Update

Determined to get out on the river in 2023 after terrible weather in 2022 left me sitting in my van for days on end, I visited at the end of July. The weather was changeable with showers and sunshine alternating each day. I was lucky enough to get out on the river twice at dawn and twice in the afternoon. The results were variable. The minimum I saw were lots of horrible crocodiles but when the birds were about, they were magnificent. The highlight was several sightings of the Great-billed Heron.

Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana)

Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata)

Female Papuan Frogmouth (Podargus papuensis)

Male Papuan Frogmouth (Podargus papuensis)

Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

I have had great success at Daintree in the past. The Red Mill House used to be a B&B and the garden was renowned for animal species with Azure Kingfishers in the little pond and bandicoot in the garden. My favourite was seeing a Lace Monitor catch and eat a rather large frog.

Lace Monitor (Varanus varius)

There are 2 real highlights in Daintree. The first is the river boat ride. I have been on numerous occasions with the Sauce and he has a huge knowledge of the river and the wildlife. My first trip was nerve-wracking as we could already see a large croc sitting on the opposite bank of the river. Sauce promised not to let me get in the water though and always stuck to that. Before you even get on the boat, however, there is often Olive-backed Sunbirds in the surrounding foliage and even nesting on the boardwalk. Now that is special.

Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)

My favourite sightings were of Shining Flycatcher, seeing both the male and female sitting on nests but this photo of a male in the rain remains one of my most cherished photographs ever.

Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto)

It takes something to get Sauce excited, having seen just about everything on the river but one trip when we found Spotted Whistling Ducks saw just that. They should be on the far side of Cape York so to see them in Daintree was very unusual.

Spotted Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna guttata)

On one occasion we heard what sounded like a dog barking and I looked questioningly at Sauce who just laughed. We rounded a bend and found the culprits, Great-billed Heron. At over a metre tall, these herons are massive and have the usual croaky heron call, just a lot louder. We found adults and juveniles and it was something very special to see.

Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana)

The other wonderful place in Daintree is the end of Stewart Creek Road. It runs out after around 10km with a gate marking the end. But that's ok, because the area just before the gate is full of ant mounds which are home to breeding Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfishers. I met Susan at the Red Mill House and took her to see them. We bonded over adults entering and leaving their nests in these mounds. They seal the area the chick will live so the termites can get to them and no other predator is brave enough to enter. We were staggered that we could just drive to see this spectacle and wondered why hoards of people were not there watching this David Attenborough worthy moment. No accounting for tastes I guess.

Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher (Tansiptera sylvia)

Unfortunately in 2022, I arrived in Daintree to rain and sat for a miserable 5 days in my van as it continued to pour. I didn't get to see any birds or go out on the flooded river. The only photos I did get were of some local cows. Sigh. I will be back though.

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**Updated Cairns Botanic Gardens and Centenary Lakes

Check my birding map for specific location.

2023 Update

Returning in May 2023 to Cairns, the gardens are again a frequent stop for me. Wandering off the main paths, I found a Black Bittern early on and since then I have been wandering around the Freshwater Lake in particular with great success. Here are some of the best.

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)

Little Kingfisher (Alcedo pusilla)

Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus regina)

On visiting Cairns, it is always high on my list to go to Centenary Lakes and the Botanical Gardens. They are such wonderous places, not only for the birdlife but also the amazing plants and trees on the boardwalk connecting the 2 areas. 

Early in my 2022 visit, I was wandering around looking for the Little Kingfisher which I had heard was active in the mornings when I met another local birder Mark. He took me to a gloomy part of the lakes at the back where the joining path to the gardens is. Right on cue, we saw it and then another. There have been some fabulous photos taken of this bird but you have to be really lucky to get it in sunlight as most of the time they skulk about in the undergrowth. I was just pleased to see it.

Little Kingfisher (Ceyx pusillus)

Mark was heading up to see the Papuan Frogmouth at the gardens and as I had already stood like a fool staring at trees and NOT seeing them, I tagged along. We found them from outside the gardens and talk about impressive. There was a pair of them with a juvenile and they were huge! Nothing like the dainty Tawny Frogmouth I am used to. I have only seen the Papuan from a distance and to get this close was incredible. They were semi-awake and would open a lazy eye every now and again to look at us. 

Papuan Frogmouth (Podargus papuensis)

Another early morning visit to the lakes saw me stumble on an Eastern Osprey. I later saw a nearby nest, high in a communications tower so no real surprise they would hunt in the lakes. This on was sitting in a tree grooming and looking smug so maybe it had just had breakfast. It was phenomenal to get so close to it. The bird was totally unconcerned by me. 

Eastern Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

My arrival in March 2022 to Cairns was in the middle of an unseasonable heatwave and coming from the very mild temperatures of New Zealand, I really struggled at times to keep moving. It was one of these times that I sought refuge in the shade near the friendship garden in the middle of the freshwater lake. While I was trying not to pant like a dog, I heard something rustling. A photo opportunity always takes my mind off physical discomfort and so I perked up and looked into the bushes. I was rewarded with a Australian Green Tree Snake. I have seen them before, they are reasonably common but to be so close to it was fantastic. The green and yellow colours blazed in the sunlight.

Australian Green Tree Snake (Dendrolaphis punctulata)

I visited the lakes again at night with Mark and although we heard the Rufous Owl, we didn't see it. I did get a compensatory frog though!

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