Queensland 2016 No. 4: Daintree and Cairns

Great Bowerbird, Mount Molloy School

Donation box at the school where the Great Bowerbird can be seen.

Before I start rounding up 2017, here is the final instalment of Queensland from 2016.  It would have been a shame to not have finished the story, as some of the best birds came towards the end of our week in the Cairns area.  Here are some highlights. It really is a lovely area to visit, highly recommended - September is an ideal time to visit as it is not too hot.

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo

Figbird

Pale-yellow Robin

Australian Bustard

Blue-winged Kookaburra

This Blue-winged Kookaburra was is the garden along with many other birds at Hannah's Habitat, a really nice and affordable place to stay.

The next series of images are from the Daintree area, some taken during our Daintree Boatman river cruise.  We stayed at the excellent Red Mill House.

Azure Kingfisher (river cruise)

Great-billed Heron, juvenile (river cruise)

Sacred Kingfisher, Daintree NP

Large flock of Cattle Egrets, Daintree Village

Searching for the Southern Cassowary, a bird with a somewhat intimidating reputation, was near the top of my priorities in the Daintree National Park.  They live in the lowland rainforest, much of which has already been cleared, fragmenting the cassowary populations and bringing some of the birds into close contact with people.  And sometimes they are aggressive toward people, especially when looking after their chicks.  One of the best places to see them is the Jindalba Boardwalk trail.  I was lucky enough to spot a stripy cassowary chick on the path, then quickly realised there were two.  I peered upwards through the dense forest vegetation to see the male Cassowary towering above the chicks (and with him being up the slope, me too!).  One of those heart-stopping wildlife moments! Slowly, he led the chicks away from the path and I was able to continue along the trail and enjoy more views of the family group.  In cassowaries, it is the male that incubates the eggs and raises the chicks on his own.

Southern Cassowary, Jindalba Boardwalk Trail

One of the two chicks

The third and last of my main target birds for the trip, the Beach Thicknee, was the hardest to find.  It took three tries at different sites before I finally succeeded: at the Mossman River entrance (accessed from Newell Beach).  Even then, after a long search, I was literally about to close the car door and leave the site, when one bird flew into the muddy creek.  This bird was very relaxed and spent a long time preening, feeding and loafing around, gradually getting nearer and nearer.  I really couldn't have hoped for better views, just awesome.  This was also a great place to watch Ospreys fishing.

Beach Thicknee, Mossman River

Beach Thicknee

Osprey

Comb-crested Jacana, Cattana Wetlands

Returning to Cairns there was just enough time for a walk along the famous Esplanade.  The light was fading fast but still delivered a great wader experience, including a flock of Great Knot, a few Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and this Eastern Curlew:

Eastern Curlew, Cairns Esplanade - what a bill!!