Birdline North Queensland Weekly Update

Birdline North Queensland Published sightings for the week ending 7 Sep 2014. Thu 4 Sep Channel-billed Cuckoo Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge 1st return for the season. Keith Fisher Common Koel Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge 1st return for the season. Keith Fisher Common Koel Coquette Point Saw one male Common Koel feeding in a strangler fig. First sighting for the season no sign of female and have not heard any calls. Yvonne Cunningham Mon 1 Sep Cicadabird Coquette Point, Innisfail Solitary male Cicadabird bird seen feeding in littoral forest behind the dunes. Following cyclones Larry and Yasi the Cicadabird population of the the lowland coastal Wet Tropics Rainforest virtually disappeared. Earlier this year I photographed a female and now to see a male gives me some hope that this population is recovering. Yvonne Cunningham Common Sandpiper Coquette Point, Innisfail Six Common Sandpiper were feeding over a wide area on the beach. This is the first sighting of these birds for this season. Yvonne Cunningham Sun 31 Aug Southern Cassowary Coquette Point Matriarch Southern Cassowary called Jessie, first confirmed sighting for over a month. Yvonne Cunningham Pied Oystercatcher Coquette Point Observed and photographed two birds mating twice and at different areas on same morning. Yvonne Cunningham Fri 29 Aug Red-footed Booby, Roseate Tern Agincourt Reef, Great Barrier Reef Apologies for late post. At least four Red-footed Booby with around 35 Brown Booby on helicopter platform as we arrived at the site, as well as several Black-naped Tern, 40-odd Sooty Tern and around 150 Common Noddy. All birds dispersed as helicopter arrived, and I observed Roseate Tern fly past thereafter. Noted largely red bills, very long white tail streamers and dark upperside to outer primaries with no dark trailing edge on underwing. Steve Davidson