cairns/cape trib advice

Dear All,

We are going to take a trip up to Cairns in March for a week for
birding. Our idea is to cover the distance between Cairns and Cape
Tribulation.

I was hoping to solicit comments on our rough itinerary. It goes like this:

Cairns 2-3 nights, for Esplanade and botanical garden
Somewhere in between Cairns and Cape Tribulation: 1-2 nights, possibly
Cassowary house
Cape Tribulation: 3 nights

We have already been to Darwin/Kakadu, and seen the most common species
there.

Some more particulars:

1. We want to take a Daintree river cruise – any recommendations? We
have not seen: Little Kingfisher, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher,
Collared Kingfisher, Great-billed Heron
2. Some other species we are after: Papuan frogmouth, all the fruit
doves, catbird, riflebird, the highly local honeyeaters, double-eyed
fig-parrot, scaly-breasted lorikeet
3. We’re hoping to see some shorebirds at the esplanade, though we
realize it’s near the end of the shorebird season.
4. We are thinking of walking around at night for spotlighting…

If anyone has any tips or ideas on our rough itinerary, like must-see
areas or a really great place to stop by between Cairns or Cape
Tribulation, we’d be most obliged.

Background: this is a particular special trip for us, which will
probably be our last trip in Australia for a while as I’m on a contract
position here at the University of Melbourne which ends this June. After
which we will probably head back to North America. We have 255 Aussie
birds on our list so far and it’s been really memorable and an
unforgettable experience to find them.

Sincerely
Jason Polak