Please see below. Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: From: Tun Pin Ong <copsychus@yahoo.comcopsychus@yahoo.com>> Date: 25 May 2014 8:56:48 pm AEST To: “birding-aus@birding-aus.orgbirding-aus@birding-aus.org>” <birding-aus@birding-aus.orgbirding-aus@birding-aus.org>> Subject: Re: RFI Cairns and around in May 2014 Reply-To: Tun Pin Ong <copsychus@yahoo.comcopsychus@yahoo.com>> Hi Birding-ausers, Thank you to those who replied or pm to my request earlier this month on birding in Cairns and around. Your information and advices had certainly helped. Our trip had been a lot more enjoyable due to this. We travelled to Cairns during 10 May to 16 May 2014. Understand that this is normally not the most ideal period for birding due to absence of either Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher or Sarus Crane. It rained every single day during our stay, but that did not deter our outing activities significantly. To put it positively, there are always many windows in the day when we could enjoy the bright dry weather. Visiting to Michaelmas Cay by Seastar Cruise also was not the best of the time. Trips to Great Barrier Reef are always very costly as it is mostly suited for scuba diving/snorkeling. Our stay on the Michaelmas Cay was disappointingly brief – just a little more than half an hour. Despite the disappointment, partly due to very brief stop, costly trip, out-of-season, long day trip, the Seastar was still the preferred choice as it was the first cruise that arrived at Michaelmas Cay. On the other notes the crews were helpful and friendly. Great choice if you also intend to include also snorkeling/Scuba Diving. My big mistake was to bring along a scope – should pack light. Because I was supposed to look after my 5 yo daughter all the time, there was no serious jungle trekking or hiking throughout the trip, and hence the bird list was very low. Nevertheless, the best and the most unexpected highlight of the trip was a father and juvenile Southern Cassowary foraging in the open in Etty Bay, and later presumably a separate larger female adult on our way out of the bay. Some of the photos taken during the trip. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tunpin/tags/cairns/ Other birds I have managed to identify:- Southern Cassowary – Etty Bay, Innisfail An adult male and juvenile foraged at the beach on Sun 11 May 2014 since 3pm after rain stopped. Another presumably larger female further up near roadside on our way out from the beach at 5pm. Bumped into a Norwegian traveller who mentioned that there are even more Cassowaries at Mission Beach further south. Orange-footed Scrubfowl – Daintree National Park, Daintree A pair foraging at road side and then crossed the road and vanished. Around 5pm, 2 km before Ferry Jetty on our way to cross the river back to Cairns. Magpie Goose – a pond behind Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Next to very touristic Skyway Cable Terminal, Cairns At least 30 were foraging on the grass next a pond. I noticed them from a distance while descending from cable car ride. Green Pygmy-Goose – Cattana Wetlands, Cairns A pair in the main pond during my just 30mins quick check 730am Great Crested Grebe – Lake Eacham, Atherton Tablelands Pair in the middle of the lake. Brown Booby – Michaelmas Cay and around Great Fregatebird – Michaelmas Cay, no landing Black-necked Stork – Cane field just before arriving at Daintree Ferry terminal. Also Barron River Mouth, Cairns. Australian Pelican – Seas north of Cairns Cattle Egret – Common Straw-necked Ibis – Very common, sometimes at residents’ front yard. Black Kite – Common hovering above cane fields Brahminy Kite – twice encountered turning off from Captain Cook Hwy into Machan Beach Bar-tailed Godwit – overwintering at Barron River Mouth, Cairns Pied Oystercatcher – Barron River Mouth, Cairns Red Capped Plover – Barron River Mouth, Cairns Masked Lapwing (northern race) – Very common everywhere, including the Esplanade. Crested Tern – Michaelmas Cay Sooty Tern – Michaelmas Cay, the most common seabirds – > 1000 Common Noddy – Michaelmas Cay ~100 Black Noddy – Michaelmas Cay – one flying, no landing Spotted Turtle-dove – The Esplanade, Cairns Peaceful Dove – The Esplanade, Cairs Very common and exceptionally tame Bar-shouldered Dove – outside Tourist Information Centre, Kuranda White-headed Pigeon – a pair on bare tree top, Lake Eacham, Atherton Tablelands Rainbow and Scaly Lorikeet – foraging low in blooming trees in front of Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, Cairns Gould’s Bronze-Cuckoo – at small oval in front of tourist information centre, Kuranda. Cattana Wetlands, Cairns. A pair foraging with one ate a caterpillar. One individual showed very dark barring. Swiftlet species (opps did not positively id) – common, including The Esplanade Sacred Kingfisher – a pond behind Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Next to very touristic Skyway Cable Terminal, Cairns Collared Kingfisher – Machan Beach, Cairns Helmeted Friarbird – foraging low in blooming trees in front of Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, Cairns Varied Honeyeater – one nesting 2 meters above the “Seagull” barbecue pit, the Esplanade, Cairns. Brown-backed Honeyeater – Cattana Wetlands, Cairns. White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike – The Esplanade public swimming pool. Yellow Oriole – Cattana Wetlands, Cairns Yellow Figbird – Common, The Esplanade, Cairns, Kuranda. White-breasted Woodswallow – Common including the Esplanade, Cairns. Black Butcherbird – Cattana Wetlands. Photographed 3 black morph. Saw a rufous morph. Spangled Drongo – The Esplanade, Cairns Yellow-bellied Sunbird – Cattana Wetlands, Cairns. Kuranda. Daintree National Park. Mistletoebird – Kuranda. Metallic Starling – Abundant in the morning. The Esplanade, Cairns. On Monday, 5 May 2014 12:20 AM, Tun Pin Ong <copsychus@yahoo.comcopsychus@yahoo.com>> wrote: Dear Birding-ausers, I will be travelling to Cairns for a week next Sat 10 May 2014 to Fri 16 May 2014 as a ‘nanny dad’ for my 5 yo and will be based at a hotel around Esplanade/Marina. Is there any strange gulls or rare shorebirds along the Esplanade at this period? Any recent good sites or tips to see some of my wishlist would be greatly appreciated:- Southern Cassowary Great-billed Heron Sarus Crane (Are they easy to see in Atherton Tablelands at this time?) Australian Bustard Beach Stone-Curlew Otherwise any common local birds or regional endemics will surely impress a Sydneysider who has never birded in any parts of Queensland. I am able to drive around to look for good birding sites as long as it is not too demanding for my daughter. Is Michaelmas Cay still good at this time of the year? I suppose the Buff-breasted Kingfisher has gone by now. Thanks in advance on any advices, either in response to this thread or private message. Happy Birding! Regards, Tun Pin Ong Lidcombe, NSW _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
