Paluma National Park and Big Crystal Creek

SF left Townsville on the 10th of February and headed for the Big Crystal Creek campsite. Here he had White-browed Robin, Lemon-bellied flycatcher, Large-billed Gerygone and Northern Fantail. Driving up to Paluma he picked up on Fairy Gerygone. A return visit to the Big Crystal Creek campsite on the 13th delivered the same 3 species as well as a pair of Lovely Fairy-Wrens near the ablution block and a Graceful Honey-eater.

Paluma was a beautifull place and highly recommend… nice climate, friendly locals and fantastic birds. SF spent two days there before DB arrived and this is what was found: The Ivy tea gardens were closed when I arrived so went to the large, new café on the right just after the car-park. Five minutes after sitting down with a cup of tea  had a male Victoria’s riflebird in the adjacent trees ! I birded the H track and around the village for a couple hours and sightings included Chowchilla, Spotted catbird, Macleays, Lewins, White-cheeked and Dusky honeyeaters, Emerald dove, Grey-headed robin, Golden and Grey whistlers, Black-faced monarch and another male Riflebird (though immature).  The next morning I walked down the Birthday creek track to try and find the bower of a Golden bowerbird. A couple are well known but as the track was closed I wasn’t keen on going the 8 and 12k’s (one way) required to reach them. Luckily a local told me of one only three km’s in. At a sign that says 8k’s of winding road you go directly into the rainforest to the right for about 15 meters. Theres a very impressive bower here and evidence that a bird is very active in the area but I hung around for a total of 5 hours without seeing the bird. It wasn’t a total waste however as birds seen throughout the morning include Pied monarch, Spotted and Tooth-billed catbird, Bridled honeyeater, Bowers shrike-thrush, Superb and Wompoo fruit-doves, Brown cuckoo and Emerald doves and masses of Top-knot pigeons. I took it easy back at my campsite (the village green!)for the remainder of the day and was rewarded with an Azure kingfisher flying right past me as I watched a Noisy pitta foraging out in the open.

On the 12th I walked the track to Witt’s lookout first thing and after only minutes had 2 Red-necked crakes walk across the track in front of me. Birds were quite scarce here.. a few Crimson rosellas and Spotted catbirds were all I saw until I found my target of the day about 1.5 k’s in.. Fernwren. I heard another calling near the creek soon after.  

DB arrived in Paluma on the afternoon of the 12th of February. The birding started with a walk down the Birthday creek track to try for the Bowerbird again but still no sign of it. We did have a close but brief view of a Fernwren and lots of Bridled honeyeaters.

Night-birding in Paluma proved to be spectacular. A Papuan Frogmouth was found feeding on moths by SF at an outside light next to the café. The light attracted a stunning array of moths and some huge beetles. The same Frogmouth responded to playback two nights later when DB arrived. Two more Papuan Frogmouths were found spotlighting the main road in Paluma village. A Southern Boobook was seen on its regular roost on subsequent nights on the main road through Paluma village. Check the first lamp-post below the café. Lesser Sooty Owl was found by picking up on the call and then tracking it down in the forest between the village and turn off to the lake. A night-walk along the Witt’s lookout trail delivered Long-nosed Bandicoot.

Mission Beach

Before hitting Mission Beach, SF’s car broke down and we bundled into one vehicle. We found good quality, affordable beachfront camping at Bali hai campsite on Wongaling road. An early morning start on the road to Tully delivered Cassowary. A walk down the road to Licula State Forest delivered  Graceful and Yellow-spotted Honeyeaters, Emerald Dove, Superb Fruit Dove, Fairy and Large-billed Gerygone Varied triller and another Cassowary. The Lacy Creek walk was pretty quiet but delivered Little Shrike Thrush and Azure Kingfisher. An afternoon stroll along the Edmond Kennedy Trail delivered great views of 2 Cassowaries as well as Black Butcherbird and Sacred Kingfisher. Further Cassowaries were seen on the Mt Clump trail as well on the beach in South Mission Beach.

Eubanangee Swamp

Finding the turn off to Eubanangee swamp proved to be a tricky affair. Ultimately we worked out that the best way to access it is off the Branston Beach road (turn right off this road after a few km). There is a faint sign-post off the Bruce Highway pointing to Eubanangee Swamp. The cane-fields along Eubanangee road produced Tawny Grassbird, Crimson Finch and Red-backed Fairy Wren. At the parking and main sign for Eubanangee Swamp where there is a trail along the swamp we had some great birding. We crossed the railway bridge from the parking lot to find a Bush-hen in the scrub. Little Kingfisher was seen at the railroad crossing. The partially flooded walking trail had some good fruiting fig trees which produced Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Barred Cuckooshrike, ‘Yellow’ Figbird, Large-billed Gerygone, Graceful Honeyeater, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Nankeen Night Heron, Yellow oriole and Black Butcherbird. Amazingly we had a Broad-billed flycatcher in this area too, a totally unexpected bonus. A Mangrove Heron flew over when we returned to the car.

Atherton Tablelands

On the 15th of February the first site that we hit in Mission Beach was the ‘crater’ at Mt Hypipamee. Here we had Victoria’s Riflebird in the parking lot together with White-throated Treecreeper. Also seen on the forest trails were Grey-headed Robin and Brown Gerygone. A wild looking Red Junglefowl was also seen in the parking lot. Just out of Atherton town on route to Lake Eacham we had a Swamp Harrier over farmland. The road into Lake Eacham produced calling Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Spotted Catbird, Bridled Honeyeater, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Metallic Starling, Pied Monarch and Superb Fruit Dove. The picnic site at Lake Eacham was very productive and we had a number of Scarlet Honeyeaters around the parking lot. On the trail towards the Rangers station we had Yellowbreasted Boatbill, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Superb Fruit Dove, Yellowthroated Scrubwren, Emerald Dove and Topknot Pigeon and a couple of Musky rat-kangaroos. Early morning on the 16th we visited Graham Harrington’s property on Seamark road between Milla Milla and Malanda. A visit to a Golden Bowerbird bower produced the bird which we were very happy about. Also seen were a group of Mountain Thornbills. A return via the tablelands on our route back south was also productive. Graham Harrington gave us information on a pair of roosting Rufous Owls at the Emerald Creek Falls. We found these birds by walking downstream from the parking lot for about 800m till where you cross a fence with a few strands remaining. Just beyond the fence in the tall trees on the opposite side of the river to the parking lot we found a pair of roosting Owls. The Owls were very impressive but also very skittish. Visits to a number of wetland sites on the tablelands including Lake Mitchell, Nardellus Lagoon and Hasties Swamp, all proved to be quite unproductive probably as a result of the recent widespread rain which probably dispersed the birds. We were after Cotton and Green Pygmy Goose but all we had were Comb-crested Jacana and Wandering Whistling Ducks. Tinaroo Creek Road and Pickford Road also did not produce anything of note.

Cairns area

Approaching Cairns the Gordonvale Turf Farms, the Edmonton Turf Farms and the Edmonton boat ramp all proved to be unproductive other than a Common Sandpiper at the boatramp and two Whitefaced Herons at the Turf Farm. The esplanade proved more successful and here we picked up on a vagrant Laughing Gull. Also seen were Beach stone-curlew, Mongolian and Greater Sandplover, Blacktailed and Bartailed Godwit, Rednecked Stint, Greytailed Tattler,  Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Greenshank, Terek Sandpipier, Great Knot, Curlew and Sharp-tailed sandpiper, Mangrove and Eastern reef heron and Royal Spoonbill. Plenty of Varied honeyeaters in the adjacent trees but no sign of any Fig parrots.

A morning birding session at the Centenary Lakes just across from the Botanical Gardens provided us with questar views of Little Kingfisher and good views of White-browed Crake out in the open. Both these birds were found on the lake on the western side of the Centenary Lakes Park. A couple of Orange-footed scrubfowl were seen on the lawns too. At the mangrove boardwalk near the airport by far better birding was had taking the left hand boardwalk from the parking lot. Along this track we had a pair of Shining Flycatchers (near the creek), Beach Stone Curlew and a group of Pacific Golden Plover (in the open patch near the beginning of the boardwalk. No sign of the hoped for Mangrove robin.

Michaelmass Cay boat trip

The boat trip to Michaelmass Cay was spectacular and highly recommended. On route to the Cay we had a number of Common Noddies, Bridled Tern and a mix of Lesser Crested and Crested Tern. The cay itself is feast of tropical seabirds with mouth-watering views of Common and Black Noddies, Sooty Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Brown Booby and a couple of Roseate Terns. From Michaelmass cay the boat took us through to Hastings Reef where we had a group of Black-naped and a few Little terns. On the day we also had 5 unidentified Frigatebirds, the majority of which were probably Lesser. We did the trip with Seastar and found them really good value for money. The whole day cost us A$80 (including great food) and for A$10 extra each we did a short trip in a rubber dingy around the Cay.

The Daintree

Our trip up to the Daintree was not very successful. The weather looked ominous and we were told by the local boat operators that our chance of finding our two target species, namely the Greatbilled Heron and the Black Bittern was remote. We hence decided to turn around and drive straight onto Kingfisher Park.

Kingfisher Park & Mt Lewis

A night time sortie up Mt Lewis did not produce much in the form of new birds but a Lesser Sooty Owl was heard calling. Our day time visit was more successful. Two Blue-faced Parrotfinches in a group of Red-browed’s at the clearing 11.8km up Mt Lewis, about 400 metres before the gate which one requires a permit to get through. A group of Mountain Thornbills were also present at the top. The Masked Owls were in their usual spot at Kingfisher Park and they were quite vocal at night. A Black-chinned Honeyeater had recently been reported from the area around the Masked Owl site but we had no luck. We did manage to pick up on stunning views of Buffbreasted Paradise Kingfisher, Cicadabird, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Dollarbird and Emerald Dove. We had no luck with the Red-necked Crake.

List of Birds recorded:  

W = widespread
C = Cairns Esplanade
H = Hasties Swamp
K = Kingfisher Park
P = Paluma
M = Michaelmass Cay boat trip

Cassowary	7 in the Mission Beach area
Orange-footed Scrubfowl	4 at the Cairns Botanical Gardens
Brush Turkey	W
Brown Quail	W
Australian Pelican	C, Lake Eacham
Brown Booby	M
Frigatebird sp.	M
Darter	Lake Mitchell
Little Black Cormorant	W
Little Grebe	W
Black Swan	W
Magpie Goose	W
Wandering Whistling Duck	W
Pacific Black Duck	H
Buff-banded Rail	W
Red-necked Crake	2 on the trail to Witt’s lookout at Paluma
Whitebrowed Crake	Botanic gardens Cairns
Purple Gallinule	H
Dusky Moorhen	H
Bush-Hen	Eubanangee Swamps
Coot	W
White-faced Heron	2 near Edmonton
Great Egret	1 Lake Mitchell
Little Egret	C
Cattle Egret	2 Mission Beach
Eastern Reef Egret	1 Mission Beach, C
Nankeen Night Heron	Eubanangee Swamp
Mangrove Heron	Edmonton, C
White Ibis	W
Royal Spoonbill	C
Eastern Curlew	C
Whimbrel	C
Turnstone	M
Grey-tailed Tattler	C
Common Sandpiper	Edmonton boat ramp
Greenshank	C
Marsh Sandpiper	Cairns airfield
Terek Sandpiper	C
Bar-tailed Godwit	C
Black-tailed Godwit	C
Great Knot	C
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	C, Edmonton Turf Farms
Red-necked Stint	C
Curlew Sandpiper	C
Bush Stone-Curlew	Mission Beach
Beach Stone-Curlew	C, Cairns Mangrove Boardwalk
Masked Lapwing	W
Black-fronted Dotterel	Yungaburra Turf Farms, Eubanangee, Edmonton
Mongolian Plover	C
Greater Sand Plover	C
Comb-crested Jacana	H, Lake Mitchell
Silver Gull	W
Laughing Gull	C
Roseate Tern	M
Black-naped Tern	M
Sooty Tern	M
Bridled Tern	M
Little Tern	M
Brown Noddy	M
Black Noddy	M
Crested Tern	W
Lesser Crested Tern	M
Pacific Baza	Mission Beach
Black-shouldered Kite	Eubanangee Swamp
Osprey	Mission Beach
Brahiminy Kite	Edmonton, Mission Beach
Black Kite	Edmonton
Whistling Kite	Edmonton
Swamp Harrier	Near Atherton
Superb Fruit Dove	W
Rose-crowned Fruit Dove	P
Wompoo Pigeon	W
Top-Knot Pigeon	W
Brown Cuckoo Dove	P
White-headed Pigeon	P
Emerald Dove	W
Bar-shouldered Dove	W
Peaceful Dove	W
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo	W
Rainbow Lorikeet	W
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet	W
Double-eyed Fig Parrot	W
King Parrot	P
Crimson Rosella	P
Pale-headed Rosella	Tinaroo Creek Road, Atherton Tablelands
Brush Cuckoo	W
Koel	W
Channel-billed Cuckoo	W
Pheasant Coucal	W
Rufous Owl	Emerald Falls, Atherton Tablelands
Southern Boobook	P
Masked Owl	K
Lesser Sooty Owl	P
Papaun Frogmouth	P
White-throated Needletail	K
Fork-tailed Swift	Mission Beach
White-rumped Swiftlet	W
Laughing Kookaburra	W
Blue-winged Kookaburra	Tinaroo Creek Road, Atherton Tablelands
Azure Kingfisher	Daintree
Little Kingfisher	Eubanangee, Botanical Gardens Cairns
Sacred Kingfisher	W
Collared Kingfisher	Cairns botanical gardens
Forest Kingfisher	Cairns botanical gardens
Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher	K
Rainbow Bee-eater	Mission Beach
Dollarbird	K
Noisy Pitta	P
White-throated Treecreeper	P
Red-backed Fairy-wren	W
Lovely Fairy-wren	Big Crystal Creek near Paluma
Fernwren	P
Large-billed Scrub-wren	P
Yellow-throated Scrub-wren	P, tablelands
Atherton Scrub-wren	3 at the curtain fig tree, tablelands
Fairy Gerygone	Mission Beach, P
Large-billed Gerygone	Big Crystal Creek, near Paluma
Mountain Thornbill	2 Atherton Tablelands
Helmeted Friarbird	W
Little Friarbird	W
Blue-faced Honeyeater	W
Macleay’s Honeyeater	W
Lewin’s Honeyeater	W
Graceful Honeyeater	W
Yellow-spotted Honeyeater	W
Bridled Honeyeater	W
Varied Honeyeater	C
White-throated Honeyeater	Big Crystal Creek, near Paluma
Brown Honeyeater	W
Eastern Spinebill	Forest on Seamark Road
Brown-backed Honeyeater	W
Dusky Honeyeater	W
Scarlet Honeyeater	Picnic site at Lake Eacham
Chowchilla	P, Mt Lewis
Eastern Whipbird	P, Lake Eacham
Grey-crowned Babbler	Tinaroo Creek Road, Atherton Tablelands
Eastern Yellow Robin	Emerald Falls, Atherton Tablelands
Lemon-bellied Flycatcher	Big Crystal Creek, near Paluma
Pale Yellow Robin	W
White-browed Robin	Big Crystal Creek, near Paluma
Little Shrike Thrush	P
Bower’s Shrike Thrush	W
Golden Whistler	W
Grey Whistler	P
Rufous Whistler	Atherton tablelands
Grey Fantail	W
Rufous Fantail	W
Northern Fantail	Big Crystal Creek
Willie Wagtail	W
Leaden Flycatcher	W
Shining Flycatcher	Cairns Mangrove Boardwalk
Broad-billed Flycatcher	Eubanangee swamp
Yellow-breasted Boatbill	Lake Eacham
Black-faced Monarch	W
Spectacled Monarch	W
Pied Monarch	P, Lake Eacham
Spangled Drongo	W
Magpie Lark	W
Yellow Oriole	W
Olive-backed Oriole	W
Figbird	W
Victoria’s Riflebird	W
Spotted Catbird	W
Tooth-billed Bowerbird	P
Golden Bowerbird	Forest off Seamark road, Atherton tablelands
White-bellied Cuckooshrike	W
Black-faced Cuckooshrike	W
Cicadabird	K
Varied Triller	Mission Beach
White-breasted Woodswallow	W
Black Butcherbird	Mission Beach
Australian Magpie	W
Pied Currawong	Mission Beach
Torresian Crow	W
Welcome Swallow	W
Tree Martin	Eubanangee Swamp
Singing Bushlark	Edmonton Turf Farms
Reed Warbler	Eubanangee Swamp
Golden-headed Cisticola	W
Tawny Grassbird	W
Double-barred Finch	C
Crimson Finch	W north of Mission Beach
Red-browed Finch	W
Blue-faced Parrotfinch	Mt Lewis
Sunbird	W
Silvereye	W
Metallic Starling	W
Bassian/ Russet-tailed Thrush	Mt Lewis
TOTAL:	189