AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND, Daintree to Kingfisher Park

Leaden Flycatcher

Sept 24: We got another early start on our ‘Down Under’ tour, starting the day with a pre-breakfast stroll along the Stewart Creek Road.  It was relatively quiet as we walked the forest edge adjacent to the Daintree River, but we did find Forest Kingfisher, a female Leaden Flycatcher, Varied Triller, Bar-shouldered Dove and the common Dusky Honeyeater.

Red Mill House

Back at the Red Mill B&B for breakfast, our attention was drawn to a large Golden Orb Spider and Giant White-lipped Treefrogs.  It was not the only amphibian we saw, the other being that nemesis to Australia’s native wildlife, the invasive Cane Toad. We said goodbye to our gracious hosts, Trish and Andrew, and headed out to explore local beaches.

Group at Red Mill

At Wonga Beach, a lovely walk produced Brown Booby, Crested Tern and an Olive-backed Sunbird flitting about the trees that served as barrier between the beach and the rural road.  Continuing on to Newell Beach, we watched a White-bellied Sea Eagle soaring over the shoreline, and a Pacific Baza flying up the rainforest slope.

Wonga Beach

We drove as far as we could along Newell Beach to Saltwater Creek and located our target bird, the Beach Thick-knee, on the far side of the creek.  This was a birdy area, with excellent views of Sacred and Collared Kingfisher, Striated Heron, Grey-tailed Tattler and Common Sandpiper.

Leaving the coast, our journey took us into the Great Dividing Mountain Range, which rises sharply from coastal lowlands, and traverses the length of the country along the eastern coastline. We traveled northwest of Cairns to Kingfisher Park in the Julaten Tablelands, situated at the northern end of the Atherton Tablelands. The landscape changed from rainforest along the escarpment, to patches of eucalyptus forest and open agricultural lands.

Kingfisher Park

The Kingfisher Park wildlife sanctuary encompasses a small, isolated patch of remnant rainforest surrounded by cane fields.  Lindsay and Keith, our lodge hosts, greeted us upon arrival, and settled us into our rooms.

Macleay’s Honeyeater

Soon we migrated to the porch and feeders where several new species were present, providing an engaging distraction as we ate our lunch.  A dozen Red-browed Finches took turns on the feeders, while the nicely-patterned Macleay’s Honeyeater and the large Blue-faced Honeyeater made regular forays into the feeding area. Emerald Doves wandered in the shadows along with a shy Silvereye. Out in the gardens, we watched a pair of Metallic Starlings coming in to drink from a small pool of water, Rainbow Lorikeets whizzing around, and a Pale Yellow Robin hunting insects a few feet off the ground.

Birding at Mt. Lewis

We spent most of the afternoon on Mt. Lewis, about 20 kms away along a winding dirt road that climbed to 3000 feet in northeastern Queensland.  At the mouth of a forest trail, we enjoyed good looks of Grey Fantail, Eastern Spinebill, Bridled and Lewin’s Honeyeater and a couple of Mountain Thornbills. A White-headed Pigeon and small flocks of Topknot Pigeon flew overhead. The lovely Macleay’s Swallowtail flittering about the forest opening was a new butterfly for the trip.

Macleay’s Swallowtail

The trail, wide enough to walk two abreast, wound through a mixed highland tropical rainforest, revealing a number of upland rainforest specialties. Low-perching Grey-headed Robin’s were encountered frequently along the path, and Joy found the first of several buff colored Bower’s Shrike-thrushes, endemic to these highlands, which were less conspicuous in the mid canopy. We got fleeting glimpses of Spotted Catbirds as they zipped across the trail.

Tooth-billed Bowerbird display arena

The loud call of the Tooth-billed Bowerbird alerted us to its presence. Bowerbirds are named for their unique construction of bowers, and this species has a staging area that it has cleared of debris, and decorated with large green leaves, specifically placed upside-down. From a stalk within this stage, the male bowerbird sings and displays to attract a mate. For such a large bird, albeit a dull one, the Tooth-billed Bowerbird was surprisingly difficult to locate.

Chowchilla “side kicking”

We found a family group of seven, ground-feeding Chowchillas, part of an endemic Australian family of birds. These thrush-sized birds with pale eye-rings, were remarkably quiet as they rummaged through leaf litter. Unlike other species that scratch backwards through the leaves, Chowchillas kick out to the side! The females are more colorful than the males, something I had noticed with a few other Australian species, in that they had an orange throat and breast with white belly, in contrast to the all-white underside of males.

Other species were encountered included Yellow-throated Scrubwren, an attractive, mostly terrestrial species, that seemed to follow the Chowchillas. Atherton Scrubwren, similar in size, though duller-plumaged, were seen by themselves, and some of our group saw a Fern Wren.

We returned to the Kingfisher grounds to visit the stream, in the hopes of seeing a Platypus, a rarely-encountered aquatic mammal.  As we waited patiently along the upper bank, scanning the gently-flowing water below, we noticed a number of birds coming to the far water line for a drink. These included Rufous Fantail, Spotted Catbird, Grey-headed Robin, Long-billed and Atherton Scrubwren. Suddenly a Platypus appeared, looking very much like a log. It rose to the surface, dipped below, swam rapidly along the bank, then turned away and vanished. All this happened so fast, and we knew we would return at first light to try and see the elusive Platypus again.

Walking back to the lodge, Keith showed us a roosting Papuan Frogmouth, the largest of three frogmouth species found in Australia. The perfect host, Keith next showed us the resident Barn Owl.  At dusk, right on cue, it left its roost high up in a eucalyptus tree, flew the length of the grove, then perched nicely for all of us to see.

Barking Owl

After dinner we retired to our rooms, but were summoned a short time later by Barry urging us up for a pair of Barking Owls. Following their ‘woof-woof’ bark we found them in an open tree.  While watching the owls, we could hear Bush Stone Curlews winding up and calling in the distance.  The sounds of the night lulled us to sleep after another wonderful day in Australia.
all photos © adrian binns