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A few birds from my recent trip to Cairns
This post rounds off my series of bird photos from a recent trip to Far North Queensland. The birds in this post were in Cairns, a lovely city on the east coast of Australia near the Great Barrier Reef.
A Great Egret stalked the mudflats of the bay. At low tide, this area is a vast muddy plain. The tide was in when I took this photo:
In this close up, the egret is looking rather alarmed. I think I just caught it at an inopportune moment. Perhaps a yawn, or a fish that went down the wrong way:
The next picture shows the bay when the tide is out. In the distance is a Black-necked Stork a first sighting for me:
Here’s a close-up of the same Black-necked Stork. These are large birds, at 1.5 metres tall with a wingspan of over 2 metres. They’re the only species of stork found in Australia:
Figbirds called from the trees lining the Cairns promenade. The males in this area have a bright yellow front, which is different from the more subdued colouring of the figbirds down near Sydney. Here’s a male Figbird:
Here’s a female Figbird, with her gentle olive-brown colouring and streaked front:
There were large numbers of Metallic Starlings, congregating in trees and shimmering in the sun. This is another first sighting for me! Unlike the Common Starling, which was introduced to Australia, these Metallic Starlings are indigenous to North East Queensland:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief glimpse into the birds of Far North Queensland. I hope to travel up there again sometime soon. It’s a unique area of the world.
Straw-necked Ibis
This is another of my bird sightings from a recent trip to Far North Queensland: A Straw-necked Ibis. It was patrolling a large area of cut grass:
The name “straw-necked” comes from the bunch of thin, straw-like feathers at the base of the bird’s neck.
Down in Sydney, the Australian White Ibis (dubbed the bin chicken by locals) is a common sight. But I haven’t seen a Straw-necked Ibis before. According to my bird book, they’re roughly the same size and weight. However, this particular bird seemed heavier and stronger than the ibises I’ve seen up to now.
Common name: Straw-necked Ibis
Scientific name:Â Threskiornis spinicollis
Approximate length: 60-70 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2022 (dry season)
Location: Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°30’42.2″S 145°27’44.2″E
Magpie Goose with chick
In May I visited Port Douglas in Far North Queensland. Strolling along a quiet road was this Magpie Goose and its chick:
These are large birds, at around 80 cm long with a wingspan of 1.5 metres in an adult. Even the chick is a large bird. Magpie Geese are easy to recognise, because of the weird knob on the top of their heads. I see that the baby doesn’t have a head knob yet.
Magpie Geese are found only in Australia and New Guinea. Evidently they’re not “true geese”. Their family branched off earlier than other ducks and geese, and so they’re considered to be a more ancient lineage. They do look a little prehistoric! Their feet are only partially webbed, they have strong claws, and they don’t moult all their flight feathers at the same time. As a result, they can fly all through their moulting.
Common name: Magpie Goose
Scientific name:Â Anseranas semipalmata
Approximate length: 75-90 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2022 (dry season)
Location: Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°30’42.2″S 145°27’44.2″E
Birds from a boat on the Daintree River
In May this year I was lucky enough to visit Far North Queensland. While there, I took an early morning boat trip on the Daintree River (map). The tour, run by Ian “Sauce” Worcester, was called the Daintree River Wild Watch. Highly recommended!
The river is gorgeous in the early morning chill:
We saw a number of kingfishers on the banks of the river. This one is a Sacred Kingfisher:
Another Sacred Kingfisher:
A Spectacled Monarch hid in the undergrowth of the mangrove forest. Our boat followed it quietly until it came into easy view:
As the sun came up, a Rainbow Bee-eater landed on a high-up tree branch and fluffed out its feathers to take advantage of the warmth:
Here’s another view of the Rainbow Bee-eater:
The river banks were at times covered in mangrove forests or fig trees. High above our heads, flowers bloomed:
Waterbirds included these colourful Radjah Shelducks, sometimes called Burdekin ducks:
Another non-descript-looking duck caused some excitement, as our tour guide thought it might be a whistling duck but I can’t identify it. If anyone can say what it is, let me know:
We saw a Darter roosting close to a Little Pied Cormorant. In this photo, the cormorant is behind the darter looking towards the right. The darter is in front, with its back to us, looking towards the left:
Three Little Pied Cormorants kept us company on the water. You can see the dense forest that covered much of the river bank:
An egret kept pace for a while too:
Atmospheric pic of preening pelican in Cairns
I love the colours of this early-morning shot. The bird is an Australian Pelican, chilling out at the edge of the Coral Sea.
Common name: Australian Pelican
Scientific name:Â Pelecanus conspicillatus
Approximate length: 170 cm
Approximate wingspan: 2.5 m
Date spotted: 15 May 2022 (dry season)
Location: Cairns Esplanade, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°55’05.0″S 145°46’33.3″E
The call of the Orange-footed Scrubfowl
In my previous post, I mentioned that many of the birds up in Far North Queensland have different calls from those down in my usual haunts near Sydney. Here’s another example: The Orange-footed Scrubfowl:
This sighting is another first for me. These birds are found in the far north of Australia, on the coastal rainforest edges of the continent. The noise and the way the bird moves remind me of the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park!
Common name: Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Scientific name:Â Megapodius reinwardt
Approximate length: 40-50 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2022 (dry season)
Location: Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°30’42.2″S 145°27’44.2″E
Black Butcherbird in Far North Queensland
A few days ago, I was visiting Port Douglas in Far North Queensland. Many of the birds up there have quite different calls from those further south. This Black Butcherbird is an example:
As you can see, the lighting was difficult. I did manage to get a couple of clearer still shots of the bird:
Black Butcherbirds are, as the name implies, entirely black. In Australia, they’re found only in the far north of the continent. Down near Sydney, where I’m based, I’ve only ever seen the Grey Butcherbird, which has a lot of white and grey as well as black plumage. According to my bird book, some Black Butcherbirds (the rulescens race) can be brownish as juveniles.
This is my first sighting of a Black Butcherbird! Here’s another picture of the same bird in full song:
Common name: Black Butcherbird
Scientific name:Â Cracticus quoyi
Approximate length: 38-44 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2022 (autumn)
Location: Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°30’42.2″S 145°27’44.2″E
Pelicans at Cairns Esplanade
I’m in Cairns for a couple of days! Cairns is in Far North Queensland, about 2,000 kilometres from Sydney as the crow flies. Early this morning, before the tropical heat set in, I took a stroll along the Esplanade.
This lovely sculpture by Brian Robinson is called Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef:
I love the way the artwork frames the bay and the entrance to the Coral Sea.
A little further along the Esplanade, two Australian Pelicans were chilling out in the shelter of the boardwalk:
Common name: Australian Pelican
Scientific name:Â Pelecanus conspicillatus
Approximate length: 170 cm
Approximate wingspan: 2.5m
Date spotted: 14 May 2022 (autumn)
Location: Cairns Esplanade, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°55’05.0″S 145°46’33.3″E
Yellow Figbird in Tropical North Queensland
Last weekend I was at Mission Beach in Tropical North Queensland. While there, I spotted a group of figbirds. The colouring of the males was quite different from the figbirds of the Sydney region. The northern variation (Sphecotheres viridis flaviventris) is called the Yellow Figbird for good reason:
Common name: Yellow Figbird
Scientific name: Sphecotheres viridis flaviventris
Approximate length: 29 cm
Date spotted: 15 May 2021 (autumn)
Location: Mission Beach, Tropical North Queensland, Australia: 17°51’56.6″S 146°06’33.5″E
Compare the more subdued colouring of this male figbird in the Sydney region:
In search of a dinosaur uh Cassowary
(Not in Sydney.) This weekend I’m in Tropical North Queensland with my family. On Saturday, we drove up the east coast of Australia from Townsville, heading north for three hours until we reached the town of Mission Beach. This stretch of coast is the one place in the world where you’re most likely to meet a real live dinosaur.
Well, it’s not an actual dinosaur. What we were looking for was a Cassowary, the closest thing to a living dinosaur that I can imagine. A Cassowary is a large bird, ranging from one-and-a-half to two metres tall and weighing in at around 60 to 70kg. That means the bird is about the same height and weight as I am, or even larger!
Upon entering the area of Mission Beach, we came across enticing road signs like this one:
Cassowaries are usually timid and avoid contact with humans. Before setting out, I’d done some research about where we’d be most likely to see one, if we were lucky. And yes, we were lucky! Within an hour or so of starting our wandering around the southern areas of Mission Beach, we spotted a Cassowary. My first photo shows this intriguing rear end poking out from behind a bush:
Soon the bird appeared in full view:
What a magnificent creature! We stayed well out of its way. Cassowaries are formidable. Quite apart from being large and fast, they have a big, strong beak and a twelve-centimeter-long, sharp claw on each foot, fit to disembowel any unwary adversary.
The curved bit that sticks up on the bird’s head is a hard, bony protrusion called a casque. Nobody is quite sure of its purpose. One theory is that the casque provides a sounding chamber that helps the bird make its deep, booming call. The colours on the bird’s head and in those red hanging wattles get brighter when the bird is agitated. Cassowaries can’t fly, but they can run up to 50 kilometres per hour, jump 2 metres straight up into the air, and swim well too.
This video shows the Cassowary quietly exploring the plants, looking for an edible treat:
Common name: Southern Cassowary
Scientific name: Casuarius casuarius johnsonii
Approximate height: Up to 2 metres
Date spotted: 15 May 2021 (autumn)
Location: South Mission Beach, Tropical North Queensland, Australia: Map
Sydney Birder 