Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Tablelands 10/14-10/18--59 Life Birds

VICTORIA'S RIFLEBIRD, Chambers Rainforest Lodge
We made our way south from Daintree and a little west to higher ground on the Tablelands, where it was dry below and rain forest again once you went up into the mountains. Our first lifer was yet another honeyeater, BRIDLED HONEYEATER at a little park sponsored by the Lions in Mossman and our last life bird there, 4 days later, at the Cathedral Fig Tree, a BOWER'S SHRIKETHRUSH.

In between, there were 57 other lifers, including the glorious VICTORIA'S RIFLEBIRD which came to eat banana on our railing at Chambers Rainforest Lodge, two species of crane--SARUS & BROLGA, and displaying AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD in the fields around Maryfarms. While the photos are not great (or even good) they're worth looking at:
SARUS, adult and juvenile
BROLGA
(the difference between the cranes is the amount of red on the face & neck: Brolga only has red wrapping around
the top of the head, while on Sarus, the red extends down to the neck)
AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD displaying
AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD (hen)
We also got our first looks at a bower of a bowerbird on a suburban street in Julatten built by a GREAT BOWERBIRD. This species is only interested in white objects, so there were lots of white stones, shells, and plastic in it. Later, in Mt Molloy, we found a couple of others which were in better light to photograph:


GREAT BOWERBIRD
It was also in Mount Molloy that we found a SQUATTER PIGEON, which are apparently hard to find since Andrew (the owner of Kingfisher Lodge) insisted that we all go back to see it after Lon, who was lagging behind, showed him a photo of it.


Mount Molloy itself, a rather dry and dusty country town, is a cartographic misnomer as there is no "Mount" anywhere near it; the "Mt" originally stood for "Mining Town" on the early maps and later map makers, not knowing the history or nomenclature, assumed it stood for the non-existent geographic feature. The residents all refer to the town simply as "Molloy"

Our time in the tablelands was split between two lodges, Kingfisher and Chambers, the first which featured many honeyeaters coming into their feeders, as well as RED-BROWED FIRETAILS and Chestnut-breasted Munias, with Orange-footed Scrubfowls and brushturkeys running rampant. Chambers was the place to have riflebirds on the railing outside your room, as wells as Lewin's Honeyeater, Spotted Catbird (which are 10 times more annoying than our Gray Catbirds) and Black Butcherbird.

                            Spotted Catbird                                                                        Black Butcherbird
While botany is not my favorite science, two gigantic strangler figs were the centerpieces of a couple of birding spots we went to. The Curtain Fig is aptly named, the Cathedral Fig perhaps a bit grand, but still impressive. (Curtain fig on the left, with Peg & Shari for scale, Cathedral on the right)
Curtain/Cathedral
Instead of me attempting to explain the process to you
After our four days on the Tablelands, we drove down to Cairns (where we picked up TEREK SANDPIPER on the esplanade) and flew to Brisbane.
Species                 First Sighting
Magpie Goose   Julatten
PLUMED WHISTLING-DUCK   Hasties Swamp National Park
Freckled Duck   Hasties Swamp National Park
Black Swan   Lake Mitchell
GREEN PYGMY-GOOSE   Lake Mitchell
Pacific Black Duck   Julatten
Gray Teal   Julatten
PINK-EARED DUCK   Hasties Swamp National Park
Hardhead   Julatten
Australian Brushturkey   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Orange-footed Scrubfowl   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Helmeted Guineafowl   Granite Gorge Nature Park
Australasian Grebe   Julatten
Great Crested Grebe   Lake Eacham
Brown Cuckoo-Dove   Julatten
Pacific Emerald Dove   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
SQUATTER PIGEON   Mount Molloy
Peaceful Dove   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Bar-shouldered Dove   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
WOMPOO FRUIT-DOVE   Mossman
AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD   Maryfarms
Pacific Koel   Mount Molloy
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo   Mt Lewis Rd
Little Bronze-Cuckoo   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
Fan-tailed Cuckoo   Hasties Swamp National Park
Australian Swiftlet   Bromfield Swamp Viewing Platform
Eurasian Coot   Lake Mitchell
Australasian Swamphen   Hasties Swamp National Park
SARUS CRANE   Gillies Highway, East Barron
BROLGA   Gillies Highway, East Barron
PIED STILT   Hasties Swamp National Park
Masked Lapwing   Julatten
ORIENTAL PLOVER   Maryfarms
RED-KNEED DOTTEREL   Hasties Swamp National Park
BLACK-FRONTED DOTTEREL   Hasties Swamp National Park
COMB-CRESTED JACANA   Julatten
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper   Hasties Swamp National Park
LATHAM'S SNIPE   Hasties Swamp National Park
Common Sandpiper   Hasties Swamp National Park
AUSTRALIAN PRATINCOLE   Maryfarms
Silver Gull   Bromfield Swamp Viewing Platform
Gull-billed Tern   Hasties Swamp National Park
Whiskered Tern   Bromfield Swamp Viewing Platform
Australasian Darter   Julatten
Little Pied Cormorant   Lake Eacham, top carpark
Little Black Cormorant   Hasties Swamp National Park
Australian Pelican   Julatten
Pacific Heron   Hasties Swamp National Park
Great Egret   Julatten
Intermediate Egret   Lake Mitchell
White-faced Heron   Julatten
Cattle Egret   Julatten
Glossy Ibis   Julatten
Australian Ibis   Julatten
Straw-necked Ibis   Julatten
Royal Spoonbill   Julatten
BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE   Bromfield Swamp Viewing Platform
BLACK-BREASTED KITE   Maryfarms
SQUARE-TAILED KITE   Maryfarms
SPOTTED HARRIER   Maryfarms
RED GOSHAWK   Lake Mitchell
Black Kite   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Whistling Kite   Hasties Swamp National Park
SOOTY OWL   Crater Lakes National Park
Laughing Kookaburra   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
BLUE-WINGED KOOKABURRA   Julatten
Forest Kingfisher   Julatten
Australian Kestrel   Maryfarms
RED-TAILED BLACK-COCKATOO   Maryfarms
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo   Bromfield Swamp Viewing Platform
Rainbow Lorikeet   Julatten
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Spotted Catbird   Mossman - Mt Molloy Rd
TOOTH-BILLED BOWERBIRD   Mt Lewis Rd
GOLDEN BOWERBIRD   Mount Hypipamee National Park
GREAT BOWERBIRD   Julatten
White-throated Treecreeper   Mt Lewis Rd
Lewin's Honeyeater   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
GRACEFUL HONEYEATER   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
YELLOW HONEYEATER   Granite Gorge Nature Park
YELLOW-FACED HONEYEATER   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
BRIDLED HONEYEATER   Mount Hypipamee National Park
DUSKY MYZOMELA   Julatten
SCARLET MYZOMELA   Curtain Fig Tree
WHITE-CHEEKED HONEYEATER   Julatten
BLUE-FACED HONEYEATER   Julatten
BLACK-CHINNED HONEYEATER   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
MACLEAY'S HONEYEATER   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
LITTLE FRIARBIRD   Maryfarms
SILVER-CROWNED FRIARBIRD   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
NOISY FRIARBIRD   Mount Molloy
FERNWREN   Mt Lewis Rd
YELLOW-THROATED SCRUBWREN   Mt Lewis Rd
ATHERTON SCRUBWREN   Mt Lewis Rd
MOUNTAIN THORNBILL   Mt Lewis Rd
Brown Gerygone   Mossman
GRAY-CROWNED BABBLER   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
CHOWCHILLA   Mt Lewis Rd
Eastern Whipbird   Mt Lewis Rd
YELLOW-BREASTED BOATBILL   Mossman
White-breasted Woodswallow   Julatten
Pied Butcherbird   Maryfarms
Black Butcherbird Crater Lakes National Park
Pied Currawong   Mount Hypipamee National Park
Barred Cuckooshrike   Mt Lewis Rd
Black-faced Cuckooshrike   Bromfield Swamp Viewing Platform
White-bellied Cuckooshrike   Julatten
WHITE-WINGED TRILLER   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
BOWER'S SHRIKETHRUSH   Lake Eacham
LITTLE SHRIKETHRUSH   Mossman
GOLDEN WHISTLER   Mt Lewis
GRAY WHISTLER   Julatten
Australasian Figbird   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Spangled Drongo   Mossman
Northern Fantail   Mossman
Willie-wagtail   Julatten
Gray Fantail   Mt Lewis Rd
Black-faced Monarch   Mossman
SPECTACLED MONARCH   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
PIED MONARCH   Curtain Fig Tree
Magpie-lark   Mount Molloy
Leaden Flycatcher   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
Torresian Crow   Maryfarms
VICTORIA'S RIFLEBIRD   Crater Lakes National Park
LEMON-BELLIED FLYCATCHER   Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
PALE-YELLOW ROBIN   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Gray-headed Robin   Mossman
GOLDEN-HEADED CISTICOLA   Lake Mitchell
Metallic Starling   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
MISTLETOEBIRD   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Australasian Pipit   Maryfarms
RED-BROWED FIRETAIL   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge
Chestnut-Breasted Munia   Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge

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