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Contact Call

Newsletter of BirdLife Northern Queensland Volume 8 Number 1 March 2019

BirdLife Northern Queensland

Annual General Meeting 2019

When : Thursday 14 March 2019, 7:30–9:30pm

Where: Malanda Hotel, 2 English Street, Malanda

Dinner is available at own cost at the venue from 6

pm.

Following the AGM there will be a

special guest presentation by

Kath Shurcliff on

Cooktown Birds

The Jewel In The Crown of North

Queensland??

Cooktown – the site of the first British settlement in

Australia, and importantly, the first reconciliation

between British and Aboriginal cultures. But what is

its importance to our unique north Australia birds?

It lies at the very top of the Wet Tropics and the

very bottom of Cape York. Is it poor cousin or jewel

in the crown? What is the Torresian Barrier and is it

real? Come and find out, add your own insights,

and together we'll discover one of our most unique,

and often missed-out birding places.

Peter Valentine, Convenor

For more information, please contact me on 4096

6171 or email [email protected]. We look

forward to seeing you there!

Double-eyed Fig-parrot. Image courtesy of Peter Valentine.

Contents ➢ Convenor’s report

➢ A Bourke’s Parrot story

➢ Queensland Gouldian Finch research update

➢ Carpentarian Grasswrens are calling

➢ Amazing bird discovery on Cairns Esplanade

mudflats

➢ BirdLife Northern Queensland Kirrama Range

Bowerbird Survey

➢ Golden Bowerbirds and a dead Green Ring-tailed

Possum

➢ Sunbathing Papuan Frogmouth

➢ Strange colours in Victoria’s Riflebird immature

males

➢ News from Mount Isa - January 2019

➢ Do you have BADS?

➢ A birders camping guide to exploring north

Queensland

➢ Lake Barrine and Cathedral Fig outing

➢ Why has North America only 1000 breeding

species?

➢ Warrina Lakes birding

➢ Stickybeaks calendar

➢ Noticeboard and events calendar


2 Contact Call Volume 8 Number 1

From the Convenor It is always a pleasure to read about birders enjoying

birds and for me one of the great benefits of BirdLife

membership is the Australian BirdLife magazine from

the national office (replete with advertisements) and

our very own Contact Call so expertly edited by Ceri

Pearce. The November edition was brim full of

excellent stories that took us all around our region and

appraised us of the latest developments in birding. Our

Branch is fortunate to have such a wonderful

newsletter and I express my appreciation to all the

members who contribute and encourage others to

write a piece for Ceri. Of course, in our modern world

we can also take advantage of the internet and first

stop is our own informative website. Here the collated

wisdom of a generation or more of BirdLife members

informs our bird lists and birding information area, an

excellent first stop for anyone planning a birding

excursion. It’s also the way to keep up with events and

to discover more about some of our ongoing projects

like the grasswren survey and the crane count. I

appreciate the work that Mikey Kudo does in keeping

the website up to date. Our Facebook page, managed

by our champion, Doug Herrington, is also a great

forum to share information and stay up to date with

the very latest events and bird sightings in our region,

as well as seek advice on bird identification and share

your amazing bird photos.

A recent development in our communications is the

occasional eNews now being sent to members by our

Secretary Renee Cassells. In a world with rapidly

changing circumstances, email helps keep us better

connected and Renee is able to bring members up to

date with emerging events and any essential

information about our projects and other activities.

The Senate Inquiry into Australia’s faunal extinction

crisis continues slowly and in late November an

extension was granted that will not see the final report

tabled until the end of May this year. Over 400

submissions have now been made including our own

and one by the national office. These can be consulted

on the website for the inquiry maintained by the

Parliament:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Com

mittees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Fa

unalextinction

Sadly, the critical nature of this crisis has been brought

home even more by the numerous weather disasters

around Australia. The record-breaking heat extremes

across most of the continent does not just make life

uncomfortable for humans but places severe stress on

wildlife and increases the risks from wildfires. The

unprecedented wildfires in the Tasmanian World

Heritage Area not only destroys ancient vegetation

communities but stresses other wildlife. The

astonishing rain events of north eastern Queensland

and north western Queensland will have taken a huge

toll on wildlife, often over-looked while we count the

human tragedy. Reports of crashes in local insect

populations from around the world ought to engender

fears not just about pollinators for human crops but

the prospect of ecosystem collapse. I hope that this

Federal election can have a big focus on our response

to Climate Change. Meantime we still learn of human

pets (owned by irresponsible citizens) taking out

breeding colonies of beach birds like Hooded Plovers

and Fairy Terns. One of our important roles as a

Branch is to keep working at the local level to make

sure we take the necessary actions to better protect

our birds and that means lots of effort to inform our

local Councils and to work with them to produce

improved bird conservation. It might be useful for the

Branch to find a member who could take on the role of

liaison with local government over bird conservation

and keep the Branch informed about improvements.

Our Branch has been concerned about the potential

effects of climate change on some of our species,

especially the upland rainforest birds. I am hoping that

we may have a chance to hear from one of our experts

about the basis for those concerns in April. Professor

Steve Williams, who led a major program of field

research to collect data about habitat requirements for

our wildlife, has developed the capacity to model the

ways in which various changes associated with global

warming in our region would impact on our different

birds and mammals. We will let you know the details of

the presentation when confirmed.

Late last year I received reports from members about

access issues at Lake Mitchell. It appears that although

the causeway used by birders remained accessible,

police had been accosting birders about the legitimacy

of their being on the causeway. I had noticed myself

that the old wooden gate had been replaced but that it

remained unlocked. Subsequently I spoke with the

Mayor (of Mareeba Shire Council) about the situation

and on behalf of the Branch I have made a formal

representation to the Council to clarify the question of

access, after first discussing the matter with the

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Department to ensure I

knew the facts. It is by no means a simple situation as

the area used includes areas of a Camping and Water

Reserve (Big Mitchell Creek) but also some privately

leased land and some freehold land. I hope to use this

opportunity to highlight the importance of birding, both

for residents and local businesses, in the Mareeba

Shire and to ensure Council is fully supportive of these

activities. In the first instance, we need clarification

about the access situation from the Council, who hold

the C&W Reserve in trust. If any members have views

or experiences about this matter please feel free to let

me know (email is good) and I hope to report back

soon with the Council response. It would be helpful if

BLNQ members who live in the Mareeba Shire

encouraged their local Council member to take a

positive view about this matter.

Peter Valentine, Convenor.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Faunalextinction



Contact Call

March 2019 3

A Bourke’s Parrot story I'll always remember seeing my first Bourke’s Parrot.

It was in 2002 and we were on the Cairns Esplanade.

This is when Keith and I were still living in Cairns and

spent a lot of time watching waders and also talking to

birdwatchers that gravitated to this iconic stretch of

mudflat. We loved it when we met up with overseas

birders who had just flown into Cairns and were

experiencing Australian birds for the first time.

This day it was a young enthusiastic English couple

who were enthralled at seeing waders so close. We

chatted to them about their travel plans and then they

told us that they had just seen a Bourke's Parrot

feeding with Peaceful Doves further down the

Esplanade. I think we rolled our eyes in disbelief, but

then they brought out their digital camera and showed

us a photo. Just as they said, a group of Peaceful

Doves with a Bourke's Parrot feeding with them. This

was in the days when we both still had film cameras

and it was my first experience of seeing a bird on the

back of a digital camera.

A short walk took us to see for ourselves – obviously

an escapee, but still my first Bourke's Parrot. Keith

had been on a few outback trips without me, so this

was on the list of catch-up birds. It would have to wait

until another time though for me to tick it off, but little

did I know that it would be another 15 years before we

were able to have the time to go on an extended

camping trip to outback Queensland.

We headed off with our camper-trailer in July 2017 to

south-west of Longreach to stay at Noonbah Station

run by Angus Emmott and has wife Karen. We had a

camp site in the middle of the scrub next to a rocky

ridge and woke on a chilly morning to total silence.

After a quick cup of coffee and rugged up with scarves

and beanies, we headed up to the ridge waiting to hear

some bird song or just a chirp would do. Then

something flew up onto a branch ahead of us and I

quickly put my binos up and, in the soft morning light,

I could just distinguish a small dumpy bird with a white

eye ring. ‘Bourke's Parrot?’ I called out and Keith

agreed. It was only there for a minute and it wasn't

the best sighting, but at long last I had seen one.

The morning improved as the sun rose higher and the

birds started to appear, but no more Bourke's Parrots.

The next month we were at Bowra Station in south

Queensland and I saw plenty of this delightful little

parrot coming in to drink at waterholes, but the first

sighting is always the one I'll remember on that chilly

morning.

Lindsay Fisher

Bourke’s Parrot image courtesy of Ian Montgomery

http://www.birdway.com.au

Contact us: BirdLife Northern Queensland committee

Email: [email protected]

Internet: www.birdlifenq.org

BirdLife Northern Queensland Committee

Committee Name Contact details

Convenor Peter

Valentine

Email:

[email protected] and

phone: 07 40966171

Deputy Convenor Martin

Willis

Email: [email protected] and

phone: 07 40966581

Secretary and

Communications

Coordinator

Renee

Cassels

Email:

[email protected]

Treasurer Wendy

Cooper

Email

[email protected]

and phone: 07 40968272

Cairns Area

Coordinator

Tom Collis Email: [email protected]

and phone: 0401783795

Conservation

Coordinator and Cape

York Area

Coordinator

Kath

Shurcliff

Email

[email protected] and

phone: 07 4069 6595

Tablelands Area

Coordinator

Martin

Willis


phone: 07 40966581

Stickybeak

Coordinator

Golo

Maurer

Email:

[email protected]

KBA Coordinator Ray Pierce Email: [email protected]

Grasswren Survey

Coordinator

Graham

Harrington


phone: 07 40965051

Members Coordinator Sam Willis Email: [email protected] and

phone: 07 40966581

Website Manager Mikey

Kudo


phone: 0402343610

Newsletter Editor and

Cassowary Coast Area

Coordinator

Ceri Pearce Email:

[email protected]

and phone: 0488131581

http://www.birdway.com.au/

http://www.birdlifenq.org/

mailto:[email protected]














Following our discovery of a concentration of Gouldian

Finches (Erythrura gouldiae) in Northern Queensland a

year ago (Contact Call: Vol 7, No. 3, August 2018), we

undertook a pilot study aimed at finding more about

how this isolated Gouldian population survives. A core

group of skilled field observers and lab assistants have

helped with this study, particularly Ceinwen Edwards,

Pam Schultz, Jeff Watson, and Gary and Robyn Wilson.

Fig. 1 – A male Gouldian Finch

Soon after the Wet Season discovery in 2018, our

surveys revealed many territorial Gouldian Finches not

far from the Wet Season flocking site. The breeding

birds were in open woodland of rolling hill country

dissected by substantial creeks. The area was lightly

grazed and had not been burnt for many years,

allowing high levels of seeding of some important

perennial grasses, all of which boded well for the

finches and other fauna. These areas also had plenty

of old growth ghost gums and other eucalypt trees, the

types of which are used by Gouldian Finches for

nesting in NW Australia.

Although we did not find nests in this pilot study, we

did see 13 family parties, each with dependent young,

indicating that they had nested successfully in the

area. Some young were poor fliers indicating they had

fledged just recently from nearby nests.

After breeding, most birds were seen in flocks of

widely varying sizes, usually in more open woodland

and grassland and sometimes in recently burnt sites.

Typically, we observed 80-150 birds on each trip and

by August-September most of these birds were

juvenile.

The Gouldian Finches exhibited a strong association

with other species through much of the year,

particularly with Black-throated Finches (Poephila

cincta atropygialis) and Masked Finches

Fig. 2 Creek in typical Gouldian breeding season habitat

(P. personata leucotis), but notably also wood-

swallows, trillers and others. The alarm calls of Black-

faced Wood-swallows (Artamus cinereus) appeared to

be providing an early warning of approaching

predators (raptors and feral cats, with many of the

latter being “caught” on camera traps).

Our observations to date suggest that there may be

some key differences in how Gouldian Finches utilise

the local environment compared with that in NW

Australia. This includes dietary differences, e.g. we are

finding seasonally high use of annual grasses and

sedges in The Wet and specific perennials and insects

in The Dry; the apparent sentinel role of Black-faced

Wood-swallows; lack of other hole nesting finch

competitors; and a cooler environment here that is

less prone to heat waves, all of which have clear

implications for population sustainability.

Fig. 3 Dependent young begging to red-faced adult male.

Queensland Gouldian Finch research update From Ray Pierce and Patrick De Geest

Contact Call

March 2019 5

Fig. 4 – Draft graph of relative ages of Gouldian Finches observed in the study site in February-September 2018 (note:

few birds were seen in March-early April which was before we found the breeding concentrations). Note: for each month:

A = 1st - 15th, B = 15th - 31st.

These and other aspects will be the subject of closer

study in 2019 with questions spanning diet (e.g. do

they use Spinifex seeds in early Wet periods of relative

seed scarcity as they do in NW Australia); relative use

of different fire and grazing regimes; nesting success;

the association with Black-faced Wood-swallows and

other bird species; predator species; and the wider

distribution of this population. We are also collecting

information on other finch species, particularly the

local race of Masked Finch which also seems to have

declined in recent decades.

We thank BirdLife Australia, Wettenhall Environment

Trust and Mitchell River Watershed Management Group

for assisting with our travel expenses, the many field

volunteers, Pam Schultz, Gary Wilson and the

Australian Tropical Herbarium for help with plant

identifications, Dr Steve Murphy of UQ for ongoing

advice, landowners and managers for their ongoing

hospitality and North Queensland Natural History

Group and BirdLife Northern Queensland for providing

administrative support.

An update on this project will be provided at an

illustrated talk for BLNQ in Cairns on 6 April 2019.

This will include discussing cues that birders can

use to maximize the chances of finding Gouldians in

Queensland and outlining a wider Gouldian Finch

survey being planned later for this year in which

members can participate.

Report and images by Ray Pierce and Patrick De Geest

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Feb A Feb B Mar A Mar B Apr A Apr B May B July A Aug B SepB

No

. bir

ds

Gouldian Age Structure 2018

No. Adults No. dependent young No. independent young

Come and join us for a presentation

PROGRESS WITH QLD GOULDIAN FINCH RESEARCH

by Dr. Ray Pearce and Patrick De Geest

Saturday 6th April 2019, 7.30pm

Stratford Library

11 Kamerunga Road Stratford, Cairns



Carpentarian Grasswrens are calling

YOU!

Do you want to be a part of our important work on the Endangered Carpentarian

Grasswren, and get to see some amazing parts of beautiful western Queensland

as well? Just put your hand up and volunteer for the surveys we will be doing

this year.

When - 13-26th May 2019.

Where - based on Calton Hills Station, just north of Mount Isa, and adjacent properties.

Who - anyone who can walk up some hills and through spinifex country and listen and watch for grasswrens.

We supply training on the best ways of doing this.

For the last 10 years, BirdLife NQ under the leadership of Graham Harrington, has been completing

systematic surveys for Carpentarian and Kalkadoon Grasswrens in western Queensland. Based on these

results the Carpentarian Grasswren has been listed as Endangered, since their numbers are impacted by

wildfires in their spinifex habitat. This listing has convinced management agencies, in particular the Southern

Gulf Natural Resource Management group that a regional fire management plan needs to be developed. This

plan is now being kicked off at Calton Hills station, which sits at the core of the Carpentarian’s range.

The plan calls for a mosaic of controlled burns to be done, just after significant rain events. We need to

assess if these burns have a positive impact on grasswrens. Will they prevent catastrophic wild fires, and

supply sufficient refuges for grasswren survival? Will there be different impacts on the Carpentarian and

Kalkadoon? Can we establish a “grasswren corridor” between Calton Hills and Boodjamulla National Park?

We plan to set up 50+ monitoring sites (using our normal methodology of 10 points per site). These sites

will include those where grasswrens are known to be, and those where they currently seem to be absent.

We are aiming to start this work in May, but final dates will be weather dependent.

So if you would like to be part of this work, please volunteer.

We plan to be in the Calton Hills area for approximately two weeks, travelling in teams, camping on the

property. So we will require participants who are comfortable camping in the bush, and spending your

mornings walking through hilly, but not mountainous terrain. We will need some volunteers who have

reliable 4wd vehicles, since many of the roads are typical station tracks.

Training in our methods and recognising grasswrens will be provided, as well as the opportunity to share our

experiences with other surveyors.

We will be able to provide some assistance with fuel costs.

If you are interested in being part of this important effort, please contact Kath Shurcliff. on 07 4069 6595, or

at [email protected] for further details.

Image courtesy of Virginia Hills. F: https://www.facebook.com/jemlocoimages

Contact Call

March 2019 7

Amazing bird discovery

on Cairns Esplanade

mudflats

There was a news article about Red-necked stint with

a Japanese flag in the Cairns Post on 18 Dec 2018.

You can read this article here

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v03ewve0zqi90qz/Article

%2020181218_135722.jpg?dl=0

Regarding this article, I wrote the following letter to

Bob Manning, the current mayor of Cairns:

Dear Bob

I was watching wading birds on the Esplanade recently

when I noticed something unusual - a small migratory

bird called a Red-necked Stint had a plastic band on its

leg.

On closer examination with my binoculars and camera,

I was able to work out that this small shorebird had an

identification (known as a flag) from Japan. I noticed

that from the colour combination. I passed the

information on to the Queensland Wader Study Group

which revealed that the bird actually came from the

area where I used to live and it was flagged by

someone I know! How small could that chance be?

This particular bird that I saw was captured and

banded with two flags for scientific purposes by Mr.

Hosoya in Tori-No-Umi near Sendai, Japan, while the

bird was stopping for rest and food in the long journey

to Australia.

Mr. Hosoya and I met each other at an ornithological

conference held in Japan many years ago and this type

of study is important to understand the biology of birds

as well as to identify and protect the East Asian

Australasian bird flyway for conservation purposes.

The network of people checking flagged birds is an

essential part of this study.

The Red-necked Stint is a truly extraordinary little

bird. It is the smallest of the migratory waders, its

body length is only 15 cm, it weighs only 30 gm. They

breed in the tundra area in Siberia and Alaska and

make a return trip of 20,000 km each year all the way

to countries in the southern hemisphere like Australia.

The Cairns Esplanade mudflats are a crucial stopping

for feeding on their migratory pathway and it is, thus,

vital that we protect that habitat to the very best of

our ability so that the wondrous flight of these little

birds can continue to astonish us and the generations

to come.

I know that you have heard from the local bird group

recently about the importance of our mudflats and I

hope that this story inspires you and the CRC to do

everything in your power to maintain, enhance and

protect our precious Esplanade wader habitat.

I have attached a picture of a Red-necked Stint and

look forward to getting a response to this letter/email

back from you regarding your support for the

Esplanade mudflats.

Yours sincerely

Hidetoshi Kudo

I had the following reply from him:

My dear Hidetoshi,

Thank you very much for taking the time to write and

tell me about your amazing discovery - you must have

been thrilled.

Yes, I am inspired by your story and I believe we have

a duty to ensure that we protect and preserve the

Cairns mudflats.

Thank you again for sharing your news with me.

Regards.

Bob.

Red-necked Stint with the two leg flags that indicated it had

been tagged in Japan.

Report and image by Hidetoshi Kudo

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v03ewve0zqi90qz/Article%2020181218_135722.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v03ewve0zqi90qz/Article%2020181218_135722.jpg?dl=0



BirdLife Northern

Queensland Kirrama

Range Bowerbird

Survey

SUMMARY

• Two Golden Bowerbirds, one male plus one

female, sighted.

• Two Tooth-billed Bowerbirds sighted.

• Two Tooth-bill Courts located at around 600m

altitude.

• One Tooth-bill heard singing at his court near the

highest point of the road, 780m altitude.

• One Cassowary sighted along the Society Flat

walking track.

SURVEY

November 24-25th 2018.

Present: Dom Chaplin, Tony Jurgensen, Ceinwyn

Edwards, Tracey Clements, and Jill.

We have now found Golden Bowerbirds to be still

present in almost all locations where they were known

20 years ago. But one area not surveyed has been the

Kirrama Range road which connects Cardwell to Mt

Garnet.

Around year 2000, Golden Bowerbirds

were recorded on the Birds Australia

Atlas about 2-3km south of the

Kirrama Range Road. We also have

verbal reports from Klaus Uhlenhut

and John Young of bowers closer to

the road.

Back in July I spent a day transecting

the very overgrown rainforest south

of the Kirrama Range Road. I was not

hopeful of Golden Bowerbirds still

persisting in the area, due to the very

poor condition of the forest, which has

been severely impacted by the two

cyclones. Also, the road is very low,

barely getting over 750m at its

highest point. Our average Golden

Bower altitude is over 1100m with

only one record below 800m.

The whole area is generally lower than Golden

Bowerbird habitat elsewhere in the Wet Tropics barely

reaching 1000m at the highest points.

On November 24th and 25th we surveyed various

locations on the Kirrama Range Road.

We were very excited when Golden Bowerbirds were

located. One male and one female were seen. Silent

Tooth-billed Bowerbirds were also found. We couldn't

find any courts or bowers. Tooth-billed Bowerbirds

were notably less common here compared to similar

habitat elsewhere.

It is interesting that Golden Bowerbirds can exist here

at 800m when they are largely absent at the same

altitude elsewhere in the Wet Tropics. You will all be

familiar with the Massenerhebung effect. This was first

described in the Alps and since found to be widespread

in the tropics. Altitudinal ranges are lowered and

compressed on small low mountains, especially near

the sea, compared to large high mountains further

from the coast. David Bishop found the same

phenomenon in New Guinea. Birds restricted to high

altitudes on the central ranges were found to occur on

much lower peaks of smaller outlying mountains.

Special thanks should be given to the sharp eyed

Tracey Clements who joined us for the survey. Tracey

found the Cassowary, the two Tooth-bill courts and

spotted the two Golden Bowerbirds, all of which the

rest of us would probably have missed. Tracey is John

Young's partner and news of their plans made for

interesting campsite conversation. We wish them all

the best in their future activities and hope they can

join more BirdLife Northern Queensland activities next

year.

Report and images by Dominic Chaplin

A stunning male Golden Bowerbird

Contact Call

March 2019 9

Golden Bowerbirds and

a dead Green Ring-

tailed Possum I have some encouraging news regarding my Golden

Bowerbirds. Most of you know that I had six bowers

on my property in the early nineties but they were

eroded to a single bower sometime around 2009. Last

year this bower was taken over by a bird in immature

plumage except for some yellow feathers on its belly.

My neighbour put two of his motion-sensitive cameras

on this bower. We suspected that there were other

bowers in the vicinity because the "owner" of the

bower was observed chasing off other Golden

Bowerbirds including a male in adult plumage. This

behaviour has not been recorded before (Cliff Frith,

pers. com).

We attempted to colour band the owner but the band

was not visible on the subsequent videos. The

explanation came one year later when we discovered

three bowers, which had not been recorded before.

One of the bowers was being operated by the banded

bird! So, it was interfering with the original bower

when it was trapped and banded! Clearly the Golden

Bowerbirds on my property are recovering.

One notable thing is that the new bowers are all

further upslope than those that disappeared.

Another is that whilst the bird operating the original

bower was in immature plumage last year, and is now

in mature male plumage, the three new bowers are all

operated by immature birds. These immature birds all

call like the males in adult plumage and probably mate

successfully.

Another observation, pertinent to Dominic’s report, is

that so far, we have not found bowers on my

neighbour’s adjacent property. The regrowth is much

denser on this property due to logging about 20 years

ago. This may discourage the Golden Bowerbirds.

The sharp eyes of Henry Stoetzel also noticed a dead

Green Ringtail Possum at (location withheld) altitude

898m. It was heavily decomposed so cause of death

was not ascertained but, in all probability, it had

succumbed to the hot weather.

Graham Harrington, 11th December 2018

Sunbathing Papuan

Frogmouth

Sunbathing is a well-known behaviour in birds but a

recent observation of it was a little unexpected. At

1620 hrs on January 7, we saw our resident Papuan

Frogmouth glide down onto the lamina of a Licuala

palm frond, spread its wings and spend five minutes

sunning. The conditions were mild, fine and bright, and

the bird remained motionless for most of that period,

then looked around several times, and then flew away

into the dense mid-stratum.

The behaviour was unexpected in this species, which is

generally crepuscular and nocturnal in activity. An

interesting associated observation is that the several

small passerine species, e.g. Graceful Honeyeater,

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater and Dusky Myzomela, that

had been harassing the Frogmouth prior to the

sunning event, did not harass it during that time, but

resumed it immediately the Frogmouth resumed its

cryptic pose in the mid-storey vegetation.

Report and image by Gary and Robyn Wilson



Strange colours in Victoria’s

Riflebird immature males

Some of the colour changes in moulting

immature male Victorian Riflebirds

The plumage differences between adult male Victoria Riflebirds

and adult females are very different and are well known. The black

appearance of the male shows obviously although close inspection

reveals the olive-green underparts and the blue-green throat,

crown and middle tail feathers. The female is predominantly brown

from the head across the back and wings to the tail. Underparts

are pale in the throat area and buff under the belly and vent.

Close inspection reveals darker v-shaped spots and barring

underneath with a solid curved bill. The challenge in being

confident about a brown bird sex is that immature males begin

with plumage very like the female, extremely difficult to tell them

apart in flight or perched. Observing this species in a patch of

rainforest one usually sees more brown birds than the black fully

mature males.

It is believed that immature males may take five years to reach

their adult plumage and for much of that time will be very difficult

to separate on appearance from females. As far as it is known,

only the males display so it might be safe to identify a brown bird

that is displaying as an immature male. I have watched as many

as three brown birds displaying together. At first, I thought it was

one immature male displaying to a female but as I observed over

a longer period each of the brown birds took a turn at displaying

suggesting all three were males and were sharing in a practice

session. On another occasion on one display perch I watched two

brown birds display to each other, immature males learning the

ropes. On numerous occasions, I have watched a single brown bird

on a display post practicing his moves and dancing to any bird

that came near including catbirds, honeyeaters and other riflebirds

and even a butterfly in flight.

HANZAB suggests that brown immature males do not finally

achieve their adult black plumage until they are five years of age.

But what happens in between and how quickly do they moult? I

am conscious of this question because we have seen a few brown

birds with tiny patches of black amongst their otherwise brown

plumage and suspect that these are late stage immatures, heading

for a black outcome at the next moult. On a very few occasions,

and usually for only a brief period, we have seen birds that are

heavily splashed with black plumage and brown plumage. My

inclination is to see these as birds in the late stage of moulting.

They are remarkable looking birds, almost like a completely

different species! They seem to stay like this briefly and then only

during the summer moult (December through February/March).

These “halfway” birds are a feature of the wet season whereas the

brown birds with a tiny patch of black may occur throughout the

year. In the five years that I have been living in the rainforest I

have not recorded these halfway birds every year and presume

their presence reflects success in breeding a few years previously.

The photos show two different “halfway” birds (2018 and 2019)

and other plumages. It would be interesting to hear from other

members about their experiences with these black and brown

birds. Article and images by Peter Valentine

Contact Call

March 2019 11

News from Mount Isa -

January 2019

As we are about half way through the current

migratory bird season (2018-2019), I thought I would

touch on the migratory birds we have had visit Lake

Moondarra since August 2018.

As always, the first to arrive are the Sharp-tailed

Sandpipers, followed by the Marsh Sandpipers, both of

which are still here and generally stay until April.

Other migrants that have passed through here are as

follows: Curlew Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Long-

toed Stint, Black-tailed Godwit, Swinhoe's Snipe,

Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Pacific Golden

Plover, Oriental Plover, Oriental Pratincole, Lesser

Sand Plover, and of course the single Red-necked

Phalarope which I touched on in the last edition of

Contact Call.

Many of the above species are still here, however Little

Curlews that were here 12 months ago haven't showed

as yet. They don't come every year so this may be one

of those times.

On the native bird scene, the Yellow Chat originally

identified by Karen Walsh in August 2018 hasn't raised

the interest of the birding community I thought it

would. I also thought it would be long gone by now but

there is a small community of them still here, along

with the Crimson and Orange Chats. Hopefully they

may find Mount Isa to their liking and stay here.

Since the discovery of the Yellow Chats here, Karen

and I have spent many hours/days studying their

movements and habits, allowing us to get many

images of them through all their stages. We have now

started on the observation of Orange Chats in the

same fashion.

Interestingly, all species of Chats here have now

reached their vibrant breeding colours. When we first

started observing the Yellow Chats, they were all very

dull in colour. Over the months we could see the

changes in them, from what I would call the ugly

ducklings, to the beautiful birds they are today, all

species of Chats have progressed simultaneously to

little colourful jewels of the outback.

It would appear that in the non-breeding season the

males go into an eclipse plumage stage similar to male

fairy-wrens.

There have been some changes to well-known birding

sites in Mount Isa. The ‘horse paddocks’ which was

always a good birding site has seen some changes and

is not so bird friendly anymore. One of my favourite

birding sites, adjacent to the Clear Water Lagoon

which was always good for Crakes, Rails, Reed

Warblers, and finches has been fenced off with a high

security fence preventing access to this site.

On the plus side, what is known as the Eastern Scenic

Road around the edge of Lake Moondarra has been

upgraded to a bitumen sealed road. Previously it was

just a very rough track. This has made better access to

numerous birding sites around the edge of this section

of the lake. It is a bit over 5km in length.

I hope 2019, is a good year, for all you birdos.

Report and images by Rex Whitehead

Oriental Pratincole

Yellow Chat - female

Yellow Chat - male

Oriental Plover



Do you have BADS? If you suffer from some, or heaven forbid, all of the

below you probably do!

Inattentive behaviours which can include:

1. do not hear when you are asked something

(needing to ask a number of times to get a

response) – probably because you are looking at

or listening to a bird.

2. not following through on what you are asked to

do, despite agreeing to do so (like fetching milk

from the shop) – probably stopped to look at a

bird on the way.

3. easily distracted from a task by noises or own

thoughts (hard to keep attention on the task at

hand) – heard a bird calling or thinking about the

next birding trip.

4. daydreaming at work so that important

instructions or phone calls are missed –

contemplating where to go birding at the

weekend.

5. not following safety instructions like “KEEP OUT –

open mine shafts in the area” – you think you

may have glimpsed a Buff-breasted Button-Quail

beyond that fence.

6. losing important belongings – because you have

left in a hurry to see a rare bird and left them

behind.

7. forgetting to bring the dog home from the park –

because you are still on a high from seeing a flock

of White-throated Needletails.

8. forgetting to return library books – because you

where away on a birding trip when they were due.

9. not looking after important belongings like your

lawnmower – because you left it in the middle of

the lawn when you got a phone call about a

Spotted Whistling Duck on your local pond and

rushed off to see it.

10. starting a task but not completing it, often due to

getting distracted by birds.

11. messy and disorganised house (drawers and doors

left open, rotting food and dirty plates) – too busy

birding to clean up.

12. leaving doors and windows unlocked because you

left in a hurry to see a rarity.

13. losing track of time and regularly running late

because you were birding.

Hyperactive behaviours which can include:

1. wagging work to go birding.

2. climbing up trees, fences, buildings in an unsafe

manner despite being asked not to do so to get a

better look at a bird.

3. not remaining seated until your aircraft comes to a

standstill and the seatbelt lights go out – because

you think you saw a Yellow Wagtail at the side of

the runway.

4. constant chatter or talking too loudly at the wrong

times about birds.

5. interrupting other people’s conversations to tell

them about a bird you just saw.

6. difficulty getting to bed, staying in bed, or getting

to sleep at night – because you are excited about

tomorrow’s birding excursion.

Impulsive behaviours which can include:

1. being disruptive at work, perhaps trying to draw

people’s attention to the Peregrine Falcon perched

on the window ledge.

2. leaving a task to go birding without thinking

through the consequences.

3. rushing through activities without doing them

properly in order to go birding.

4. impulsively calling out the name of a bird you just

heard without realising the comment might be

inappropriate – like Brown Boobies when at the

beach.

5. difficulty keeping secrets when asked – having to

tell someone about that secret Bowerbird location

someone told you about and asked you to keep

quiet about.

6. difficulty tolerating boredom (opting for

stimulating activities like birding).

7. getting excited about a date with a new girlfriend

and then quickly losing interest when a rarity

appears.

8. difficulty persisting with activities that require

commitment and practice unless very interested

(e.g. birding).

9. overeating and making poor food choices – when

driving 800km to twitch a Citrine Wagtail.

10. running up bills for excessive phone use or

internet downloads whilst researching your next

birding trip.

11. careless spending of savings on birding trips

and/or new binoculars.

12. difficulty resisting the stimulation of birding.

13. engaging in risky impulsive road trips, typically

when a rarity has been sighted on the other side

of the county.

Yes – you probably have BADS – Birding Attention

Deficit Syndrome.

Thanks to Doug Herrington for this contribution.

Contact Call

March 2019 13

A birder’s camping

guide to exploring

north Queensland If you have a 4WD and a tent or trailer, there are an

amazing number of places in our region to explore and

bird. This trip is one Keith and l did a couple of years

ago and takes in some beautiful country in western

Queensland.

Our first stop was a little used National Park,

Blackbraes, where the Northern Queensland BirdLife

group visited twice in the early 2000’s to do surveys. It

is about a five hour drive from the Tablelands, taking

the Kennedy Development Road towards Hughenden

from The Lynd. It then takes about 45mins to get from

the main road to the camp site at Emu Swamp. There

is a small camping area just before getting to the dam

wall and another at the far end of the track along the

wall. Last time we went, the dam was full, so there

weren't too many water birds, but previous visits,

when the water levels have been lower, there have

been plenty. Remember you are at over 800m in

altitude and winter months can be very cold!

From Blackbraes National Park it is a long drive of over

400km to Bladensberg National Park, so a stop along

the way or at Winton is a good idea.

Sunset at Blackbraes National Park

The Bough Shed Waterhole campground at

Bladensberg is pleasant and shady, and a stay of three

nights to explore the area is recommended.

The Bough Shed Waterhole campground in Bladensburg

National Park.

Just 100k further south is the very quirky campground

at Opalton. This bush camp is for the miners of the

area and they welcome fossickers and birdwatchers to

use the facilities. Hot showers and toilets for $2.50 pp

are very welcome and there are always other

interesting campers to meet.



Opalton Bush camp

There is a dam a short walk from the campground

which is a great place to sit and watch the birds come

in to drink in the late afternoon.

From Opalton the road does a loop of 150km back up

to the Jundah Road and down to the Mayne River

crossing. Some maps show a road cutting across to the

Mayne River, but this no longer exists. The camp is a

lovely shady area along the river with plenty of room

and lots of birds.

The road then heads south and then east for 115km to

Noonbah Station. The station is run by Angus and

Karen Emmott who offer some beautiful secluded camp

sites by waterholes. Angus is an amazingly

knowledgeable naturalist and photographer and he and

Karen make birders very welcome to their extensive

property.

LINKS

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/experiences/camping/ca

mping_bookings.html

www.noonbahstation.com.au

For those of you who haven't downloaded the

Wikicamps app, it is a great way of finding out the best

places to camp and get up-to-date information. For

instance, the Opalton Bush Camp doesn't have a web

site (well there is no internet there!), but Wikicamps

gives you lots of information.

https://www.wikicamps.com.au

Special thanks to Lindsay Fisher for this article and images.

Lake Barrine and

Cathedral Fig outing Fourteen members and guests met Alan Gillanders at

0600 hrs on Nov 10th in light drizzle at Lake Barrine

Teahouse upper car park for a morning of Social

Birding. Ignoring the inclement weather, we introduced

ourselves and commenced a wander around the

terraced grounds of the Teahouse.

Numerous birds including Catbirds, Chowchillas,

Orange-footed Scrubfowl and Whipbirds could be heard

calling from the surrounding rainforest while the

ornamental trees in the grounds were playing host to a

variety of honeyeaters.

The photographers among us got busy with their long

lenses while others took a broader view of the water

birds on the lake and in the air. Some were surprised

to see the resident Australian Pelicans and the White-

Bellied Sea-Eagle. A male Victoria's Riflebird taunted

us while flitting around a Queensland Umbrella Tree

before posing on a palm stump where he stubbornly

refused to perform his courtship display. A Spotted

Catbird came to check us out and several Wompoo

Fruit-Doves were seen.

We next took a short stroll down the track towards the

twin Kauri Pines to visit the display ground of a Tooth-

Billed Bowerbird known to Alan.

The bird was calling constantly in the undergrowth but

afforded us only an occasional glimpse. Our guide

entertained us meanwhile with his incredible fund of

stories and comprehensive knowledge of the flora and

fauna.

Having skimmed the surface of Lake Barrine we took

to our wheels and headed to the Cathedral Fig Tree

along Danbulla Drive. A short walk down the road

showed us the rock strewn paddock of a volcanic flow

which ends suddenly in a dip where there is apparently

a concealed lava tube and a range of trees and shrubs

with which most of us were not familiar. In the trees

around the car park were numerous Wompoo and

Brown Cuckoo-Doves with Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets in

the higher trees. Whipbirds were raucous along the

track but hard to see while a group of Grey-headed

Robins, Golden Whistlers and Shrike-thrushes kept the

shutters clicking. A Musky Rat-Kangaroo made a dash

under the walk way. The low light conditions and high

contrast made photography challenging but fill-in flash

made a world of difference.

A tray of chocolate brownies was enjoyed before we

returned to Lake Barrine. Our thanks again to Alan for

a most enjoyable and informative morning.

Ian Gibbs

Do you know a great place to go camping

and bird watching?

Why not write in and share it with us. We’d love

to turn this article into a series on great places to

go exploring and birding in north Queensland.

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/experiences/camping/camping_bookings.html

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/experiences/camping/camping_bookings.html

http://www.noonbahstation.com.au/

https://www.wikicamps.com.au/

Contact Call

March 2019 15

BIRDLIST FROM SOCIAL BIRD WALK, LAKE BARRINE AND CATHEDRAL FIG NOVEMBER 10 2018

This list consists of birds seen by and or reported to Alan Gillanders. There may have been others.

Australian Brush-turkey

Orange-Footed Scrub Fowl

Pacific Black Duck

Hardhead

Australasian Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Darter

Little Pied Cormorant

Little Black Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Australian Pelican

White-faced Heron

Cattle Egret

Intermediate Egret

Eastern Black Kite

Whistling Kite

Nankeen Kestrel

Eurasian Coot

Bush Stone-curlew

Osprey

Brown Cuckoo-Dove

Emerald Dove

Peaceful Dove

Bar-shouldered Dove

Wompoo Fruit-Dove

Superb Fruit-Dove

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Rainbow Lorikeet

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Double-eyed Fig-Parrot

Australian Swiflet

Laughing Kookaburra

Forest Kingfisher

Dollarbird

Spotted Catbird

Tooth-Billed Bowerbird

Large-Billed Scrubwren

Brown Gerygone

Lewin's Honeyeater

Eastern Spinebill

Dusky Honeyeater

Scarlet Honeyeater

Helmeted Friarbird

Macleay's Honeyeater

Pale-yellow Robin

Grey-headed Robin

Eastern Whipbird

Golden Whistler

Little Shrike-thrush

Spectacled Monarch

Magpie-lark

Willie Wagtail

Spangled Drongo

Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike

Barred Cuckoo-Shrike

White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike

Pied Currawong

Victoria's Riflebird

Torresian Crow

Mistletoe Bird

Welcome Swallow

Australasian Pipit

Common Myna

Red-browed Finch

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin

COME AND JOIN US TO

Wave the Waders

Goodbye Shorebird Identification Workshop followed by

shorebird viewing on the Cairns Esplanade

When: Saturday 30 March 2019, 3.00-6.00pm

Where: Cairns City Library Meeting Room 1 followed

by Cairns Esplanade

Contact Tom Collis 0401 783 795 for further details



Why has North America

only 1000 breeding

species?

One thousand species of breeding birds sounds like a

lot but that’s all there is in North America, the

Nearctic, the Neo-temperate Region, call it what you

will, one of the world’s six Avifaunal Regions.

In comparison Eurasia has about 1300 breeding

species; Africa south of the Sahara, Southern Asia or

the Oriental Region, and Australasia have about 1600

breeding species each; and South America or the

Neotropic Avifaunal Region has nearly 3000 breeding

species, maybe more. Why has the Neo-temperate

Region have so few? Not only does no-one seem to

know why, but few even seem to know.

The main reason is that the North American continent

was isolated from the mainstream of avian evolution

for most of the time that passerines were evolving, the

sub-oscine passerines evolving mostly on South

America, and the oscine passerines evolving on

Australasia.

The story starts in Gondwana with the evolution of

sub-oscines about 140 million years ago; they were

passerines in which the syrinx, the vocal organ of birds

located at the base of the trachea had not evolved to

the extent that was to be found in later songbirds, the

oscines. The sub-oscines probably began evolving on

western Antarctica and the oscines on the eastern

Antarctica.

As Gondwana broke up, the earliest families of sub-

oscines, Pittas, Broadbills, and Asities, sailed north

from Antarctica on India, some Pittas and Broadbills

jumping ship as they moved past Africa, on the way

north to meet with Eurasia, while the Asities evolved

on Madagascar which was attached to the Indian

continent for a while.

Most sub-oscines, however, must have evolved on

Antarctica after India and Africa had separated as the

great majority of them are now found on South

America which didn’t break from Gondwana until about

40 million years ago. Then that continent was on its

own for over 30 million years with most of the sub-

oscines on it.

While in this long isolation they evolved into many

families - Manakins, Cotingas, the Sharpbill, the

Royal Flycatchers, the Tityras & Becards, the

American Flycatchers now split into several families by

DNA studies (Piprites, Spadebills, Rush-tyrant,

Monectine Flycatchers, and the rest of the

American Flycatchers which still have over 390

species today), Crescent-chests, Gnat-eaters,

Antbirds, Antpittas, Tapaculos, Ant-thrushes,

Leaf-tossers & Miners, Woodcreepers, and the

Horneros, Spinetails & Gleaners. All of these

amazingly diverse families and species evolved in the

myriad niches that formed and reformed over those

30-odd million years yet one characteristic stands out -

the inability of most of these families to cross open

spaces especially water.

This characteristic is pertinent to understanding why

the sub-oscines, of which there were so many in South

America, failed to colonise North America as South

America drifted closer. The exception is the family of

modern American Flycatchers.

Fifty-five million years ago, or thereabouts, back in

Gondwana, Australia broke away, carrying with it the

ancestors of another newly-evolving group of birds,

Gondwana, 152 Million years ago 94 Million years ago Breaking up - India, then Africa have

left.

Contact Call

March 2019 17

the oscines, or modern songbirds. Many new families

evolved some of which were the Lyrebirds,

Bowerbirds, Grasswrens & Fairywrens, which, like

most of the sub-oscines, did not have the ability to

cross open water but the next to evolve, the

Honeyeater and Australasian Warbler families,

exhibited a limited ability to do so. The oscines were

poised to change history.

Australia became Australasia as bits such as New

Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji broke off the mother

continent and archipelagos formed as a sort of bow-

wave on the north side of New Guinea as the continent

surged north.

This is when oscines really began to radiate as most of

the families next to evolve could cross open water and

colonise new lands. Which is a critical difference from

most families of sub-oscines as oscines were now able

to conquer the entire planet.

Many of the families that evolved with the next wave

of oscines crossed open water to early South-east

Asia, and many of them radiated again from there. For

example, Orioles and Cuckooshrikes made it all the

way to Africa, some even back to Australia, but one

family, the Vireos expanded northward, leaving only

one of their species in South-east Asia - the White-

bellied Erpornis (was Yuhina). They crossed Bering

Strait when the weather conditions at last turned

favourable. The oscine passerines had finally

arrived into North America. They have now radiated

and spread all the way to southern South America.

Icy conditions again prevailed in the northern

hemisphere, subsequently the next several new oscine

families that evolved and expanded, went west across

southern Asia and into Africa. It wasn’t until the

Shrikes and Crows evolved that new oscine families

colonised North America.

Northern hemisphere icy conditions must have

prevailed during most of this time with ‘windows’

appearing now and again to let occasional families

through the Bering Strait, for several families evolved

in and spread through the Old World before the Tit

family ‘came over’, in North America called

Chickadees, followed after a while by the Swallows,

then Nuthatches, and one Northern Treecreeper,

the Kinglets, Waxwings, and Dippers.

By this time families of oscines were beginning to

evolve in North America itself - Wrens, Silky

Flycatchers, Mockingbirds & Thrashers - all

endemic families to North America except for one of

the wren species.

Thrushes were probably next to occupy the Americas,

and very successfully for they are found all the way

down to southern Chile, with Pipits and Fringillid

Finches having much the same distribution. Old World

Buntings, disguised now as New World Sparrows,

South America and Australasia, both isolated, 14 million

years ago, each with different sub-orders of passerines

evolving on them.

are found in abundance throughout the Americas,

while other, newer, oscine families such as Icterids,

American Warblers, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, and

Tanagers, have obviously evolved there.

All of these oscine passerine colonisations and new

family radiations happened within perhaps the last ten

million years for some of the newest American oscine

families seem very well established throughout both

continents even though the two American continents

had not finally joined above water.

Between 5 and 3.5 million years ago when they finally

joined above water only the American Flycatchers

had colonised North America from the south

because all the other families of sub-oscines could not

cross open spaces especially open water.

The world at present, showing the six Avifaunal Areas.



So, the North American continent is relatively

depauperate of species because:

1) many oscine families found in the ‘Old World’

did not get anywhere near the Bering Strait

because of severe cold periods in the northern

hemisphere;

2) most of the South American sub-oscines

simply could not cross open water. Even now,

apart from the American Flycatchers, they have

struggled to spread north - only one species

has made it as far as southern USA and a

handful of others have accessed the temperate

zone of northern Central America which is, of

course, full of temperate species that evolved

in the north.

And that’s another story.

References

Birding Aus

http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/birding-

aus/1997-05/msg00086.html

Central American Seaway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American_Sea

way

Corvoid Radiation

https://www.pnas.org/content/108/6/2328.full?sid=

03737e49-c4b2-400b-8373-075d8c8b99ff

Encyclopaedia Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/science/faunal-region

“Neotemperate Birds - An Illustrated Guide”, Malthus

Anderson (To be published 2019)

Scotese, C. R., 2001. Atlas of Earth History, Volume

1, Paleogeography, PALEOMAP Project, Arlington,

Texas, 52 pp.

http://www.scotese.com/late1.htm

“Where Song Began”, Tim Low

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/boo

k-review-where-song-began-by-tim-low-20140623-

zsj9c.html

TiF (Taxonomy in Flux)

http://jboyd.net/Taxo/List13.html

Malthus Anderson, Jan 2018.

Note: If you would like to provide comment on this

article, please do. Direct the comments to the Editor

via email: [email protected], who will

forward them on to the author for consideration.

Cardwell Birding Weekend

Saturday / Sunday 27–28 April 2019

Join us for the day or the weekend,

exploring and birding in the Cardwell

area.

We will be visiting Cardwell State Forest

(Saturday), and on Sunday, Edmund Kennedy

National Park in the Coastal Wet Tropics Key

Biodiversity Area.

If time permits, we will go to Murray Falls after

that.

On Saturday, meet at Cardwell at the Coral Sea

Park Playground, on Coral Sea Drive, off White St at

the northern end of Cardwell at 1.30pm. This is a

great little birding spot right next to the beach, with

picnic facilities and toilets. And the playground

equipment is fun too.

On Sunday we’ll meet at 7.30 am at the corner of

the Bruce Highway and Cliff Rd turn off to Edmund

Kennedy National Park, north of Cardwell.

For those wishing to stay overnight, Cardwell offers

a range of accommodation options.

For more information, please contact Ceri Pearce

on 0488 131 581, or Sandra Christensen on 0448

845 842. We hope you can make it!

Image of the beach at Cardwell courtesy of Paul Bica from

Toronto [CC BY 2.0

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/birding-aus/1997-05/msg00086.html

http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/birding-aus/1997-05/msg00086.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American_Seaway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American_Seaway

https://www.pnas.org/content/108/6/2328.full?sid=03737e49-c4b2-400b-8373-075d8c8b99ff

https://www.pnas.org/content/108/6/2328.full?sid=03737e49-c4b2-400b-8373-075d8c8b99ff

https://www.britannica.com/science/faunal-region

http://www.scotese.com/late1.htm

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/book-review-where-song-began-by-tim-low-20140623-zsj9c.html



http://jboyd.net/Taxo/List13.html

Contact Call

March 2019 19

Join us on Facebook

Palm Cockatoo bags

Buy one of our Palm Cockatoo calico bags and

support BirdLife Northern Queensland as well as

wage war on plastic. $10. Only available at

BirdLife Northern Queensland Meetings.

Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers’ Cabin

The modern self-contained and well-appointed cabin is the only guest accommodation on our 35 acre forest property, which borders onto the Wet Tropics World Heritage area.

We offer undisturbed bird and wildlife watching from the cabin’s veranda and along our private forest trails. The Tall Sclerophyll Forest with a diverse understorey of flowering and fruiting shrubs in the ecotone between open woodland and tropical rainforest makes it easy to observe the great number and diversity of birds, mammals and butterflies (species lists on our website).

Summers in the tropics are very pleasant here, as we are situated at 1000m elevation.

We are close to excellent birding hotspots in a variety of ecosystems (e.g. savannah , tropical rainforest, wetlands). Bromfield Swamp and Mt. Hypipamee NP are 10 min away, Hastie’s Swamp 15 min.

For more details: www.athertontablelandsbirdwatcherscabin.com.au

email: [email protected] Christina and Thomas

Ph.: 07 42010993 (Int.+61 7 42010993)

114 Webster Rd, Wondecla Qld 4887 (no mail delivery to this address!) Postal address: PO Box 1579, Atherton QLD 4883

Situated 1½ hrs north of Cairns in Tropical North

Queensland we offer accommodation in self-contained

units and bunkhouse rooms. We also have a small

camping area. The property is a rainforest wildlife

sanctuary catering for birdwatchers and naturalists.

We are central to a variety of habitats and provide bird

species lists, area maps and Wi-Fi internet access.

Guiding is available by arrangement.

We offer packages for individuals and small groups.

Carol and Andrew Iles

RN6, Mt. Kooyong Road

Julatten QLD 4871

Ph: (07) 4094 1263

Email: [email protected]

www.birdwatchers.com.au

http://www.athertontablelandsbirdwatcherscabin.com.au/



http://www.birdwatchers.com.au/



Male Golden Bowerbird at his bower. Image courtesy of Dominic Chaplin

Contact Call

March 2019 21

Warrina Lakes birding Monthly outings in Warrina Lakes parkland in Innisfail

continue in 2019. These are generally on the second

Sunday of the month, birding from 7am for 2 hours or

so, followed by smoko in the undercover area.

On the January 13th outing, seven participants found

45 bird species. Besides the usual suspects, we were

thrilled to find two Pacific Baza feeding a juvenile bird

with a large grasshopper. Brown-backed Honeyeaters

were observed nest building (ongoing). Five Bush

Thicknees were found, up from the usual two or three.

Three Wandering Whistling-ducks were observed near

the lake and five Royal Spoonbill decorated a tall tree

top near the lake’s edge. A skulking Black Bittern tried

to avoid us, but we had a good view of him in the end.

On February 10th the weather was superb. There were

eight participants, and 36 taxa identified.

While only 17 Pacific Black Ducks were seen (well

down on usual high numbers), 12 of them were the

cutest ducklings.

At one stage we heard continuous calling, and despite

searching and searching we could not locate the bird,

but suspected a juvenile calling for food. In the end a

juvenile Brush Cuckoo was found, being tended by two

frantic Brown-backed Honeyeaters who were

constantly going backwards and forwards with food for

the big baby cuckoo.

A Yellow Oriole was observed feeding a juvenile bird,

and Metallic Starlings had built nests in a tree where

they had not been observed before.

A Masked Lapwing was found with the most poorly

chosen nest site – in between the tracks of the

miniature railway line, and a Black Bittern graced us

with sensational views in the open on one of the lake’s

islands, as it searched for food on the water’s edge.

Since the wet season commenced in December, there

have been fewer water bird species and numbers of

those present are down.

All data were gathered using the BirdLife Australia

500m radius search methodology and entered into

eBird.

Please see the events calendar on the last pages of

this newsletter for the dates of the monthly Warrina

Lakes outings. For more information phone Ceri Pearce

on 0488 131 581 or Sandra Christensen on 0448 845

842. We look forward to seeing you there.

Report by Ceri Pearce, with special thanks to event co-

organiser Sandra Christensen.

Pacific Baza juvenile (Left) and adult (right). Images courtesy

of Greg Dawe.

Juvenile Brush Cuckoo that was being fed by two Brown-

backed Honeyeaters. Image Ceri Pearce

Crazy Masked Lapwing nest site. Image Ceri Pearce



BirdLife Australia

Stickybeaks Family Group

For enquiries and to RSVP, contact Golo: Mobile 0467 444 114 or

[email protected]

THERE’S A BIG YEAR PLANNED FOR

THE KIDS

Saturday 30th of March 3 pm - 6pm

Waving the waders goodbye Talk (3-4:30 pm) and Birding

4:30-6pm

Meet at Cairns City Library or Southern observation deck

on Esplanade at 4:30pm.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/362094987191145/ev

ents/

Don’t forget to RSVP Golo and bring your sun smart gear,

water and sturdy shoes.

Saturday 27th of April 5 pm – 7 pm

Of Bats and Trees with Maree Treadwell Kerr

Meet at Cairns City Library


ents/

Don’t forget to RSVP Golo.

Saturday 25th of May 10 am -11:30 am

Indigenous Plant uses led by Gerry Turpin

Meet at JCU E2 building.


ents/

Don’t forget to RSVP Golo and bring your sun smart gear

and water.

Saturday 29th of June 8 am -10:00 am

Tree-planting to save frogs and birds with Kuranda

envirocare

Meet at Kuranda Envirocare Nursery 284 Myola Rd,

Kuranda QLD 4881


ents/


water sturdy shoes. There will be scones and Tea

afterwards.

Saturday 27th of July 8 am -10:00 am

Curlew counting Cairns Cemetery


ents/

Meet at Little Street Park


water and sturdy shoes. There will be scones and Tea

afterwards.

Saturday 31st of August 2 pm – 4pm

Shells at Ellis Beach


ents/

Meet at Parking Lot


water and sturdy shoes.

Saturday 28th of September 5 pm to 7 pm

Spotlighting at Centenary Lakes


ents/

Meet at Chinese Pagoda

Don’t forget to RSVP Golo and bring your torch, Mozzie

repellent, water and sturdy shoes.

Saturday 26th of October 10 am -12:00 am

Bird week count Esplanade maybe sausage sizzle with

branch


ents/


water sturdy shoes.

No stickybeaks November and December

Creative art

courtesy of Kate

Gorringe-Smith

Contact Call

March 2019 23

Noticeboard From the Editor

A big thank you to all of our awesome contributors.

Please do keep sending your articles and images in

to [email protected]

Please note, there is no need to format a document

(combine images and text) when they are sent in.

Separate text and images are easier for the editor

to place into the newsletter template.

Newsletter deadlines for 2019

➢ April 10th for the May/June Edition

➢ July 10th for the September Edition

➢ October 10th for the December Edition

Activities

Check out the BirdLife Northern Queensland activities

for 2019 in the event calendar below. A regularly

updated list is also available on our website

http://birdlifenq.org/.

Do come and join us.

You do not have to be a BirdLife member or an expert

birder. Most of us are still learning and keen to share

the fun.

Everybody is welcome.

For more information about an event, contact the

leader listed, or check the website for details:

http://birdlifenq.org/, or join us on Facebook

In the event of a severe weather warning or other

unforeseen circumstances, events may be cancelled at

short notice. Contact the event organiser to confirm

events or monitor our Facebook page or emails for

updates.

We look forward to seeing you there!

BirdLife Northern Queensland Newsletter

‘Contact Call’

[email protected]

www.birdlifenq.org

BirdLife Northern Queensland 2019 Events Date Time Locality Meeting place and other information Contact the leader

Friday 1 March 2019

7:00–9:00am

Hastie’s Swamp, Atherton Meet at Hasties Swamp Hide car park

HASTIES SWAMP MONTHLY BIRD SURVEY You're invited to join us for a great morning of birding and collecting data on the birdlife in and around the swamp. Based mainly at and around the bird hide, members will survey the birds present at the wetlands and count the numbers of each species. Both waterbirds and bush birds in the adjacent fringing vegetation are included. We hope to follow the seasonal changes through the year. We'll meet at Hasties Swamp Hide car park on Koci Road. Start time is 7:00am and we plan to finish with a cuppa at around 9:00am. Bring binoculars/scope, field guide, notebook and pen, and morning ‘smoko’.

Peter Valentine Convenor For more information, please contact me on 4096 6171, or Martin Willis 4096 6581, or email [email protected].

Saturday 2 March 2019

7:30pm

Stratford Library 11 Kamerunga Road Stratford Cairns

CAIRNS TALK Birding Paradise – Ecuador Dr Rolf Jensen

Tom Collis Cairns Area Coordinator Tea and coffee will be provided. For more information, please contact me on 0401 783 795 or email [email protected].

Sunday 3 March 2019

6:30–9:00am

Centenary Lakes, Cairns Meet at the Chinese Friendship Garden near the freshwater lake on Greenslopes Street, Cairns.

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND CENTENARY LAKES You're invited to join our friends at Cairns Birders Group for a morning excursion around the lakes where up to 50 species are regularly recorded. We'll meet at the Chinese Friendship Garden near the freshwater lake on Greenslopes Street, Cairns. Bring sun smart gear, water, mozzie repellent, binoculars/scope, field guide, and morning ‘smoko’.

Tom Collis Cairns Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0401 783 795 or email [email protected], or Andy Anderson on 0476 167 713.


http://birdlifenq.org/

http://birdlifenq.org/




Sunday 10 March 2019

7:00–9:30am

Warrina Lakes, Innisfail Meet in the carpark in Park St, off the corner of Emily and Charles St, Innisfail

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND WARRINA LAKES You're invited to join us for a couple of hours of social birding around Warrina Lakes. We'll meet in the Warrina Lakes carpark in Park St, off the corner of Emily and Charles St, Innisfail. After birding we'll have morning tea at the lakes (BYO morning tea). It’s the very wet tropics so bring an umbrella and waterproof shoes, just in case. Also binoculars / scope, sunscreen, hat, and insect repellant.

Ceri Pearce Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0488 131 581, or Sandra Christensen on 0448 845 842, or email [email protected].

Thursday 14 March 2019

7:30–9:30pm

Malanda Hotel

2019 AGM Followed by a special presentation: Cooktown Birds – The Jewel In The Crown of North Queensland?? Kath Shurcliff

Peter Valentine Convenor For more information, please contact me on 4096 6171 or

email [email protected].


3:00–6:00pm

Cairns Meet at Cairns City Library or southern observation deck on the Esplanade at 4:30pm

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us to wave the waders goodbye and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the Cairns City Library at 3:00pm, or the southern observation deck on the Esplanade at 4:30pm. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope. Talk (3:00–4:30pm) and birding 4:30–6:00pm.

Golo Maurer Stickybeak Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0467 444 114 or email [email protected].


3:00–6:00pm

Cairns City Library Meeting Room 1 followed by Cairns Esplanade

WAVE THE WADERS GOODBYE Shorebird Identification Workshop at the Cairns City Library followed by shorebird viewing on the Cairns Esplanade.

Tom Collis Cairns Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0401 783 795 or email [email protected].

Thursday 4 April

2019

7pm Malanda Hotel

TABLELANDS TALK Hosted by Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group and BirdLife Northern Queensland Special guest Professor Steve Williams will talk about the ‘Effects of climate change on wildlife in the Wet Tropics’

Peter Valentine Convenor For more information, please contact me on 4096 6171, or Martin Willis 4096 6581, or

email [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you there!

Friday 5 April 2019

7:00–9:00am


HASTIES SWAMP MONTHLY BIRD SURVEY You're invited to join us for a great morning of birding and collecting data on the birdlife in and around the swamp. Based mainly at and around the bird hide, members will survey the birds present at the wetlands and count the numbers of each species. Both waterbirds and bush birds in the adjacent fringing vegetation are included. We hope to follow the seasonal changes through the year. Start time is 7:00am and we plan to finish with a cuppa at around 9:00am. Bring binoculars/scope, field guide, notebook and pen, and morning ‘smoko’.


Saturday 6 April 2019

7:30pm

Stratford Library 11 Kamerunga Road Stratford Cairns

CAIRNS TALK Progress with Qld Gouldian Finch Research Dr Ray Pierce and Patrick De Geest


Sunday 7 April 2019

6:30–9:00am

Centenary Lakes, Cairns Meet at the Chinese Friendship Garden near the freshwater lake on Greenslopes Street, Cairns.

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND CENTENARY LAKES You're invited to join our friends at Cairns Birders Group for a morning excursion around the lakes where up to 50 species are regularly recorded. Bring sun smart gear, water, mozzie repellent, binoculars/scope, field guide, and morning ‘smoko’.

Tom Collis Cairns Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0401 783 795 or email [email protected], or Andy Anderson on 0476 167 713.

Contact Call

March 2019 25


Sunday 14 April 2019

7:00–9:30am


SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND WARRINA LAKES You're invited to join us for a couple of hours of social birding around Warrina Lakes. We'll meet in the Warrina Lakes carpark in Park St, off the corner of Emily and Charles St, Innisfail. After birding we'll have morning tea at the lakes (BYO morning tea). It’s the very wet tropics so bring an umbrella and waterproof shoes, just in case. Also binoculars / scope, sunscreen, hat, and insect repellant. Please note this is in the middle of school holidays.


Saturday 27 April 2019

5:00–7:00pm

Meet at Cairns City Library

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for an afternoon “Of Bats and Trees” with Maree Treadwell Kerr and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the Cairns City Library. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope.


Saturday/Sunday 27–28 April 2019

Cardwell

Meet at the Coral Sea Park Playground at 1.30pm on Saturday and/or 7.30 am at the corner of the Bruce Highway and Cliff Rd turn off to Edmund Kennedy National Park on Sunday

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND CARDWELL Join us for the day or the weekend, exploring the Cardwell area. We will be visiting Cardwell State Forest (Saturday), and on Sunday we will visit Edmund Kennedy National Park in the Coastal Wet Tropics Key Biodiversity Area, and if time and energy permits, Murray Falls. Further details to be announced.


Friday 3 May 2019

7:00–9:00am




Saturday / Monday 4, 5, 6 May 2019

2019 BLNQ CAMPOUT Details to be confirmed.

Thursday 9 May 2019

7:30–9:30pm

Malanda Hotel

TABLELANDS TALK Science is not a dirty word: Recent discoveries from invasive bird research that helps conservation Dr Steve Murphy

Martin Willis Tablelands Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 4096 6581 or email [email protected], or Peter Valentine on 4096 6171.

Sunday 12 May 2019

7:00–9:30am







13-26 May 2019

Calton Hills, near Mt Isa

2019 GRASSWREN SURVEYS Carpentarian and Kalkadoon Grasswren surveys Establish 50 long-term monitoring sites on this and nearby properties. Details to be confirmed.

Kath Shurcliff Cooktown Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 4069 6595 or email [email protected].

Saturday 25 May 2019

10:00–11:30am

Smithfield James Cook University Meet at JCU E2 building

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for a morning “Indigenous Plant Uses” led by Gerry Turpin and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the JCU E2 building, James Cook University Smithfield. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope.


Sunday 2 June 2019

10:00am–4:00pm

Cairns Cruise-liner Terminal

ECOFIESTA BLNQ will have a stall at the annual ECOfiesta event

(organised by the Cairns Regional Council). Members will be needed to assist in setting up and running the stall throughout the day. Large numbers of visitors attend ECOfiesta and it is a great opportunity to raise our profile in Cairns and district.


Friday 7 June 2019

7:00–9:00am




Sunday 9 June 2019

7:00–9:30am




Sunday 23 June 2019

7:30am

Bramston Beach Area Meet at Bramston Beach, at Bramston Beach Rd car park, next to the parks for potential car pooling

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND BRAMSTON BEACH Join us as we visit Russell River National Park, birding in the Coastal Wet Tropics Key Biodiversity Area. Bring morning tea and picnic lunch.


Saturday 29 June 2019

8:00–10:00am

Kuranda Meet at Kuranda Envirocare Nursery at 284 Myola Rd, Kuranda QLD 4881

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for a morning of “Tree-planting to save frogs and birds” with Kuranda Envirocare and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the Kuranda Envirocare Nursery. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope. There will be scones and tea afterwards.

Golo Maurer Stickybeak Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0467 444 114 or email [email protected]

Contact Call

March 2019 27


3–5 July 2019

Darwin 2019 AUSTRALASIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL CONFERENCE

https://birdlife.org.au/get-involved/whats-on/aoc/

Friday 5 July 2019

7:00–9:00am




Thursday 11 July

7:30–9:30pm

Malanda Hotel

TABLELANDS TALK Galapagos – Getting there, cruising, staying and, photographing Dr Cliff Frith

Martin Willis Tablelands Area Coordinator

For more information, please contact me on 4096 6581 or email [email protected], or Peter Valentine on 4096 6171.

Sunday 14 July 2019

7:00–9:30am




Saturday and Sunday 20-21 July 2019

Mission Beach Area Meet at Mission Beach C4 Environment Centre carpark, 2.30pm Saturday, and 7.30am Sunday at the Licuala Forest day use area.

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND MISSION BEACH Join us for the day or the weekend, exploring the Mission Beach area. We will be visiting local national park areas and a couple of local favourite spots, birding in the Coastal Wet Tropics Key Biodiversity Area. Join us for a social dinner on Saturday night at a local venue (at own cost). Further details to be announced.


Saturday 27 July 2019

8:00–10:00am

Cairns Cemetery Meet at Little Street Park

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for a morning of “Curlew counting at Cairns Cemetery” and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the Little Street Park near Cairns Cemetery. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope. There will be scones and tea afterwards.


Friday 2 August 2019

7:00–9:00am







Saturday 3 August 2019

7:30pm

Stratford Library 11 Kamerunga Road Stratford, Cairns

CAIRNS TALK Details to be confirmed. Tea and coffee will be provided.


Sunday 4 August 2019

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND CAIRNS Details to be confirmed.



7:00–10:00am

Lake Barrine TABLELANDS TALK Topic to be confirmed. Alan Gillanders

Martin Willis Tablelands Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 4096 6581 or email [email protected], or Alan Gillanders on 4095 3784.

Sunday 11 August 2019

7:00–9:30am



Ceri Pearce Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0488 131 581, or Sandra Christensen on 0448 845 842, or email [email protected]


2:00–4:00pm

Ellis Beach Meet at Parking Lot

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for an afternoon of “Shells at Ellis Beach” and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the parking lot at Ellis Beach. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope. There will be scones and tea afterwards.


Friday 6 September 2019

7:00–9:00am


HASTIES SWAMP MONTHLY BIRD SURVEY You're invited to join us for a great morning of birding and collecting data on the birdlife in and around the swamp. Based mainly at and around

the bird hide, members will survey the birds present at the wetlands and count the numbers of each species. Both waterbirds and bush birds in the adjacent fringing vegetation are included. We hope to follow the seasonal changes through the year. We'll meet at Hasties Swamp Hide car park on Koci Road. Start time is 7:00am and we plan to finish with a cuppa at around 9:00am. Bring binoculars/scope, field guide, notebook and pen, and morning ‘smoko’.


Saturday 7 September 2019

Various

Atherton Tablelands Meet at Hastie’s Swamp Hide car park

2019 ANNUAL CRANE COUNT 12:00–2:00pm – Volunteers needed 3:00pm – Meet at Hastie’s Swamp bird hide for briefing 4:00–6:30pm – Counting at crane roosts 7:00pm – Dinner at Malanda Pub

David Merrall Crane Count Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0458 952 784 or

email [email protected].

Sunday 8 September 2019

7:00–9:30am



Ceri Pearce Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0488 131 581, or Sandra Christensen on 0448 845 842, or email [email protected]

Contact Call

March 2019 29


Thursday 12 September 2019

7:30–9:30pm

Malanda Hotel

TABLELANDS TALK Details to be confirmed.


Saturday 28 September 2019

5:00–7:00pm

Centenary Lakes, Cairns Meet at Chinese Pagoda

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for an evening of “Spotlighting at Centenary Lakes” and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the Chinese Pagoda in Centenary Lakes. Please bring your torch, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope. There will be scones and tea afterwards.


September 2019

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND EAST TRINITY Dennis Walls / Cairns Birders / BLNQ.

Details to be confirmed (8 or 15 September)?

Tom Collis Cairns Area Coordinator For more information, please

contact me on 0401 783 795 or email [email protected]

Friday 4 October 2019

7:00–9:00am




Saturday 5 October 2019

7:30pm

Stratford Library 11 Kamerunga Road Stratford, Cairns

CAIRNS TALK Details to be confirmed.


Sunday 4 October 2019

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND CAIRNS Details to be confirmed.



7:00–9:00am

Tinaroo TABLELANDS TALK Topic to be confirmed. Alan Gillanders

Martin Willis Tablelands Area Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 4096 6581 or email [email protected], or Alan Gillanders on 4095 3784.

Sunday 13 October 2019

7:00–9:30am








10:00–12:00 am

STICKYBEAKS FAMILY GROUP Bring the kids! You're invited to join us for a “Bird week Count at the Esplanade” and a 500 m area search for Birdata. We'll meet at the southern observation deck on the Esplanade. Please bring your sun smart gear, water and snacks, mozzie repellent, and binoculars/scope. There will be scones and tea afterwards.


Monday – Sunday 21–27 October 2019

National 2019 NATIONAL BIRD WEEK https://birdlife.org.au/get-involved/whats-on/bird-week

Monday – Sunday 21–27 October

2019

National 2019 AUSSIE BACKYARD BIRD COUNT https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/

Saturday / Sunday 26–27 October 2019

National 2019 NATIONAL TWITCHATHON www.birdlifetwitchathon.org.au

Friday 1 November 2019

7:00–9:00am




Sunday 10 November 2019

7:00–9.30am

Warrina Lakes, Innisfail

Meet in the carpark in Park St, off the corner of Emily and Charles St, Innisfail


Ceri Pearce Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator

For more information, please contact me on 0488 131 581, or Sandra Christensen on 0448 845 842, or email [email protected].

16 November 2019

4:00–6:30pm

Any coastal area

2019 SYNCHRONISED REGIONAL PIP COUNT

Julia Hazel Synchronised PIP Count Coordinator For more information, please contact me on 0407 431 382 or email [email protected].

Thursday 7 November

7:30–9:30pm

Malanda Hotel TABLELANDS TALK Birds of Finland Harry Nyström


Contact Call

March 2019 31


Saturday and Sunday 23-24 November 2019

Mt Lewis, Julatten area.

GOLDEN BOWERBIRD GROUP SURVEY, MT LEWIS Please contact Dominic Chaplin for more details at [email protected] if you are interested to come along.

Dominic Chaplin [email protected]

Saturday and Sunday 30 November to 1 December 2019

National 2019 CHALLENGE COUNT www.birdlife.org.au/get-involved/whats-on/challenge-count/

Sunday 1 December 2019

7:00–9:30am

Warrina Lakes, Innisfail Meet in the

carpark in Park St, off the corner of Emily and Charles St, Innisfail

SOCIAL BIRDING AROUND WARRINA LAKES You're invited to join us for our Cassowary Coast Christmas and a couple of hours of social birding around Warrina Lakes. We'll meet in the Warrina

Lakes carpark in Park St, off the corner of Emily and Charles St, Innisfail. After birding we'll have morning tea at the lakes (BYO morning tea). It’s the very wet tropics so bring an umbrella and waterproof shoes, just in case. Also binoculars / scope, sunscreen, hat, and insect repellant.

Ceri Pearce Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator For more information,

please contact me on 0488 131 581, or Sandra Christensen on 0448 845 842, or email [email protected].

Friday 6 December 2019

7:00–9:00am

Hastie’s Swamp, Atherton Meet at Hasties Swamp Hide

car park



We look forward to seeing you there!

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