contact call · 2016. 11. 15. · birdlife northern queensland 2 contact call. volume 5 number 4...
TRANSCRIPT
Contact Call
Newsletter of BirdLife Northern Queensland Volume 5 Number 4 November-December 2016
Contents Convenor’s report
Fossicking for Birds on the River of Gold.
Eight Birders in Search of a Quail-thrush!
The JAMBA-CAMBA-ROKAMBA afternoon on the
Cairns Esplanade.
Update on Cairns Esplanade.
Lama Lama Junior Rangers Bird Workshop.
Springvale Station Bird Surveys
Baillon's Crake
The National Twitchathon
Late season trip to Karumba
The Australian Bird Feeding and Watering Study.
What’s in the news?
Ecuador
Noticeboard and activities
COURTING BOWERBIRDS
This beautiful
artwork, of
courting Great
Bowerbirds, was
painted by Richard
Bowdler Sharpe
(1847-1909),
curator of the bird
collection at the
British Museum of
Natural History.
To read about the
escapades of the
‘Courting
Bowerbirds’ in the
Twitchathon, go to
page 9.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia in Commons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_bowerbird#/media/File:Chla
mydera_nuchalis_by_Bowdler_Sharpe.jpg
NATIONAL TWITCHATHON
Scores* so far for Queensland *number of bird species recorded
Twitchathon (24 hour race)
007: Silvereye - 180 - Northern Queensland
Wing Dings - 179 - Mackay
Gladstone Galahs - 112 - Capricornia
Westside Warblers - 105 - Southern Queensland
Champagne Event (12 hour race)
Spare Me a Dollar Bird - 137 - Southern
Queensland
Courting Bowerbirds - 118 - Northern
Queensland
Funky Fairywrens - 105 - Southern Queensland
The Mad Chatters - 102 - Capricornia
McDutton Quails - 70 - Southern Queensland
Wings Over Rocky - 63 – Capricornia
Birdathon (3x1 hour race)
The Four Thick Knees – 71
Courting Bowerbirds – 67
Golden Oldies – 61
Yapricadonnia Feathers – 59
Millenium Falcons – 57
The Zemeks – 55
Cassie Vogelmann – 43
Ordinary Owls – 41
Paxton Plovers – 17
Congratulations Queensland By November 15th Queensland members have
raised over $3700 for conservation of the Yellow
Chat and the Eungella Honeyeater.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
2 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
From the Convenor
By the time you read this, we will have finished a
pretty busy and exhausting pre-wet (spring) season –
what with Twitchathons, crane counts, Yourka surveys,
wader counts, backyard bird counts, Tully Gorge and
Palmer River outings, Sticky Beaks adventures – the
list goes on. And there is still time to get involved in
the Torresian Imperial Pigeon (or PIP) counts,
bowerbird bower searches, and more Sticky Beak
ventures. And doing all these counts have just been
made so much easier with the new BirdLife Birdata
mobile app. Instead of carrying around paper/pencil,
GPS, recording gear, etc. – you need only have your
smart phone, which can do all those jobs from your
pocket! As well of course of being able to check out
that mysterious bird call with your Morecombe or
Pizzey & Knight app. How did we ever do birding in
the old days ?!! If you haven’t tried out the new
Birdata mobile app – have a look at it now. Just go to
Birdata –Birdata.birdlife.org.au and start counting!
You will be helping BirdLife keep track of what is
happening with our birds through the Index of
Australian Birds.
Speaking of counting - we have been invited by the
Queensland Department of Environment to undertake
bird surveys at Springvale station, which is just east of
Lakeland. Further details are on page 8 of this
newsletter. Hope to see some of you along on these
surveys to document our birds in this little known part
of the Cape York/Wet Tropics regions.
Our waders are taking centre stage again. Cairns was
host to a multi-national delegation from countries
involved in the agreements on migratory shorebirds.
As members of the BirdLife Northern Queensland
committee, we were invited to meet these delegates
and take them on a guided tour of the Cairns
Esplanade. It was a great pleasure to be able to talk
shorebird conservation with them, and to find out what
they have been doing in their own countries to deal
with the declines of shorebirds in our flyways. We
were able to host a presentation by Chris Purnell of
BirdLife Australia to share some of their experiences
with our members. They are truly an inspirational
group of people, and we are lucky to have such
dedicated conservationists as our neighbours.
The year is drawing to a close, and your committee is
busily planning a calendar of events for the first part of
next year. If you have any suggestions for outings,
evening presentations, workshops, members’
meetings, please let one of your committee members
know – their contact details are provided in this
newsletter.
Good Birding all,
Kath Shurcliff, Convenor
Your BirdLife Northern Queensland
Committee in action.
The BirdLife Northern Queensland AGM will be held
in March next year. Don’t forget to mark the date in
your calendar, and consider nominating for a
position.
Committee Name Contact details
Convenor and
Cape York Area
Coordinator
Kath Shurcliff Email
and phone: 07 4069 6595
Deputy Convenor Martin Willis Email: [email protected]
and phone: 07 40966581
Secretary Renee Cassels Email:
Treasurer Wendy Cooper Email
and phone: 07 40968272
Cairns Area
Coordinator
Tom Collis Email: [email protected]
and mobile phone: 0401783795
Conservation
Coordinator and
Tablelands Area
Coordinator
Peter Valentine Email:
phone: 07 40966171
Stickybeak
Coordinator
Golo Maurer Email:
IBA Coordinator Graham
Harrington
Email: [email protected]
and phone: 07 40965051
Members
Coordinator
Sam Willis Email: [email protected]
and phone: 07 40966581
Crane Count
Coordinator
Virginia
Simmonds
retiring
Website Manager Mikey Kudo Email: [email protected] and
mobile phone: 0402343610
Newsletter Editor
and Cassowary
Coast Area
Coordinator
Ceri Pearce Email
m and mobile phone:
0488131581
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 3
Fossicking for Birds on the River of Gold.
In 1872, William Hann led a Queensland Government
sponsored expedition to travel as far north as the 14th
parallel to ascertain the character of the country, with
a view to future settlement. They found small
amounts of alluvial gold in a river he named the
Palmer, but Hann dismissed it in his report as
‘unpayable’. This was scoffed at by experienced
prospectors. “What do a mob of cattlemen like Hann
and his mates know?” they asked each other. Thus,
James Venture Mulligan and 5 chums left the
Etheridge, and reached the Palmer River on 29th of
June 1873 at what is known as Palmerville today.
They found ‘payable’ gold and took back to
Georgetown 102 ounces to report the find. The rush
was on. The Etheridge field was deserted by diggers
following Mulligan’s tracks north. Meanwhile the
steamer Leichhardt chuffed into the Endeavour River
bringing a complete set of government staff and
police, plus its first mob of diggers who made camp at
what became known as Cook’s Town. The
Government engineer was responsible for finding a
road to the diggings. The exhausted party arrived on
the 14th November 1873 after travelling about 160
miles over rough, rugged terrain and being harassed
by ‘cannibals’ all the way.
The Palmer River area eventually became a living mass
of men, and in July 1874 the HQ was moved from
Palmerville to a more central position at what is now
known as Maytown. By the end of 1875 it is estimated
that fifteen thousand diggers were on the field, ten
thousand of these were Chinese who carefully worked
the old ground Europeans had abandoned when they
moved into the upper reaches of the Palmer, where a
big camp had grown up on the new, shorter track to
the coast. This camp came to be known as Byerstown,
after Johnny Byers opened a butcher’s shop there. In
1877 Mulligan found a ‘payable goldfield for reefing’ on
the Hodgkinson River, which caused a stampede
among the Palmer European diggers, leaving the
Chinese to occupy the deserted ground. By the end of
the 1870’s the Palmer’s alluvial gold deposits had been
worked out, leaving only a few European fossickers
and a few Chinese scratching a meagre living. It was
estimated that about a million ounces of gold had been
recovered from the Palmer and the Chinese had
smuggled out the same amount again. All the old
diggers drifted away leaving only the reef miners to it,
and Mulligan bought the Mount Molloy pub where he
met his end in a brawl whilst defending a woman’s
honour.
Lynette and the gals having a laugh while birding
You may wonder why I’m giving you this history
lesson. Well, one of our members, the colourful
Lynette Ensor lives at historic Byerstown and wanted
to show us over the Labor Day long weekend, all the
wonderful birds she has on her local patch. Fourteen
birders, keen to discover new territory, mustered at
the Palmer River Roadhouse on the Friday evening.
We were instructed to meet her at the Bonny Glen
station turn off at 6.30 am the following day. This we
did. We birded all the way down to her place seeing
quite a few Bustards and displaying Pipits in the
grasslands. At Lynette’s abode overlooking a huge
dam, we met her partner and ex-prospector Chris. He
built the house from local timber 36 years ago and is
quite content living in such isolation. All us lot
descending on him must have scared him somewhat,
but he offered generous hospitality nonetheless. We
took off for a bird stroll around the old town common
and were delighted to see a good selection of bush
birds, even though not much was in flower or fruit.
We then headed back to Chris and Lynette’s tranquil
place for homemade pikelets at smoko.
After refreshments, we went down into the Palmer
River bed to see what was about. We added numerous
honeyeaters to our list on the flowering trees, and
some feral Indian Peafowls that have been in the area
for decades. We returned to Lynette’s place, where we
relaxed over a leisurely lunch, watching numerous
waterbirds on the dam. We then retired back to the
campground at the roadhouse to escape the heat of
the day. That evening we joined the locals in their
traditional Saturday night BBQ. Wow what a veritable
feast and all for $10 per head!
Sunday morning Lynette took us all down to the Little
Palmer River on Bonny Glen Station. We had a lovely
walk along its course, with a highlight being a Tawny
Frogmouth viewed by all. After further refreshing
ourselves at her abode, we returned back down into
the Palmer River to see if we could find the Shining
Flycatcher some of us had glimpsed the day before.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
4 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
No such luck, but we enjoyed our
picnic lunch in a shady spot in the
river bed. That evening we had pre-
dinner bubbly to celebrate Pippy’s
birthday. A quite jolly convivial
affair after a pleasant day’s birding.
Monday we all strolled down into the
Palmer River adjacent to the
roadhouse, and the old crossing. It
was quite birdy with a few patches of
water even large enough for ducks
and herons. After the obligatory
photo shot, we all had to reluctantly
return back to our camp to pack up,
have brunch and depart in our
various directions. In all we saw
about 80 species of birds over the
weekend, caught up with old friends and made new
ones. Thanks Lynette for your hospitality and showing
us your historic neck of the woods. Much appreciated!!
TTFN - Davo Houghton
Eight Birders in Search
of a Quail-thrush!
Yourka turned out to be a moveable feast this year but
eventually eight members enjoyed themselves 29
October - 1 November. We surveyed all thirty plots
AND searched a promising hillside for the ”Ravenshoe”
Quail-thrush. No luck on this bird unfortunately but if
you want to know more try Lloyd Neilson’s new book*
(see below).
Probably the most interesting bird seen was a possible
Yellow-tinted Honeyeater but again Lloyd’s book
describes several new morphs in this area, which make
it difficult for a definite ID.
Spotlighting at Cameron’s Creek produced three
Greater Gliders and a small army of Brushtail Possums.
One brave soul swam in The Gorge to enthusiastic
applause. Leanne Hales did us proud with a scrummy
meal on the Friday.
Participants were Ceinwen Edwards, Yu Ota, Tony
Jurgensen, Harry Cassidy and welcome newcomers
Judy Chappell, Bev Fothergill & Euan Fothergill
*Birds of the Wet Tropics and Great Barrier, Reef and
where to find them by Lloyd Nielsen.
Graham Harrington
The Fossickers in the Palmer River
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 5
The JAMBA-CAMBA-ROKAMBA afternoon on
the Cairns Esplanade.
Several Birdlife NQ members acted as guides for
visitors on the Esplanade recently. Armed with
binoculars and spotting scopes they showed visiting
delegates some of the shorebirds along the Cairns
Esplanade. The visitors were in Cairns for a conference
called 2016 Bilateral Migratory Bird Agreement
Consultative Meetings between the Governments of
Australia, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.
The local Birdlife guides (Kath, Mikey, Tom, Peter,
Andy and Norton) met the delegates at the Pacific
International Hotel and walked them north along the
Esplanade to a suitable viewing area to see waders.
Golo Maurer (Birdlife NQ) organised the Esplanade
walk as one of the Conference Activities on the
afternoon of the first day. This way the delegates could
see some migratory shorebirds and we could talk
about some local issues as well. The activity was
planned for the end of the day’s proceedings and
fortunately, it also coincided with a perfect tide for
viewing the birds.
The visitors were treated to great views of a couple of
large flocks consisting mainly of Great Knot but also
including Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-tailed Godwits,
Curlew Sandpipers, Greater Sandplovers and Eastern
Curlew. A Black fronted Dotterel also impressed
visitors as it was quite close to the boardwalk.
The incoming tide pushed the shorebirds closer to the
shore and the visitors were impressed with the close
proximity of the normally wary birds with humans.
Eventually when the tide got too high, the shorebirds
flew off to roost somewhere and right on cue a flock of
a dozen or so low flying Australian Pelicans landed in
their place.
Later in the week, Chris Purnell from Birdlife Australia
gave an interesting presentation on the ‘East Asian–
Australian Flyway at the Stratford Library Meeting
room. It was well supported with about 36 people
attending.
JAMBA = Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
CAMBA = China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
ROKAMBA = Republic of Korea Australia Migratory Bird
Agreement
Article and images by Cairns Area Coordinator – Tom Collis
Delegates viewing waders from the Cairns Esplanade
boardwalk were amazed at how close the birds were.
Black-tailed Godwit
Delegates, still excitedly viewing waders from the viewing
platform as the tide came in.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
6 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
Can you spot the Godwit? Image by Tom Collis.
Update on Cairns
Esplanade.
An active program led by Birdlife NQ member Paul Fisk
is continuing the process of clarification and solutions
to the problem of sand deposits on the Esplanade mud
flats. Recently we had a meeting at CAFNEC to hear
from Professor Jon Nott about his recent study for the
Cairns Council. It is clear from Jon's study (already
delivered to the Council) that there is much
misinformation about the esplanade mud flats. A small
working party will be trying to arrange a public
meeting (with CRC involvement) in November and in
the lead up to that meeting to generate more public
awareness about the issues.
In a nutshell, Professor Nott pointed out that the
embayment processes reflect a typical low energy
tropical coast. There is very limited onshore-offshore
mobility and the processes are tide dominated. Sand
movement (at least for the southern end) is principally
from north to south with sand being relocated towards
the southern end. The natural beach is confined to the
inshore strip (very narrow) and abruptly adjacent to
the mud flat. Claims that the "mudflat" was originally
sand are erroneous - for at least 100 years the mudflat
has been a mudflat so there is no "original sandy
beach" scenario that accords with the facts. It is true
that the plain behind is a sand ridge plain (created by
tidal and wave action, not wind action) with ridges
developed periodically due to cyclone activity leading
to overtopping and redistribution of sand in a landward
direction. But this is infrequent and the remaining
periods are strictly tide controlled.
How has sand become dispersed seaward from the
natural beach? Professor Nott said that this is a result
of the many drainage pipes that drain water from the
land to the sea being too short with their openings
behind the natural beach. Every time it rains the water
rushing down the pipes picks up sand and relocates it
over the mud flat. If the pipes were delivering their
water load beyond the beach then the water would
simply flow over the mudflats and no sand would be
involved. One solution would be to simply extend each
of the pipes.
We remain hopeful that the full report will be released
by Council (no reason why not) and also that Council
will reveal its plans for the mudflats, beaches and sand
movement including relocating or additions, at the
proposed meeting in November. Paul is chairing a
small working party to advance this matter and I
represent Birdlife on the group. I will keep everyone
posted.
It is hoped that Cairns Regional Council will release the
Nott Report for the meeting and that Queensland and
Commonwealth Environment Departments may send
representatives. The purpose of the meeting is to
better understand what the CRC want to do and to
allow a program of recovery and better protection of
the wader habitat to be instigated.
It is interesting that a meeting of countries involved
with wader related bilateral agreements (Japan, China,
Korea and Australia) recently met in Cairns for
discussions and as part of the exercise members of
Birdlife NQ (led by Tom Collis) helped show the visitors
some of our mudflat waders. This was much
appreciated by the participants and helped
demonstrate the high international awareness of this
amazing asset. Even so, the sand accumulation at the
southern end is enabling children and dogs access to
the shoreline and in the process disturbing feeding and
roosting waders. It is this recent development that
needs reversing.
Report by Peter Valentine, Conservation Officer and
Tablelands Area Coordinator
Bar-tailed Godwit. Image courtesy of Tom Collis.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 7
Birds are
in our
nature
Lama Lama Junior Rangers Bird
Workshop.
Kath got word that the Lama Lama people on Cape
York wanted to run a bird workshop for their junior
rangers. They were looking for a BirdLife person to
facilitate it at short notice because their regular
‘birdman’ was unavailable. Kath answered the clarion
call and volunteered her services and learned that the
event was to be hosted by Sue and Gary at the
Lotusbird Lodge near Musgrave. We already knew that
the Lama Lama peoples country incorporated Silver
Plains (Maramba), Port Stewart (Yintjingga) and
Marina Plains (Rindoparr). Quite a diverse range of
habitats and home to the endangered Red Goshawk
and Little Terns.
Saturday morning, 22nd October we got introduced to
14 shy young rangers, ranging in age from 5 to 11
years old and their co-ordinator Alison Liddy with two
lovely elders to take care of their charges. Most wore
their colourful team shirts, which depicted a Little Tern
on the back and a Sea Eagle on the sleeve. Kath led a
discussion on what makes birds so special and how
and where to find them. They asked some really
interesting questions as kids do, and it was apparent
that they already knew a lot about birds.
They were all issued with binoculars and we took off
for a bird walk. Gary found two Papuan Frogmouths to
enthral the youngsters as they took turns to view them
through the scope. We also saw a Figbird in a ‘see-
through’ nest and a Black-backed Butcherbird on its
more well-constructed nest.
In the afternoon the young rangers split up into small
groups, each group having an iPad, where they
recorded all the bird species on the lagoon, for
inclusion on the Lama Lama country database. The
lagoon birds included Brolga, Magpie Geese, Green-
backed Pygmy Geese, Wandering Whistle-ducks,
Radjah Shelducks, Pacific Black Ducks, Comb-crested
Jacanas, Royal Spoonbills, Greater, Intermediate and
Cattle Egrets, Darter, etc. etc. And the young rangers
took photos of the birds and the habitats. all of which
are now included in their country database. Like so
many youngsters these days, they are very ‘tech-
savvy’ and eagerly completed their records. They then
reported back to us telling us very succinctly and
professionally what they had recorded.
We were impressed by the way they conducted
themselves - such a bright, well-mannered, polite
bunch of youngsters you could ever wish to meet.
They had a quiet confidence in themselves and showed
strong pride in their culture. They had a lot of
enthusiasm for the birds - it should auger well for
looking after their country in years to come!
We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to assist
these young rangers, and we also learned as much
from them as they did from us.
Dave Houghton and Kath Shurcliff
BirdLife Northern Queensland
8 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
Springvale Station Bird Surveys
You may have read that earlier this year, the
Queensland government purchased Springvale Station
just east of Lakeland, in an attempt to deal with the
erosion that was ending up on the Great Barrier Reef.
The property is now being managed by the
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection,
and they have approached us, BirdLife Northern
Queensland, to undertake bird surveys there. They
would like to document the biodiversity of the
property, as currently there is limited information
available on it. The property is at the junction of the
Cape York, Wet Tropics and Einasleigh Uplands
bioregions, and has more than 50 regional
ecosystems. The West and East Normanby Rivers run
through it as well.
Our task will be to find out what birds are there, and
we will make a special effort to search for Red
Goshawks, as well as some other Cape York
specialties. We will be using the BirdLife standard
methods of 2ha, 20 minute surveys, and 500m
searches, and we will provide training in how to use
these methods. The first surveys will be undertaken
15-20 November, before the rains start. We will be
camping away from the homestead for this first survey
period. We will also endeavour to complete more
surveys before the end of this year, and early next
year, rain dependent. If you are interested in
participating during November, or at some later point,
please contact Kath Shurcliff at
email:[email protected], or phone: 4069
6595, mobile: 0478 64 1987, for further details.
One of the Cape York specialties we will be searching for on
Springvale – Black-backed Butcherbird
Baillon's Crake
I thought I would send these shots of a Baillon's
Crake, which I took in Mount Isa, a couple of days ago.
The unusual part, is of the Crake, perching on the
barbed wire fence, which I didn't think they would do.
I got quite a few shots of it, in its natural environment.
Then I must have disturbed it, as it flew from the
wetland, onto the fence. I was fortunate to get a few
shots of it on the fence also. I wonder, if others have
seen them fence sitting. At least, one can get a good
view of their feet here.
Article and images courtesy of Rex Whitehead.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 9
The National Twitchathon
There were a few north Queensland teams involved
with the National Twitchathon and we all helped
Queensland raise funds for bird conservation projects.
This year the targets are the Yellow Chat and the
Eungella Honeyeater.
Options for the event included a 24 hour race; the
Champagne 12 hour race and then the Birdathon that
required 3 separate hours within a 24 hour period. A
north Queensland team (007 Silvereye) has taken out
the best Queensland effort with 180 species in the 24
hour race. Well done although only one bird ahead of
the Wing Dings.
In the Champagne event (popular amongst
hedonistas) the winner was southern Queensland’s
Sheena Gillman and her team of Spare me a Dollar
Bird. They did brilliantly to score 137 species in the 12
hours but are likely to be pipped in the National
competition. The Courting Bowerbirds team of Val and
I competed in this event (as novices) and had a great
time but fell short of aspirations. We recorded a total
of 118 species but because we missed so many
relatively easy species we should have done much
better. We started at home (in Malanda) where the
familiar dawn chorus got us many rainforest species
without a lot of travel - but dipped on Bridled
Honeyeater for some reason and no scrubwrens. Our
plan took us down the range to pick up waders at the
Esplanade (via Lake Eacham for Great Crested Grebe
to give us 36 species in the first hour). On the way, we
ticked a Pacific Golden Plover at France Road turf farm
(just one). Bad timing for the tide (it was too full)
meant we had to fill in time at Centennial Lakes
(Radjah Shelduck central) and risk sandfly bites for
Mangrove Robins at the north end of the Esplanade.
We finally had enough mudflat exposure to get most of
the easy waders but dipped on Eastern Curlew and
Common Greenshank. We were now behind time so
missed Cattana Wetlands and had a relatively dead
period driving north. A few incidentals helped and as
we had missed Metallic Starling in Cairns we picked
them up in Mossman at the nest site on the highway.
Then up the range and having to cancel Mt Lewis
because of time had lunch at Abattoir Swamp with lots
of honeyeaters. Mt Molloy gave us reliable Great
Bowerbird and Red-winged Parrot and then we stocked
up on wetland species at Lake Mitchell, including Black
Swan and Green Pygmy Goose. More driving took us to
Springvale Road for Herberton Honeyeaters and a few
others but not as many as usual. Hasties Swamp had
been very limited so the end of the day left us well
short of our target. Our final bird was enjoyed back at
our home with the local Large-billed Scrubwren family
- and a celebratory glass of champagne. It was a fun
day and Val agreed she would try again next year. We
managed 118 species in the day which is an easy
target to try and beat next time! Luckily we managed
to see a pair of Sarus Crane and a pair of Brolga at
odd sites in the day - that might have been an
embarrassing dip.
We also decided to enter the Birdathon. This was the
race requiring not more than three hours spread
through the day. North Queensland had a few entries
including Cassie Vogelmann team with Golo Maurer
and the Four Thicknees team from Innisfail. We made
our challenge slightly complicated by embedding this
event within the 12 hour event. The rules allow it but it
meant keeping careful records so we could note birds
for both events during the three hours we chose. We
uses the first hour (6-7 am) then we used our wader
time also (10-11 am) and finally the last hour (5-6
pm). We ended up with 67 species for the Birdathon.
Best prize for team name has to go to the Four Thick
Knees - Ceri and Sandra from Innisfail.
The total funds raised is not yet clear but members
can still donate if they wish. I would like to thank our
sponsors very much and we look forward to next year
for another event. We felt that we failed to create a
sufficiently strategic plan for the day and we made a
few silly mistakes. Next time I think we need fewer
“dead” driving time and more time on the ground
birding. There were a lot of birds we should have seen.
Well worth others having a go next year.
Peter and Val Valentine (AKA the Courting Bowerbirds).
The Courting Bowerbirds in action.
Contact us: BirdLife Northern
Queensland Committee
Email: [email protected]
www.birdlifenq.org
BirdLife Northern Queensland
10 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
Late season trip to Karumba
On the 16th September, Doug Herrington and I left on
a trip to Karumba. At Warruma swamp near
Mt.Garnett there were a few Cotton Pygmy Geese and
a fair mix of water birds. A pair of Sea Eagles had a
fledgling in a nest on the far side.
The creeks were looking dry and this proved to be the
norm all the way to and including Karumba.
Camp was in Georgetown that night and under a full
moon, a Pied Butcher bird serenaded from 11pm until
5am.
There were a few Black-throated Finch at the
Racecourse in the morning. Also Chestnut-breasted
Mannikin and Double barred Finch. We only saw Black-
faced Wood Swallows and one Singing Bush-Lark.
Between Normanton and Karumba, there were 100's of
Brolgas and a few Sarus Crane on the plain. As I said,
the wetlands around Karumba were few and far
between.
The boat trip yielded Red-headed Honeyeater, White-
breasted Whistler (both male and female displaying),
Mangrove Fantail, Mangrove Gerygone, Yellow White-
eye and 12 Terek sandpipers in a flock on the bank.
At the Airport area, there were a few Waders, just in
one spot on the beach but all the Mangroves there
were dead.
There were many Rufous-throated Honeyeaters and a
few White-throated Greygones, plus Variegated Fairy
Wrens on the flowering mangroves on the cross town
walk. A Hobby buzzed by.
On the return trip, a Black-breasted Buzzard was aloft
before Cumberland Dam which was the nights camp.
Spotlighting only revealed one flying Barn Owl in an
hours drive.
In the morning there were a few Masked Finch nest
building in low grass tussocks. I will be checking the
wetland levels on any future trips but we still enjoyed
it.
Graham Snell
BIRD LISTS
Did you know BirdLife Northern Queensland has
produced birding guides for a variety of locations in
Northern Queensland. You can download them and
print them for personal use.
Go to: http://birdlifenq.org/brochures.htm
Double-barred Finch
Image courtesy of Ceri Pearce
The Australian Bird
Feeding and Watering
Study.
This is a citizen science initiative being undertaken by
researchers at Deakin University and Griffith University
Little is known about which bird species are attracted
to bird baths and why people like to feed birds. The
researchers aim to investigate which species use bird
feeders and baths and how our behaviours and garden
habits may impact or influence the birds that visit.
They are also interested in the motivations,
perceptions and actions of people who provide food
and water for birds and hope to understand more
about this important human-wildlife connection.
Are you interested in participating?
Summer 2017 Survey Dates are:
Survey Week 1: Monday 30th Jan - Sunday 5th
February
Survey Week 2: Monday 6th - Sunday 12th February
Survey Week 3: Monday 13th - Sunday 19th February
Survey Week 4: Monday 20th - Sunday 26th February
Go to https://csdb.org.au/feedingbirds/home.aspx to
register
Research papers produced: Avian Assemblages at Bird
Baths: A Comparison of Urban and Rural Bird Baths in
Australia at
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2
Fjournal.pone.0150899
Keeping it clean: bird bath hygiene in urban and rural
areas at
http://jue.oxfordjournals.org/content/2/1/juw005
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 11
What’s in the news?
CHECK OUT THESE WEBSITES FOR THE DETAILS
Birds, bees and bugs:- Your garden is an
ecosystem and it needs looking after.
Ecologically, a garden is another jigsaw piece in
the landscape. How does yours shape up?
https://theconversation.com/birds-bees-and-
bugs-your-garden-is-an-ecosystem-and-it-
needs-looking-after-65226
Bath bullies, bacteria and battlegrounds:-
the secret world of bird baths.
Bird baths are a familiar sight in Australian
gardens but surprisingly little is known about
the precise role they play in the lives of birds.
The Bathing bird’s study is filling in the
knowledge gaps.
https://theconversation.com/bath-bullies-
bacteria-and-battlegrounds-the-secret-world-
of-bird-baths-65629
How song birds island hopped their way
from Australia to colonise the world!
The songbirds that are common in gardens all
across the world have a surprisingly distant
origin. They all evolved from a common
ancestor that emerged from what is now
Australia around 24 million years ago.
https://theconversation.com/how-songbirds-
island-hopped-their-way-from-australia-to-
colonise-the-world-64616
Bird-brained and brilliant. Australian avians
are smarter than you think.
Australian birds are arguably among the
smartest in the world. Some display complex
behaviours such as problem solving, learning
and tool use comparable to behaviours
observed in great apes.
https://theconversation.com/bird-brained-and-
brilliant-australias-avians-are-smarter-than-
you-think-51475
Beyond borders. Why we need global
action to protect migratory birds.
Habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and
collisions with buildings and other structures
are taking heavy tolls on many species.
Everything we learn about how widely
migratory birds range around the globe
underlines the need for coordinated
international action to protect birds across
borders.
https://theconversation.com/beyond-borders-
why-we-need-global-action-to-protect-
migratory-birds-62070
Cracked it! A 30-year cold case involving
an egg and the mysterious Night Parrot
It’s an ex-parrot egg now! Woops, have I blown
the punch line.
https://theconversation.com/cracked-it-a-30-
year-cold-case-involving-an-egg-and-the-
mysterious-night-parrot-66846
The world’s biggest cuckoos once roamed
the Nullarbor Plain
Imagine a Coucal-like bird, half a metre tall from
the Pleistocene epoch, 2.5 million to 11,700
years ago!
https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-biggest-
cuckoos-once-roamed-the-nullarbor-plain-
54050
Join us on Facebook
BirdLife Northern Queensland
12 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
Situated 1½ hrs north of Cairns in Tropical North
Queensland we offer accommodation in self-
contained units – – single or two bedroom – and
bunkhouse rooms. 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
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 13
White-necked Jacobin
Bay-headed Tanager
Sapphire-vented Puffleg
Golden-headed Quetzal
Ecuador
Ecuador has over 1620 bird species, excluding the
Galapagos Islands, in an area that is a sixth the size of
Queensland. Mind boggling! Is birding in Ecuador on
your bucket list? Well it was certainly a dream
destination on mine. I never expected that I would
actually go there,and yet I did, last month. Life is full
of surprises!
I have never been to South America before! The bird I
most wanted to see was a hummingbird. It only took
me a day or so to realise that many Ecuadorian bird
species and their names are extremely different to
ours, and identification was going to be very difficult
for a novice. With little time for preplanning, and less
than a week for birding, the following is what I
managed during my short visit.
I stayed for 5 days at Casa Divina Lodge at Mindo,
which I highly recommend. The lodge arranged to pick
me up from my hotel in Quito, and dropped me off at
the airport for my long journey home.
The lodge is an internationally certified sustainable
business, run by Efrain Toapanta and his partner Molly,
who promote economically and environmentally
progressive tourism across the Mindo region.
The accommodation is up market. My spacious and
stylish room, with ensuite, was upstairs in a large
cabin, with a private veranda overlooking the
rainforest. The bed was very comfy which was perfect
after a long day birding.
Excellent meals are provided in a shared dining room
overlooking bird feeders in the rainforest, or as hearty
packed breakfasts and/or lunches. Which is just as well
as we started at 5am most days.
The lodge organises bird guides. To pack in as much
birding as I could in my limited time, I chose the
Choco Birdwatching Package: 5 days/4 nights of
guided birdwatching for dedicated bird watchers. Tour
costs included pick up and drop off in Quito, all
transport, guide, and the accommodation and meals at
Casa Divina (mindocasadivina.com or
mindosabinatour.com).
My guide was Alex Luna. He spoke excellent English,
certainly knew his birds and could get a telescope onto
a bird often faster than I could find it in binoculars. He
was also very patient.
On day one, from Quito, we went to Mindo via
Yanococha Reserve. At 3700m, the birds here were
different to those I would see at lower elevations
during the rest of the tour. We were clouded in, so
visibility was challenging. Hummingbird feeders were a
feature in the main rest areas. I saw my first
hummingbirds and tanagers here, as well as other high
altitude specialists.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
14 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
Day two was spent birding around the lodge and the
local Mindo area. I saw four different kinds of Toucans
(Choco Toucan, Chestnut-billed Toucan, Collared or
Pale-mandibled Aracari and Crimson-rumped
Toucanette) from the deck above the dining room of
the lodge! This deck proved to be a wonderful place to
relax and just have the birds come to you, especially
to photograph. I saw my first Golden-headed Quetzals
here feeding in a giant fruiting rainforest tree with the
Toucans. We hiked for most of the morning just along
local roads, from 1400m to around 1200m elevation
sighting many more species. Had a fantastic view of a
Barred Hawk. Spotlighting that night proved
challenging, but persistence by Efrain paid off, with
one Black and White Owl seen.
On day three we drove to Rio Silanche Reserve, about
90 mins from Mindo. The 40Ha site of remanent
rainforest is a private reserve with a canopy tower.
The idea is to get there early and watch the bird waves
come through, which we did. Chogon Trogon would
have to be my bird of the day, though the list of
colourful and iridescent tanagers also seen
dramatically increased. I swear, in my limited
experience, no country does colourful and iridescent
birds like Ecuador.
Paz de Las Aves Reserve was the early morning
destination on day four, to see a Cock-of-the-Rock lek,
as well as Giant, Yellow-breasted, Ochre-breasted,
Moustached and Chestnut-crowned Antpittas. After a
late brunch watching more hummingbirds of course,
we drove to Oilbird Cave to see Oilbirds, which are
rather weird looking frogmouth-like, rufous-brown
birds, which used to be hunted for their oil.
Finally, day five came too soon. Another very early
start to drive to Umbrella Bird Reserve, to see Long
Wattled Umbrella Birds-which have the longest wattles
I have ever seen, up to 45 cm long. Jaw dropping!
All up, I managed to see 209 new species while on the
tour, including 27 species of hummingbirds, 26 species
of tanagers, 6 types of woodpeckers, 3 species of guan
and so the list goes on. I still cannot believe how many
hummingbirds I actually did see.
A short stay in Guayaguil added a further 19 bird
species to my Ecuador list.My head still spins with the
diversity, the colours and shapes, but mostly from
their weird names, from grassquits to saltators and
becards to motmots! There are still many more bird
species for me to see in the Mindo Ecuadorian Andean
Choco Corridor alone, not to mention the rest of
Ecuador and beyond. I will have to be content with
daydreaming again, until the next opportunity
suddenly and unexpectedly presents itself.
Special thanks to Molly, Efrain and Leslie at Casa
Divina for their exceptional hospitality and Alex Luna
for simply great days out bird watching.
Article and images by Ceri Pearce.
Collared or Pale-mandibled Aracari
Ochre-breasted Antpitta
Giant Antpitta
Oilbird
My suite was upstairs in this cabin at Casa Divina Lodge
BirdLife Northern Queensland
November-December2016 15
Noticeboard
From the Editor
A VERY BIG thank you to all our contributors to this
issue of Contact Call, and for your continued support
throughout the year.
Please email 2017s images, articles, observations,
activity and trip reports and reviews to
Newsletter deadlines for 2017
January 15th for the March Edition
April 10th for the May/June Edition
July 10th for the September Edition
October 10th for the December Edition
Please note, if you have requested to receive printed
newsletters from BirdLife Australia, these are usually
posted out with the Australian BirdLife Magazine. The
electronic version of Contact Call is available earlier,
via email or on our web site, usually in February, May,
August and November/December each year.
Want to advertise in Contact Call?
Advertisements and sponsorship help support BirdLife
Northern Queensland. Any profit is used for education
and conservation projects. The advertisements must
be relevant to BirdLife Northern Queensland members
and compatible with BirdLife Australia objectives and
fund raising guidelines.
Quarter page advertisements for four issues can be
purchased for $80 plus GST, or $25 plus GST for
single-issue advertisements. Contact the Editor of
Contact Call for further information.
Activities
Check out the BirdLife Northern Queensland activities
lined up for the rest of 2016 in the event calendar.
Please 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 or details:
http://birdlifenq.org/,
or join us on Facebook
Join us on Facebook
BirdLife Northern Queensland
16 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 4
What is on in FNQ in the rest of 2016? Date Time Locality Meeting place and other information Contact the leader
Saturday 19th November
4-6pm Any coastal area
2016 Synchronised PIP Count
If you cannot participate on November 19th, don’t despair, you can do a PIP count on any afternoon November to January, and the more you can do, the better. Counts repeated at the same place each year are also valuable.
Julia Hazel [email protected] or text/phone: 0407 431 382
Thursday, 24th November
3.30pm Walker Bay, Cooktown
PIP count Meet at northern end Walker Bay car park We will count PIPs until 6pm and then have BBQ at Kath and Dave’s place afterwards.
Kath at [email protected] or phone 4069 6595 for details
Saturday 26th November
7:30 hrs - 9:30 hrs
Meet at Kuranda Envirocare Nursery 284 Myola Rd, Kuranda
BirdLife Australia Sticky Beaks Family Group Tree-planting with Kuranda Envirocare Bring sturdy shoes long pants, water and a hat, Morning Tea provided.+
https://www.facebook.com/groups/362094987191145/events/ RSVP to Golo : Mobile 0467 444 114 or Email [email protected]
Saturday 26th November
7.30pm
Cominos House, 27
Greenslopes St, Edge Hill, Cairns
Talk by Julia Hazel: "Pied Imperial Pigeons: What happens when island specialist birds become urban pioneers?" The evening will start with the short documentary “Coming of the White Birds” about 50 years of conservation effort to protect Torres Strait Pigeons after breeding colonies were decimated by intensive shooting. Then Julia Hazel will talk about ongoing studies of these birds, now known
as Torresian/Pied Imperial Pigeons, including a study of the unprecedented dense nesting aggregations in Cairns over recent years. She will share the unexpected results, the efforts to discover what might have prompted these birds to experiment with urban living, and what was happening concurrently at island breeding colonies. There will be time for discussion, especially seeking feedback from Birdlife members and friends about future directions for research.
Tom Collis 0401 783 795 or [email protected]
Tuesday 29th November
3.30pm Weary Bay, Ayton /Bloomfield
PIP count Meet at Weary Bay windy-loo car park Last year we counted over 10,000 birds travelling back to Hope Islands, so we need some more counters for what will be a busy evening!
Kath Shurcliff Email: [email protected] and phone: 07 4069 6595
3–4th December
All areas Challenge Count http://BirdLife.org.au/get-involved/whats-on/challenge-count/
Thursday 8th December
4.30pm Malanda
Birdlife NQ Members Christmas Party (Please note that the date has been changed) RSVP essential 129 Figtree Close - Malanda (Sam and Martin Willis’s House - plenty of birds to see).
BYO Drinks and a plate to share/ BBQ facilities available Look forward to seeing you all there.
RSVP by 1/12/16 to [email protected] or 40966581