Back in beautiful Daintree at last!

After 3 months holiday - 6 weeks in South America and then six weeks driving into central Australia and back, it is great to be back in Daintree with the familiar lush green rainforest, warm winter's days and our local very special birds.
Highlights from Bolivia included a four day hike from the freezing cold Andes at 5,,000metres down into the sub-tropical Yungas at 2000m, just out of La Paz. Hard on the knees and much more difficult than we imagined but a fabulous experience and our first sighting of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, which was on life's 'wish list'.

El Choro Trek Bolivia 

Many birding highlights of Ecuador, but the day in the company of Mr Angel Paz at his farm, watching him interact with Antpittas, Cock-of-the-Rock, hummers, Toucanets etc was magic. An ex hunter who now has a refuge for wildlife, he provides opportunities to see many of the more difficult birds, and in a most delightful manner.

Toucan Barbet

Home for a day, packed the ute and then headed off camping to Central Australia. Great weather, great country and some great birds including this Western Bowerbird at Ormiston Gorge in the West Macdonnell Ranges.

Western Bowerbird

 Camping in the bush on the Plenty Highway between Boulia and Alice Springs. No caravans - yeah!!!

Back to Daintree, which is about as good as it gets in mid winter!
Busy here for the school holidays, particularly with day visitors from Cairns and Port Douglas. For those lucky enough to stay overnight in Daintree the birdlife is fantastic. There have been 5 different kingfishers on the Daintree River, seen from the early morning boat tours, plus favourites like Great-billed Heron and Papuan Frogmouth.
The Little Kingfisher feeds on the pond at Red Mill House each day and Spangled Drongo, Pacific Baza and Brown Cuckoo Dove frequent the yard.
Nice winter specials here in the lowlands include Brown Falcon, seen on the Mossman-Daintree Rd, Lewin's Honeyeater, Pacific Baza, Victoria's Riflebird and Black-faced Monarch.
Southern Cassowary seen on Cape Kimberly Rd, Wompoo Fruit-Dove nesting on Stewart Creek Rd and the first Pied Imperial Pigeons recently seen, presumably returning from PNG for the breeding season. Metallic Starling also returned and busy as can be.
It's nice to be home!!

The new Daintree Birdwatching Bulletin

Following the crash of the one existing computer in this house which supported Windows XP, we no longer have access to the Dreamweaver programme from which the Daintree Birdwatching Bulletin was created and maintained.

So - - - this blog is now the new Daintree Birdwatching Bulletin, which means I have to be a bit more vigilant  about keeping it updated!

September is a fabulous time of year in Daintree - warm, sunny, not humid and very few mosquitoes. With a couple of notable exceptions (Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher and Black Bittern), all our summer migrants are here. Lots of nesting is going on making some birds like Great-billed Heron and Southern Cassowary more difficult to see, and others like Metallic Starling and Brown-backed Honeyeater are easier.

Good sightings of Little Kingfisher, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot and Pacific Baza in the garden at Red Mill House while Stewart Creek Rd has been handy for Lovely Fairy-Wren and Pied Monarch.

Very good sightings of Noisy Pitta on the track at the end of Cape Kimberly and there has been a very handsome, and somewhat 'friendly' sub-adult Southern Cassowary at Jindalba Boardwalk, as the following photos from Paul McLelland shows us.

Sub-adult Cassowary Jindalba Boardwalk

Sub-adult Cassowary Jindalba Boardwalk - a close look!

A male Cassowary with three chicks is also in the region of Jindalba, and also a large female. Most sightings seem have been early morning and it is has been difficult finding then during the day.

Other Daintree sightings include Topknot Pigeon, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Victoria's Riflebird and Shining Flycatcher. Check out our weekly sightings list for more details Red Mill House Sightings page

Paradise Kingfishers - colourful and stunning.

One of the great joys of spring in Daintree and the Wet Tropics is the return of the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher from New Guinea every year to breed. Arriving in late October ( a little early this year), they call madly for mates from high in the forest  for the first few weeks, making them easy to locate. They will soon settle down to nest in the terrestrial termite mounds on the forest floor of lowland and mid-level rainforest.

Photo by Lynne Perree 2010

The colours are extraordinary, with a bright red bill and red feet, a bright orange breast, bright blue back and head with black markings, and a long white tail and patch on the rump. As the bird calls the tail flicks up and down, and is often the first thing you see.
This bird is a favourite with visiting birders and we locals alike, and they can be seen and heard at the moment along Stewart Creek Rd in Daintree.