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.

Birds and other creatures

The garden at Red Mill House has been a treat for birders in the last couple of weeks with many of our trees fruiting and flowering. Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, flocks of Metallic Starling and Spotted Catbird are all enjoying the fruits.

The unseasonal rain throughout the winter and spring means lots of green, lots of new growth and lots of insects and other creatures about. Spotted in the garden yesterday, having just devoured a very large spider was this Boyd's Forest Dragon.

A rainforest species, this dragon can be difficult to see. Often sitting perfectly still on the side of a tree trunk, they are easily missed. We were lucky to see this one feeding and with this posture.

Butterflies have been abundant with all the rain, plus some spectacular moths. This Lyssa spp moth has a wingspan of about 14cm, as seen by the comparison with the book, and a beautiful swallow-tail form.

Unseasonal conditions

Normally the months of July, August and September are perfect in Daintree - dry, clear and sunny weather. Not so this year. Apart from a few days here and there, it has been a very wet 'dry season'.
The paddocks are green and lush, the dams and wetlands are full, there is lush new growth on the rainforest trees, the lawn needs mowing weekly and the birds and other animals seem to be nesting and breeding early.
None of this stops good birding though!
A return visit from one of our favourite Japanese birders, Yoshihito Tanaka, last month has supplied us with a range of new photos, including this classic of a Wompoo Fruit-Dove with chick.

Sightings on the Daintree River include Black Bittern, Great-billed Heron and Papuan Frogmouth - all starting to nest it seems. Double-eyed Fig-Parrot have been spotted feeding young, and immature Black Butcherbirds are noisily searching for food.

Birdfairs

In the past month the Red Mill House team have been involved in displays at both the British Birdfair in Rutland UK and the Australian Birdfair in Leeton NSW, and have very much enjoyed the experience.
Representing Australian Birdwatching in the UK, we had a 3m by 6m area decked with fabulous images of Australian birds and with the brochures of 33 businesses/organisations from around the country.

Nearly 23,000 people attended the event over the three days, most of whom are birdwatchers. Displays ranged from tourism products to conservation groups, artists to book sellers, optics suppliers and many more, all in 7 huge marquees.There were also two lecture marquees running flat-out for the weekend, as well as entertainment and scheduled events. HUGE!! We had a great time catching up with old guests and meeting and talking to large numbers of people, encouraging them to visit Australia for their next birding holiday. It was a busy time.

The Australian Birdfair, held in Leeton each year, is in it's infancy still. Not huge numbers of people, but those who attended were very committed. Again, a lecture programme with excellent speakers and diverse topics, plus tours and displays. Andrew and Keith from Kingfisher Park represented Birding in Tropical Queensland and generated good interest amongst the birders present.
We are hoping to attend both these events again next year.

The Lovely Fairy-Wren

Overseas people often say that they love Australian birds because they are 'colour-coded'. It's true - we have some wonderful colorful species, and the uniquely Australian family of Fairy-Wren is a great example. With names like Superb, Splendid and Lovely Fairy-Wren, it says it all.
The Lovely Fairy-Wren is only found in Far Northern Qld, and is the brightest of them all. The female is quite blue (whereas in other species they are mostly brown) and the male is stunning with blue, red and black.

Family groups of Lovely Fairy-Wren are seen around Daintree Village, with Stewart Creek Rd and the gardens of Red Mill House being likely locations. A group seen this week had two brightly coloured males - usually it is one male to three or four female or immature. Such a treat to see.

BRITISH BIRDFAIR

Andrew and Trish from Red Mill House will be running the Australian Birdwatching stand at this year's British Birdfair, representing birdwatching businesses from around Australia.
The British Birdfair is the largest birdwatching event in the world, with over 20,000 people attending and over 300 displays.
The aim for "Australian Birdwatching" is to convince the British birdwatcher that it is still good value to visit Australia and, with over 300 endemic species, Australia is a 'must do' for birdwatchers.
Come and see us Marque 4, stands 41 and 42. We'd love to see some familiar faces!

Winter in the garden

Winter in the garden at Red Mill House is a very special time. This is the only time of the year that birds regularly visit the feeders because normally we have so much fruit and nectar available naturally that they can't be bothered. There is less so in winter. Banana, papaya and black sapote are the fruits of choice for the honeyeaters, Spangled Drongo, Spotted Catbird and Helmeted Friarbird. Even the Rainbow Lorikeets have decided to have a dabble this year. Needless to say our pair of Orange-footed and the array of Australian Brush-Turkey will clean up the scraps from the ground.

We have one poor old grapefruit tree, which unfortunately is dying, just off the breakfast deck. This is great perching and feeding spot as the following two images show.

Both the Spangled Drongo and Helmeted Friarbird seem to start their days here, announcing their presence to the world

This same tree has a bunch of Mistletoe on it, and this is the favourite food of the aptly-named Mistletoe Bird, a tiny but gorgeous bird, particularly the male. This bird is instrumental in the spreading of the mistletoe seed.