Queensland

Much of the next day was taken travelling from Tasmania via Sydney up to Cairns the longest internal journey we were to take, the itinerary was planned this way as we needed to be in Wollongong on the 27th for a pelagic and this seemed the most efficient way of achieving this without more internal flights.

Arriving in Cairns was a bit of a shock to the system going from wet and chilly Tasmania into the heat and humidity of Cairns, but by the time we had arrived at our hotel on the Esplanade  it was late afternoon and a cool sea breeze kept conditions pleasant.  Queensland was to give us a whole new set of birds to find with many endemic and restricted species we could not see elsewhere. Even before we left our hotel balcony we had seen 4 of them Torresian Pigeon, Fig-bird, Helmeted Friarbird  and Yellow Honey-eater feeding in the flowering tree outside along with Spotted Doves and Rainbow Lorikeets. The tide was wrong for us the witness the spectacular numbers of waders the Esplanade is well known for, being very high, we strolled along the boardwalk up to the marina so that we could check out where the boat was to leave from the next morning. Having sussed out for tomorrow we walked back along the boardwalk, being a hot sunny Sunday afternoon the whole area was heaving with sunbathers, walkers and families enjoying their picnics and barbies !! A colony of Metallic Starling near the marina was the only new species for me although a Gull-billed Tern patrolled the beach and as the tide dropped and exposed a few small patches a few Red-necked Stints and Bar-tailed Godwits appeared and as the light disappeared a Striated Heron crept out from under the boardwalk. As the light faded the hundreds of Rainbow Lorikeets were replaced by huge Spectacled Flying Foxes with a few smaller Little Red Flying foxes amongst them. After a meal in one of the many restaurants along the Esplanade we returned to the hotel to prepare for tomorrows trip out to the Great Barrier Reef.

Snorkelling from the Seastar

Brown Boobies

Common Noddy

Sooty Tern

Today was to be the highlight of the trip so far a day out on the reef on the Seastar. The morning started at first light with breakfast on the balcony. There was a constant stream of birds passing over mostly Ibis, including a few Straw-necked, Great Egrets  and Little Black Cormorants. The flowering tree was also attracting the same birds as yesterday but 2 Scaly-breasted Lorikeets joining the Rainbows were new. Out on the Esplanade the tide was not quite as high and a few more waders were present, yesterdays Stints and Godwit had been joined by Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers, Great Knot, Far Eastern Curlew and Black-fronted Dotterel while in the trees Varied Honey-eaters mixed with the Yellow Honey-eaters and Figbirds. In the harbour, while we waited to board the Sea-star, Gull-billed Terns were joined by Crested Terns this time with orange bills showing them to be Lesser Crested patrolling in the marina between the boats.
We were soon on our way out to Michaelmas Cay, it was quiet at first with just a few Silver Gulls and Crested Terns but after an hour or so we began to approach the reef and more birds started to come into view firstly Sooty and Bridled Terns and then as we slowed to make the final approach Common Noddies. Two probable Tropicbirds were most likely Red-tailed but too distant to even confirm as tropicbirds from the fast moving boat. Now the skies were full of seabirds and every floating object was covered in birds, a few Black Noddies were seen amongst their Common relatives perched on the many mooring buoys and small boats these floating perches were favoured by the Bridled Terns where as the Sooties preferred dry land.

Bridled Tern

Michaelmas Cay

Green Turtle

Boobies & Noddies

Michaelmas Cay

After mooring Kay and I ( as the only birders on the trip today) were taken onto the beach where we could experience the amazing site and cacophony of noise as thousands of breeding  Common Noddies and Sooty Terns wheeled overhead or sat a few feet away. At least 4 Greater Frigate-birds cruised overhead and a Caspian Tern also appeared. Despite being a non swimmer I was determined to try to snorkel so when we were joined by some of the other passengers it was time to don the snorkeling gear and enter the sea, I struggled a little at first as this was my first time and I had missed the instructions by coming to the island earlier than the others, however I persevered and was soon enjoying the magical array of reef life with an amazing variety of corals, clams and fishes, the highlight being when a White-tipped Reef Shark passed right under me. Conditions were perfect blue skies and flat seas meant the water was crystal clear although as we later realised it did mean it was easy to get sunburned as the backs of my legs will testify as despite covering up laying on the top of the water exposes parts you don't expect to get burnt.  Back on the boat for lunch then it was time to move onto the second location Hasting's Reef for another chance to snorkel, on the way we saw the first of at least 4 Green Turtles and an Ocean Sunfish. I spotted some terns sat on a mooring raft which with binoculars I was struggling to ID but by taking a photo with my Canon SX50 super zoom camera I could get a large enough image to show they were 4 Black-naped and a Roseate Tern. I was impressed with this camera in fact many of the photos in this report were taken with it and not my DSLR, although it does have its limitations and sometimes slow to focus it was a valuable back-up and in truth could have been used more.
Hasting's Reef was just as enjoyable as Michaelmas Cay with many more colourful fish, huge clams, sea cucumbers and corals. There is no dry land here so all snorkeling has to be done off the back of the boat this meant to that there were fewer birds. After snorkeling we took a trip on the glass bottomed boat to see even more of the reef's wonderful wildlife. The journey home was uneventful except for the brief appearance of a pod of dolphins probably Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins but no-one could be sure.
Back at Cairns a walk along the boardwalk back to the hotel produced a Royal Spoonbill and a Eastern Reef-heron while the return journey back to find a restaurant at dusk saw a Nakeen Night-heron fly in and land on the beach and a fly by White-bellied Sea-eagle. Dinner that night after a wonderful day was taken on the balcony of a Thai restaurant facing the Esplanade where noisy Rainbow Lorikeets were replaced by equally noisy Flying Foxes as the light faded before torrential rain and thunder reminded us we were in the tropics.

Next morning last nights rain had disappeared although clouds still hovered over the distant hills, this was our last morning in central Cairns as we were picking up a hire car and moving up into the rainforest but as usual were were up at first light and after breakfast on the balcony while Australian Swiftlets swirled overhead and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes and Brown Honey-eaters visited the flowering trees outside the hotel,  we set out along the Esplanade again.  A little more shoreline was now exposed today and a few more waders present, in addition to those previously seen there was now a Whimbrel and several Grey-tailed Tattler. We had decided to head north this morning to check an area of mangroves a few hundred metres along the beach, we had just set off when I saw 2 birders I recognised from my local area at home although I'm not 100% sure of their names, after a brief chat we headed back along the Esplanade.  Varied Honey-eaters were seen in the flowering trees by the boardwalk along with Fig-birds and Helmeted Friarbirds. Offshore were Caspian, Gull-billed  and Crested Terns patrolling the beach while some Pelicans drifted by.  An area of parkland produced a large flock of Nutmeg Mannikins as well as the usual Magpie-larks, Metallic Starling, Willie Wagtails and Peaceful Doves. More Grey-tailed Tattler, Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew Sandpipers were feeding up by the mangroves but there was no sign of our target bird so reluctantly we returned towards the hotel as we were due to pick up our hire car at 09.00am. As we neared the hotel I saw the 2 birders from home now with their scopes set up,  they showed me a Terek Sandpiper they were looking at and told me about a Wandering Tattler on the rocks by the marina but there was no time to investigate. Returning to the hotel through the children's play area we were amazed to find what was to be our only Buff-banded Rail of the trip wandering around the flower bed.

Roosting Great Knot

Gull-billed Tern

Grey-tailed Tattler

Torresian Imperial Pigeon

Rainbow Lorikeet.

We picked up the hire car without to much fuss except it was an automatic and I had asked for manual which led to and interesting drive as it was parked on the top floor of a multi-story car park, so after taking 5 mins to work out how to get the car into drive ( there was a button to press to take it out of park) and then to negotiate the morning traffic, we picked up our luggage and headed off first stopping at the end of the Esplanade by the mangroves where we soon found our target, a pair of Mangrove Robins, a Collared Kingfisher also appeared briefly before flying deep into the mangroves.

Royal Spoonbill

Orange-footed Scrub-fowl

Brush-turkey & Radjah Shelduck above

Centenary Lakes

Next stop was at the Centenary Lakes a large park on the outskirts of Cairns with a series of ponds and transversed by a saltwater creek. We had barely parked the car when our first Orange-footed Scrub-fowl appeared creeping around in the undergrowth soon followed by some Australian Brush-Turkeys. By the freshwater lakes were a group of Radjah Shelduck which we didn't see anywhere else  and our first Olive-backed Sunbirds. The Lakes provided a good introduction to a new area and although many of the birds were not new they were very confiding so gave excellent views and an opportunity to take a few pics. A male Pacific Koel sat quietly high in a tree was new however as were the Dusky Honey-eaters feeding in a flowering bush. A walk along the saltwater creek added Varied Triller and Black Butcherbird to the list while searching unsuccessfully for Lovely Fairy-wrens which continued to elude us throughout, a Common Sandpiper along the creek was a more familiar sight. A calling Brush Cuckoo refused to show itself while a Spangled Drongo flew across the river only to disappear deep into the scrub. A pair of small warblers proved to be Mangrove Gerygone according to a local birder with their pendulous nests hanging over water hoping to avoid predators.
As we had been unable to find the Bush Stone-curlew which was supposed to in the area we next moved across the road to the cemetery where we soon found a group wandering around the gravestones

Aust. Ibis

Striated Heron

Bush Stone-curlew

Time was now getting on and we needed to head up the winding road to Cassowary House our base for the next 7 nights. Even the journey up added Pheasant Coucal when one was seen on the edge of a freshly cut cane field and a Forest Kingfisher sat on the wires along the Black Mountain Road near Cassowary House. Arriving late afternoon at Cassowary House we soon dumped the luggage in our room at sat out on the balcony expectantly. The balcony was fairly enclosed by the rainforest limiting the views although it did have the advantage of having a clear view of the Riflebird's preferred display post and of being able to look over an area regularly used by the resident crakes. No sooner had we sat down with a welcome drink than our first wet tropic endemic arrived in the form of a couple of Macleay's Honey-eaters followed by a Double-eyed Fig-parrot feeding level with us on our balcony, this proved to be the only sighting we had of this tiny parrot much to our surprise although in truth I did not really search for them elsewhere. With more Sunbirds, Brush-turkeys and Scrubfowl being the only other sightings as the sunset and the rainforest burst into a cacophony of noise almost as if a switch had been thrown to signal night-time.

Cassowary House

Victoria Riflebird

Displaying Victoria's Riflebird

Musky Kangaroo-rat

Macleay's Honey-eater

Cairn's Birdwing

Next morning and it was breakfast on the balcony at first light, calling Spotted Catbirds announced dawn had arrived and very soon after a loud call alerted us to the arrival of the male Victoria's Rifle-bird perched high up on his display post. We were then treated to an hour or so of almost constant display, a female was soon impressed and flew up to join him prompting a more intense display of wing arching and throat flashing, a young male also flew up to take lessons from the master. Unfortunately as his display was always early morning it was difficult to get a decent photo to give full justice to the magnificent spectacle, this performance took place every morning although not always with the same intensity or duration. Olive-backed Sunbirds were always the first to arrive each morning always visiting the same flowers soon after first light, other early visitors to the flowers around the balcony were 3 of the honey-eaters restricted to this part of Australia, Graceful, Yellow-spotted and Macleay's. After the Riflebird had completed his display we went down to the main house and spent some time on the veranda there, here feeders were set out allowing close views of many of the birds we were seeing around the grounds particularly the Spotted Catbirds which, despite their raucous calls,  it had been difficult to get decent views of. We were about to leave when walking up the trail towards the house was Missy a magnificent Southern Cassowary, one of the main reasons for our stay here. Missy had not been seen for a few days after an encounter with another Cassowary so we were particularly relieved to see her as it now meant the pressure was off and we could explore the surrounding area not worrying whether she had appeared or not.

Missy

Close up Missy is an awesome sight and you only have to look at those prehistoric feet to realise what damage she could inflict should she be provoked.
After Missy had finished her breakfast and wandered back into the forest we had a wander round the grounds adding Large-billed Scrub-wren, Spectacled Monarch and Rufous Fantail to our list of new birds.

The afternoon was spent at the nearby Kuranda as it was very hot and humid as we were still acclimatising, it was very quiet with few tourists around so we took a walk by the river and followed one of the well marked Rainforest Walks, surprisingly there was a good selection of birds. By the river a Rufous Shrike-thrush showed well and a Spangled Drongo gave better views than yesterday, in the rain forest we found our first Pale Yellow Robins, Brown Cuckoo-dove and at last got looks at Wompoo Fruit-doves that had been calling but not showing at Cassowary House. Bizarrely as we drove through the town we found 8 Bush Stone-curlews sat on a lawn in the front garden of one of the houses.

Wompoo Fruit-Dove

Thursday 17th

Today was our day out with Murray Hunt the Daintree Boatman, we had arranged for a trip on the Daintree and then a visit to Mt Lewis to help us with the more difficult Wet Tropic endemics. We had expected a very early start for the 2 hour drive up to Daintree for a dawn boat trip but on arrival we were advised that due to the tides an early morning trip would not be as productive and that it would be better go later in the afternoon so this meant a more leisurely start to the day. Happy to take Murray's advice we arranged to meet him at 08.00am in Mossman that meant we would be able to drive there in daylight.  The drive up was productive with our first Bar-breasted Doves on the verge as we joined the coastal highway heading for Port Douglas and Mossman. 3 Magpie Geese flew over us as we headed north and around the many cane fields were 100's of Cattle Egrets, lots of Black Kites including over 30 kettling over one field, at least 6 Pheasant Coucals and a scattering of Forest and Sacred Kingfishers,  Laughing Kookaburras and White-breasted Wood-swallows along the wires. After meeting up with Murray as arranged we headed the short journey to Newell Beach as I had requested to look for Beach Stone-curlew and there albeit across the river was a pair sat along with several Pied Oystercatchers and Bar-tailed Godwit sitting out the high tide. A flock of over 50 Spangled Drongos signalled that migration was under way.
From there we stopped at a site neat Julatten where Murray thought there may be chance of an early Paradise Kingfisher but as expected we drew a blank but still managed several good birds, Murray called in a Yellow-breasted Boatbill that had been calling in the distance and we found a Pied Monarch another new bird. I spotted a Boyd's Forest Dragon trying to hide but proved quite approachable and while watching the Monarch an Emerald Dove landed in the road in front of us, finally we were able to add Rufous necked Pademelon to our mammal list.

Yellow-breasted Boatbill

Pied Monarch

Grey Fantail

Atherton Scrub-wren

Papuan Frogmouth

Azure Kingfisher

Green Tree Snake

Little Kingfisher

Great-billed Heron

Boyd's Forest Dragon

Beach Stone-Curlew

Although at first it looked like the weather would not favour us we made the long windy ascent of Mt Lewis until we reached a clearing were we stopped and started to head along the track , immediately sat in a tree at the entrance to the track was a Barred Cuckoo-shire and a Lewin's Honey-eater called and appeared in the bush alongside the track, the next few hours produced some incredible birding as we walked along this forest track first we found a group of Mountain Thornbills which eventually gave close views then a movement in the leaf litter alerted us to a couple of Fern-wren another of the Wet Tropic endemics we were searching for, and then a pair of nest building Atherton Scrub-wrens, while a group of Top-knot Pigeons sat high in the canopy were also new. Birds continued to be found usually after Murray's sharp ears had alerted us to their presence, a female Golden Bower-bird showed briefly, followed by a group of around 6 Chowchilla working their way though the forest floor in their unique manner, Bridled Honey-eaters, Tooth-billed Bower-bird,Bower's Shrike-thrush, Grey-headed Robin and Black-faced Monarch were all tracked down after Murray had picked up their calls, so when we returned to the vehicle we had seen all 12 of the possible Wet Tropic endemics we were looking for. 

We had not finished here though and after a patient search we managed to get views of a Noisy Pitta that was heard calling as we reached the vehicle and while searching we also found an Eastern Whipbird and Yellow-browed Scrub-wren.

After a quick steak burger we headed north again towards Daintree for tour river trip seeing our first Brahminy Kite on the way and then stopping at Wonga Beach where we had closer views of Beach Stone-curlew. Arriving at the boat ramp we had to wait while Murray raced off to collect his boat but it wasn't long before we were in the boat and off first heading up river and into small creek where we saw a female Leaden Flycatcher, nesting Brown-backed Honey-eaters and a pair of Shining Flycatchers.

Daintree River

Shining Flycatcher ( f)

Heading back down the river at great speed past a group of Magpie Geese and several White-necked and White-faced Herons we arrived at a small creek where we  crept slowly along on the rising tide. A little way along we stopped were Murray showed us a nesting Papuan Frogmouth and some Large-billed Gerygone with their nests, we also managed to find a Yellow Oriole out in the open at last, then we came upon another of our main targets a stunning Azure Kingfisher which allowed us to drift right by, Kay then spotted a tiny Little Kingfisher sitting quietly on the rivers edge which we had passed by without  seeing. Murray then showed us a Green Tree-snake on a fallen tree. Heading back up the creek we flushed one of the main birds of this trip a juvenile Great-billed Heron which conveniently flew up into a tree for us to get good views before it moved on then just a little further and we found the adult sat up giving even better views. With all the target birds seen we rushed back up the river and loaded the boat back on the trailer and back to its storage spot. Murray had one more bird to show us so after a quick dash back to pick up our vehicle and down to Port Douglas in the failing light we arrived at a large garden pond, viewing from the road the pond was full of birds, Black and Pied cormorants, Royal Spoonbills, Aust and Straw-necked Ibis, Cattle and Great Egrets, several duck species and the bird Murray had brought us to see a Pied Heron, not a bird I had expected to find on this trip.

It was time to say Goodbye to Murray and head home, it had been a fantastic day thanks to Murray's hard work. Murray had been a great guide, good company and very knowledgeable, he worked hard to find us all the birds that I had told him I was looking for and more and well recommended for anyone visiting this part of Queensland.   

Friday was a much more relaxed day, after  breakfast with the usual display from the Riflebird we were heading off for a look round the Southern Tablelands not before however  we had some close views of an Eastern Whipbird as we were loading the car. The road to Mareeba took us into a new habitat much drier than the rainforest around Kuranda, Black and Whistling Kites were constantly in view many swooping down onto the road surface searching for road kill from the previous night , unfortunately they were not having to search far as the roads were littered with recent victims. Near Mareeba we saw our first  Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos feeding in the roadside trees.

 Our first stop was Hasties Swamp another superb birding spot with a large hide that was mostly devoid of visitors although there was another British couple and so we exchanged information of what we had seen previously. Hasties Swamp contained huge numbers of birds with all the regular water birds on view,  of most interest to us was the huge numbers of Plumed Whistling-ducks and after much searching a few Wandering as well, 2 Freckled Ducks  and many Pink-eared Ducks were the pick of the rest. There were a few waders present with 8 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and a Black-fronted Dotterel amongst the usual Stilts and Masked Lapwings. A couple of Sarus Cranes flew over us as we unsuccessfully searched for Snipe in a muddy corner and nearby were several more dozens of Cranes scattered around the fields as we drove on those we were able to stop for were all Sarus but I sure there were Brolga as well.

Freckled Duck

Black-fronted Dotterel

Freckled Duck and Hardhead

Australian Grebe

Pink-eared Duck

Plumed Whistling Duck

Acting on some of the information we had gleaned from the couple at Hasties we drove down to Mt Hypippimae one of the crater lakes. Following the precise instructions we were able to find the bower of the gorgeous Golden Bowerbird and treated to some close views from the resident male. Nearby was a Tooth-billed Bowerbird which also showed well, the walk down to the crater produced Little Shrike-thrush, Grey Whistler, Topnot Pigeon and Lewin's and Bridled Honey-eaters along with the constant cracks of the Whipbirds. There were many colourful butterflies by the falls including some impressive electric blue Ulysses Butterflies.

Golden Bowerbird

Crater Lakes

Falls at Hypippimae

It was now early afternoon and getting very warm so birding took a back seat and we made a short visit to Lake Eacham with its crystal clear waters but lots of visitors so we quickly moved on to Lake Barrie were we enjoyed a cream tea over looking the lake although we were surprised to find a few familiar Great Crested Grebes here.

Refreshed we then visited the magnificent Curtain Fig which was an impressive sight, difficult to believe this was all one tree. Here a pair of Pied Monarchs had built a nest close to the boardwalk and a Bower's Shrike-Thrush was nearby, although we looked for the Tree kangaroos that this spot is known for they were not showing today.

Curtain Fig

Saturday was our second day out with a guide. After much thought I had decided that it would be beneficial to have another day of guided birding as a back-up as there were a lot of species to be seen in Queensland and I realised we would not cover all the areas with Murray and do the river trip. Although I was confident there were many birds I could find myself and many of the sites are well documented I decided that a second day later in the trip would help me pick up any birds I was still struggling to find or would be back up if the first day had been weather affected, after all it was a long way to come and be disappointed to miss lots. Hence it was only a few days before we left for Australia that I contacted Doug Herrington of Birding Tropical Australia and happily he was free on the Saturday. I had provisional arranged with Doug that we would concentrate on the dry country birds baring in mind my day with Murray. So we met with Doug as arranged in Mareeba  and headed off discussing what I was hoping he could find for me considering we had had some success up to then, first stop was Brady's Swamp near Mareeba which was shrinking fast but still contained many birds, nothing new however as the recent Pratincole had moved on. Moving we stopped for a roadside raptor which proved to be our only Peregrine of the trip, it was then one of many u-turns to stop for a Blue-winged Kookaburra spotted while travelling along, next was a brief stop at Lake Mitchell for nesting Eastern Osprey, Comb-crested Jacana and a Glossy Ibis.

Brady's Swamp

Lake Mitchell

Next was the  Maryfarms area where a flock of Red-winged Parrots flew up from the roadside but did not hang around long enough for a perched view, after a little searching we found our main target for here a magnificent Australian Bustard, we found around 8 in total including one which just walked past  us along the road, a flock of pretty Diamond Doves, our first Torresian Crow and a fly over Channel-billed Cuckoo were other highlights here although a fly over Brown Goshawk was virtually ignored as we were photographing the Bustard at the time.

Blue-winged Kookaburra

Diamond Dove

Austalian Bustard

Australian Bustard

Leaving Maryfarms we stopped under a shady tree at Mount Carbine where we shared biscuits with a Magpie and a Pied Butcherbird while a Whistling and Black Kite swooped down to investigate. A Great Bowerbird flew into a nearby garden and a Pale-headed Rosella flew right into the tree we were sat under, after refreshments we crossed the road and entered a caravan site where Doug knew the owners and started to walk round in the sunshine, A Tawny Frogmouth posed at his regular roosting spot while his mate sat on the nest and another Great Bowerbird and several Little Friarbirds which had eluded me so far came down to visit the water features.  A pair of Blue-winged Kookaburras flew round the site but although we waited near their nest they would not come close but a Blue-faced Honey-eater was a little more cooperative. A brief stop at a spot where some Parrot-finches had been seen recently drew a blank with only Spectacled Monarch and Pale Yellow Robin to be found.

Australian Magpie

Whistling Kite

Great Bowerbird

Black Kite

Blue-faced Honey-eater.

Pale-headed Rosella

After a delicious lunch in Mt Molloy we headed up a nearby track and there in a garden was 2 Squatter Pigeons sitting in the shade. The lady of the house put food out for them so they were very approachable.

Squatter Pigeon

White-throated Honey-eater

White-cheeked Honey-eater

Moving on we headed along the back roads towards Julatten stopping for a party of Red-backed Fairy-wrens on the way although we could only find immature or female birds, finally we pulled into the large garden of a house where Doug had arranged with the owners that we could watch the birds coming to the many feeding stations they had set up . It was an amazing garden and over the hour or so a constant parade of Honey-eaters came down to the feeders with White-cheeked and White-throated, which were both new to us and also Macleay's, Dusky, Yellow-faced, Yellow-spotted and Brown-backed all on show, with back up from our first Chestnut-breasted Mannikins but best of all although only appearing in a flowering bush was a stunning Scarlet Honey-eater.

Although I could have spent all day at this location as the owners were at home we did not want to outstay our welcome we reluctantly left and returned back towards Mareeba stopping first at Lake Mitchell where this time we drove down the causeway. Here we had closer views of Comb-crested Jacana and found several Green Pygmy Geese, an Intermediate Egret stood next to a Great Egret allowing direct comparison of the two species, this was the first positive sighting of Intermediate although to be honest most previous egrets had not been closely scrutinised  as none were likely to be any thing I had not seen before. We enjoyed a welcome cuppa while a Caspian Tern patrolled up and down the lake, a brief stop at nearby Big Mitchell Creek produced a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet but not the hoped for White-browed Robin although I did think I heard a brief response to the tape, Doug's usual site for this species had recently suffered fire damage and they were  no longer  to be found there. We then drove slowly down the entrance track to the Mareeba Wetlands but this only produced 2 Dollarbirds that were new, close views of Brown Treecreeper and more Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. 

Finally as time was getting on we drove into the Rodeo Campgrounds at Mareeba which was beginning to fill up for a rodeo the following day where we saw another Dollarbird and a finch flock containing many Double-barred Finches which we had previously searched for at Mareeba. A troupe of  Grey-crowned Babblers were busily feeding amongst the branches of a fallen tree while Agile Wallabies hopped around nearby.

Green Pygmy Geese

Grey-crowned Babbler

Track to Mareeba Wetland Centre.

It was now time to leave Doug and return to Cassowary House where on our arrival we were privileged to experience another close encounter with the incredible Missy.

We had a great day out with Doug and he found us many species that we would not have found otherwise, Doug was great company all day and looked after us very well. He worked hard to find us new birds even though there were a limited number of species still available and he found all of the birds I had hoped for and a few more as well. The few things we failed to find only had an outside chance of being seen anyway.

Sunday we returned to the Southern Tablelands after talking to a newly arrived American Birders at Cassowary House while watching Missy. Firstly we returned to the Curtain Fig after being shown photos of Tree Kangaroos taken the previous day but again to no avail despite visiting twice during the day then we visited Tarklin ? Falls to see Platypus as we had only previously had brief views. We were able to get prolonged views of at least 3 Platypus here but it did leave me feeling they were not real wild ones. I believe these platypus have been relocated here from sites were they are causing a problem  to local crayfish farmers but never the less it does give an opportunity for people to see this extraordinary and cute creatures. In retrospect we should have visited this site a couple of days ago when we were in the area had we asked at Cassowary House where we could find Platypus as this was the site they use to bring guests for their " Breakfast with Platypus " excursions. After spending time watching the platypus and avoiding the rain showers we moved to Malanda Falls where another Tree-kangaroo search ended in failure and although there were many birds they were all familiar species.
Returning back towards Mareeba we took a road signposted to Granite Gorge where we found an Australian Bustard wandering along the roadside and a group of around 20 Double-barred Finches. In the fields were 100's of Straw-necked Ibis searching for food amongst the crops. During the day while driving around the Tablelands we had encountered lots of Black Kites with one flock of over a hundred over one field, also several Whistling Kites and many Cranes ( all identified were Sarus)  feeding in the fields. Several roadside flocks of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos were also seen but again none I could photograph.
On our return to Cassowary House Missy was again visiting for her evening meal.

Monday was our final day at Cassowary House and it started well as during breakfast we had 2 sightings of a pair of Red-necked Crakes which we had as yet been unable to get sightings of even though they had been heard calling on many occasions and we had tried to track down several times. Following breakfast we drove down the mountain back towards Cairns to visit Cattana Wetlends yet another superb birding reserve mostly devoid of other birders although we arrived in the car park the same time as Doug our guide from earlier in the trip who was showing round another client who had just arrived from Canada. It did not take us long to find one of the main targets for here when we found a small flock of Crimson Finches feeding in the dried grasses along the side of the path. Although nothing else was new to us we did get some close views of many previously seen species including Jacana, Magpie Goose, Wandering Whistling Duck, Green Pygmy Goose, Darter and Royal Spoonbills. A Brahminy and Whistling Kite soared overhead while we searched but in the hot morning sun we were unable to find any crakes.

Royal Spoonbill

Aust Ibis

White-winged Triller

Wandering Whistling Ducks

Magpie Goose

Comb-crested Jacana

Pied Stilt

Darter

Lovely Fairy-wren was one of the few species we had hoped to find in Queensland that still eluded us so after a sustained search in an area we had been told they may be we returned to Centenary Lakes in Cairns for another search there but in the heat of the day it was very quiet apart for a delightful Little Kingfisher so we called it a day and returned to Cassowary House for lunch.

Black Butcherbird

Little Kingfisher

Swamp Tiger ?

In the afternoon we re-visited Kuranda for a bit of souvenir shopping as it was our last afternoon in Queensland afterwards we drove to Barron Falls for a bit of sightseeing but even there we managed to find a new bird as at the viewpoint there were a small flock of Large-billed Gerygones and amongst them was at least one Fairy Gerygone. 

This was the end of our time in Queensland which had been very successful, in retrospect there were a couple of things I could have done  different.  Our second trip to the Southern Tablelands was possibly a wasted day especially as we subsequently had superb views of Platypus later in the trip. I had panicked slightly when I found Kingfisher Park was fully booked so opted to stay at Cassowary House for the full duration of our time in the area although I did want to spend enough time there to guarantee seeing Cassowary a few days elsewhere may have been beneficial. I had intended to spend more time birding around Cassowary House but found the Black Mountain Road noisy and dusty due to the logging lorries. I have not regrets having two days with a guide both of them were superb and took me places I would not have otherwise ventured and took a lot of pressure of the remaining time. If I return to this area I would certainly look to take a guide for an evening spotlighting session on the Tablelands to show me some of the mammals I missed and to spend some time at Kingfisher Park.       

Barron Falls