Denis Walls | Guest Contributor
BirdLife Northern Queensland (BLNQ) and Cairns Birders members joined forces for an outing to a new birding location in Speewah, west of Cairns on Sunday, 17 November.
I had thought around 15 to 20 people would take the trouble to come to this first-time venue (Speewah Gardens), on private property at the end of the Douglas Track. However close to 30 people turned up. It just shows what enthusiasm there is for visiting new birding places in the Cairns region.
The 50 ha property was an old hippie commune that the present Manager, Meg, has established as a delightfully renovated, and only recently reopened, Airbnb facility suitable for families or small groups of birders.
Our task was to provide Meg with a bird list for the area, for which our reward was a delicious morning tea afterwards.
We split into several groups and went in different directions to maximise our avian total.
The commonest birds identified by call were:
Rufous Shrike-thrush was also identified by call; and Grey Whistler sang incessantly from the rainforest surrounds, as did Superb Fruit-Dove although from too high in the canopy for anyone to get a decent view.
Everyone had different experiences. Michael caught a glimpse of a Noisy Pitta although others only heard it. A Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher was heard by some, and highlight birds like Rufous Fantail, Pied Monarch and White-eared Monarch were spotted by the select and lucky few.
A Noisy Friarbird popped in from the west; eight Topknot Pigeons performed a flyover; and a Pheasant Coucal wanted its voice heard.
On our departure, a Pacific Baza flew overhead repeatedly to tell us not to forget the Far North’s most beautiful forest raptor.
We’d all like to thank Meg for inviting us and providing such a lovely end to a very enjoyable morning. If you feel like spending more time there with friends or family, you can contact Meg on 0403 935 215 to make a booking. There’s a swimming pool, too, and a kitchen and living area with all the mod cons for a day or two of laid-back luxury.
Bird list
52 species recorded
Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Australian Brush-turkey, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, Cryptic Honeyeater, Dusky Honeyeater, Macleay’s Honeyeater, Helmeted Friarbird, Noisy Friarbird, Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Triller, Australasian Figbird, Spangled Drongo, Metallic Starling, Mistletoebird, Sahul Sunbird (previously known as Olive-backed Sunbird), Torresian Imperial-Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Superb Fruit-Dove, Topknot Pigeon, Pheasant Coucal, Rufous Shrike-thrush (one of the Little Shrike-thrush subspecies), Victoria’s Riflebird, Noisy Pitta, Grey Whistler, Spotted Catbird, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Little Pied Cormorant, Pacific Black Duck, Forest Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher, Large-billed Scrubwren, Pacific Koel (aka Eastern Koel), Fairy Gerygone, Pale-yellow Robin, Bush Thick-knee (aka Bush Stone-curlew), Spectacled Monarch, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Australasian Swiftlet, Silvereye, Red-browed Finch, Rufous Fantail, Pied Monarch, White-eared Monarch, Scaly-breasted Munia, Eastern Whipbird, Pacific Baza.
