RED TAILED BLACK COCKATOOS SEEN IN SOME UNUSUAL PLACES

Far north Queensland is home to all manner of birds – their presence or absence can tell us a lot about our changing seasons, the weather and environment. Lately we’ve seen red tailed black cockatoos in parts of the far north where they would not usually be seen. They’ve even been seen in significant numbers in down-town Cairns. They’re more often seen in drier parts of our region, but given the below average wet season and above average temperatures this summer, maybe they’re looking to find cooler conditions on the coast.

AUDIO Click on the red arrow to hear our wildlife correspondent Martin Cohen talk about cockatoos, the red tail black, and why they’re turning up in some unusual places.

The red tail black cockatoo is thought to have been the first eastern Australian bird illustrated by a European –  Joseph Banks’ draughtsman Sydney Parkinson sketched a bird taken at Endeavour River, Cooktown in 1770.

The northern subspecies of red-tailed black cockatoo has a wide distribution and is not considered endangered. The Western Australian inland red tail is more frequently seen than was once the case, but loss of suitable nesting trees in southern Australia has adversely affected populations.

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Dr Martin Cohen is ABC Far North wildlife correspondent. read more about Martin at http://www.wildaboutaustralia.com/

 

THE WET SEASON IS COMING – AND OUR WILDLIFE CAN’T WAIT!

BARRON FALLS DURING THE WET SEASON

The long hot dry season is coming to an end. The wet season is not far off. The signs are all there. Afternoon storms building up on the Atherton Tablelands and Cape York Peninsula. In Cairns and along the east coast, the south-east trade wind has dropped out, replaced by the much less-refreshing north-easter. Days are becoming stickier. The night-time temperatures seem higher. Sleep comes to a sound-track of calling frogs and rumbling air conditioners.

Somewhere around Xmas. the monsoon will arrive. Heavy rain, the prospect of cyclones and flooding. Summer in the far north is a curious mix of bliss, tedium, and anxiety. The first real rain will have us dancing in the streets, some of us not fully clothed at the time. And the renewal of the FNQ environment is an extraordinary thing to behold.

Mind you, after a while, the thrill does wear off. A soggy, stinky, mouldy ennui prevails, the moist adjectives get a flogging and people begin to scan airline websites for cheap flights to arid destinations.

And there’s the worrying prospect of a cyclone developing in the Gulf or the Coral Sea. They can meander out there for ages, sometimes coming to nought. Other times, they make landfall and cause tremendous damage.

It’s hard to imagine that such a potentially dangerous time of year is, for our wildlife, a time of renewal. But that’s exactly what it is. Food sources become plentiful, water abundant, and the critters flourish. Even now, a few weeks out from the wet, our wildlife has sensed it coming, and is getting excited at the prospect.

Martin Cohen at Lake Eacham FNQ

 

 

AUDIO Click on the red arrow to hear ABC Far North Wildlife Correspondent Martin Cohen explain how the approach of the wet season affects FNQ and its amazing creatures.

 

HASTIE’S SWAMP – A GREAT PLACE FOR BIRD-WATCHING

Looking out over Hastie’s Swamp

One of the best things about life in far north Queensland is the regular encounters with wild-life. We are blessed with an abundance of critters and you don’t have to go too far to find and see them. We’re famous the world over for our birds, and here’s a great place to watch them.

Take a drive on the Atherton Tablelands. It’ll take you about 90 minutes from Cairns to reach Hastie’s Swamp. Here you can see brolgas, cormorants, egrets, ducks, and plenty more. This is an important wetlands refuge for migratory and local birds. Just what you’ll see depends on the season but there’s always plenty of birds, easily seen from an easily accessible bird-watching hide. There’s even a dunny here and you’re not far from Atherton town and other sources of tasty Tablelands refreshments.

There’s plenty of information available on signs inside the bird-watching hide, including stories of how the indigenous Yidinji people used to gather here, and tales of more recent history since European settlement.

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Regular visitors at Hastie’s Swamp

ABC Far North wildlife correspondent Martin Cohen took me to Hastie’s Swamp late in the tropical dry season. Click the audio player to hear Martin describe the bird-life at this beautiful spot.

More info and useful links at http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/hasties-swamp/index.html

More about Martin Cohen at http://www.wildaboutaustralia.com/

Hastie’s Swamp – not hard to find. Map via RealBirder