What’s Blooming at Paluma: Magnolia variety

Len Cook planted this magnificent Magnolia more than thirty years ago.  Every winter since then, he has enjoyed the classical beauty and subtle, sweet perfume of the glorious, goblet-shaped flowers.

The Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the sub-family Magnolioidaceae of the family Magnoliaceae. It was named after the French botanist, Pierre Magnol.  It is an ancient genus, appearing before bees did and it is believed the plants evolved to encourage pollination by beetles.

The Magnolia has such an interesting history that it deserves a more detailed article devoted to it.  I shall endeavour to do this soon.

Text & Photos by Colwyn Campbell

An Early Bird Not So Lucky When She Swipes Left!

Jan and I are leaving in two weeks to head back to Northern Territory for a few months and have been expecting that this would mean we would miss the mating rituals of the Victoria’s Rifle Bird (Ptiloris victoriae) …..yet again.

But we got lucky on Friday when we came back from shopping in Ingham and barely had time to sit down before a different call from a male VRB made us check out the feed tray and tree fern post out on the verandah. 

And there he was, getting right into it … a very early bird by the entries in bird books which list the VRB breeding season as September to January, obviously with male competition for female partners pretty much done and dusted before our usual return to Paluma in late October. 

We got lucky, but Mr Riflebird wasn’t so lucky, despite a very intense performance on top of the tree fern.  

He started calling with wings upswept while facing the bushes off the verandah where VRBs, Honeyeaters, Catbirds and Satin Bowerbirds queue for the fruit buffet. 

Still photos unfortunately don’t show the movements that go with each pose … with wings up, he kept in constant up and down motion by bending his legs while at the same time opening and closing his beak to get the bright yellow gape into the display. 

Things were looking good when a female landed on the tree fern just below him and looked up, at which point he dropped his left wing and played some peek-a-boo by hiding his head behind the right wing. 

Then the day’s ration of watermelon caught her attention and she dropped to the food tray. While he kept on with his performance she looked up, looked right but eventually swiped left, preferring watermelon to his advances. 

He was so intensely focused and hormonal that he paid no attention to me moving around on the verandah to get better camera angles. Light was fading and I had to crank up the ISO to 3000 to get a workable shutter speed. 

This morning I went looking for more information about VRB courting and couldn’t find much…except what would seem to be the seminal document on this subject written by Harry Frith and William Cooper and published in Emu, the journal of Birds Australia, now published by CSIRO. 

Great abstract online at:- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1071/MU9960102, but if you want to read the whole article online it’ll cost you 50 bucks American… if you want to download that whole issue of Emu that’ll cost you $230 AUD. Universities usually have deals that get their people open access to academic publications but my university contacts couldn’t get free access via JCU or Monash. The hegemony of the ‘big boys’ in academic publishing is a very vexed issue, even for those working in the academy.  For the rest of us, bad luck. 

But back to the joyful experience of watching this display of unbridled avian lust.  In wings-up display, we get to see mauve feathers at the base of the wings and a mauve streak running back from the eye alongside the blue spangled cap.  Wow, I said!

What we didn’t get to hear was what Frith and Cooper describe as “a vigorous alternate wing clap display that all but embraces the female with rapidly alternating wing extensions and synchronous jerking of the stiffly rigid head and neck between them at a progressively rapid tempo until copulation.”

Clearly once she swiped left that wasn’t going to happen!

Here’s hoping we get to see a few more displays before we disappear towards the north west for a few months. 

Talking with other villagers today the question was asked about the apparently unseasonal courting behaviour … is this just a precocious individual bird or is this another sign of the “new normal” as we see more unseasonal animal behaviour and plant flowering and fruiting? 

Love to hear what unusual biological phenomena others are seeing??

Text & Photos by Peter Cooke, with Jan Cooke 

Footnote: For those unfamiliar with  the phrase “swiping left” Dictionary.com offers this definition: (On the online dating app Tinder) indicates that one finds someone attractive (or unattractive) by moving one’s finger to the right (or left) across an image of them on a touch screen. “I swiped right, but sadly for me, she swiped left”.

Further Information:-

Courtship Display and Mating of Victoria’s Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae) with Notes on the Courtship Displays of Congeneric Species

Clifford B. Frith & William T. Cooper

“The courtship display and mating of Victoria’s Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae) are described from numerous hours of direct observations and 117 minutes of videotape. Courtship display is typically performed on the apex of a vertical dead tree trunk stump and consists of three discrete components: Calling with the associated exposure of a bright mouth, a circular wings and gape display and a vigorous alternate wing clap display that all but embraces the female with rapidly alternating wing extensions and synchronous jerking of the stiffly rigid head and neck between them at a progressively rapid tempo until copulation. Subjective observations indicate that in immature, female- and sub-adult male-plumaged males the advertisement call is inferior in power and the courtship displays lacking in synchronisation and coordination of postures and movements. Victoria’s Riflebird courtship is compared with that of congeneric riflebirds and with other sexually dimorphic polygynous birds of paradise and similarities discussed. Contrary to previous views, the courtship display of Victoria’s Riflebird involves a progressive series of specific postures and movements increasing in tempo and leading to copulation. Some of its courtship behaviour is similar to that of other genera in the Paradisaeinae”.

More Winter Bird Watching at Paluma…..

Birdwatchers at Paluma continue to be delighted by the hive of activity amongst the local birdlife during these fine, sunny winter days. Here’s a further selection of birds seen and out and about in the village over recent days by Peter and Jan Cooke.

Golden whistler at Smith Crescent this morning.

Female Satin Bowerbird. When the light’s right the Satin Bowerbirds’ plumage shows such subtle variation. 
Male Satin Bowerbird.
Male Satin Bowerbird.
Female Riflebird or young male?
Tooth-billed Bowerbird also spotted at Smith’s Crescent today.

All Photos by Peter Cooke.

Seeking the Bridled Honeyeater !!

Honeyeaters are probably the most seen and most numerous birds in the Paluma village. Lewin’s Honeyeater, Macleay’s Honeyeater and the White-Cheeked Honeyeater are commonly seen. The Yellow Spotted Honeyeater is here also, but it is difficult to distinguish from the look-alike Lewin’s, other than by call. Paluma is also said to be at the southern edge of the range for the Bridled Honeyeater (Bolemoreus frenatus). 

Wikipedia says the Bridled Honeyeater is a North Queensland endemic with a range that extends from the Bloomfield-Mt Amos area, south to Mt Spec. Its favoured habitat is subtropical or tropical moist upland forests and subtropical or tropical rainforests, usually above 300 metres. But in winter, it descends to lower forests including mangroves, and can sometimes be seen in more open habitats. It’s said to be mostly solitary and elusive, but when trees are fruiting or flowering they may gather in large, quarrelsome flocks. 

Over the past four years of bird watching, Jan and I have seen the Bridled Honeyeater only twice, and not in down-town Paluma. Our observations have been recorded at Paluma Dam and out on Don Battersby’s little rainforest patch on his Hussey Road acreage block. The photographs below were taken at Don’s place in February 2017. 

So, although Bridled Honeyeaters are unlikely to be here in winter, it’s surprising we haven’t seen them over four successive wet seasons in and around the village.

We’re wondering what observations others can share about this interesting bird with its bi-coloured beak, bright blue eyes and distinctive white eye  markings. Have you seen the Bridled Honeyeater at Paluma?

Text and Photos by Peter Cooke

Winter Bird Watching at Paluma

Whilst it might be winter and a little chilly at Paluma, it hasn’t deterred the local birdlife from getting out and about amongst the village gardens and adjacent rainforest. Paluma is always a great place to do a spot of bird watching. These fine, sunny winter days are ideal for a stroll in the village and the opportunities abound to catch a glimpse of some locally common species. Peter and Jan Cooke have done just that, recently sighting the following birds in their own garden and throughout the village.

Crimson Rosella tucking into the nectar-laden grevillea flower spikes at No. 56 Mt Spec Road. This stunning flower is Grevillea Moonlight, a hybrid of G. banksii and G. whiteana.
Another feasting Crimson Rosella, this time enjoying the powder-puff flowers of a red Calliandra.
This Eastern Spinebill was up at dawn to enjoy the flowers of Grevillea Firesprite.
Recently a pair of Grey Fantails have been cruising up and down Mt Spec Road….perching momentarily and then demonstrating great aerial acrobatics to take insects in flight.

Photos by Peter Cooke. Text by Peter Cooke and Michele Bird.

What’s Blooming at Paluma: Tropical Rhododendrons

Vireya or Tropical Rhododendrons are currently blooming amongst Paluma gardens, providing a blaze of brilliant winter colour. Vireya’s are evergreen shrubs producing clusters of trumpet-shaped blooms several times a year. There are many cultivars and they come in a superb range of bright tropical colours. Some varieties have sweetly fragrant flowers. They are native to  southeastern Asia and range from Thailand to Australia. They thrive in the cool mountain climate at Paluma and they are relatively easy to grow provided they have good drainage. Some of the varieties in beautiful bloom during June are shown below.

Vireya Blaze of Glory
Vireya Pink Swan
Vireya Simbu Sunset
Vireya Strawberry Parfait
Vireya cultivar

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

TMR Range Road Update: Thursday 4th June

Good morning,

The Department of Transport and Main Roads would like to advise that pavement repair works will occur on Mount Spec Road on the Paluma Range on Thursday 4 June 2020 from 12pm to 5pm. These works will include spray sealing on previously repaired sections of the road.

Impact on motorists:

  • Mount Spec Road will be reduced to a single lane at the sections where repairs are taking place.
  • Motorists who travel along Mount Spec Road between the hours of 12pm and 5pm can expect short delays of five minutes. 
  • Stop/go traffic controllers will be on-site at either end of the works to direct traffic through the works zone. 
  • A 40km/hr speed limit will be maintained along Mount Spec Road throughout the duration of the works.

TMR would like to thank the local community and businesses in advance for their patience during these works. Residents are encouraged to contact TMR on the details below should they have any further enquiries about the road works.

Kind Regards

Meghan

Customer and Stakeholder Management (Northern) | North Queensland Region
Program Delivery And Operations | Infrastructure Management & Delivery Division |

Department of Transport and Main Roads

Floor 6 | Townsville Government Office Building | 445 Flinders Street | Townsville Qld 4810
PO Box 1089 | Townsville Qld 4810
P: 1800 625 648 | F: (07) 4421 8711
E: engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au
W: www.tmr.qld.gov.au

What’s Blooming at Paluma: Camellia ‘Volunteer’

We have previously posted articles on the wide variety of Camellias growing in Paluma gardens and the fact that our cool mountain climate provides an ideal environment for these more temperate plants. If you peruse the gardening sections of the Paluma.org website you will find photographs of the many varieties and flower shapes, sizes and colours amongst the village gardens.

Coming from Central Victoria I have always loved Camellias and they hold special sentimental value for me. I grew up gardening with my grandparents amongst the Camellias. When I moved to Paluma four years ago and discovered they thrived in local gardens I set about planting several new Camellias at No. 13, adding to those already planted by Andy and Ann Bishop.

About 12 months ago whilst browsing the Bunnings garden shop (something I am known to do on the odd occasion!) I came across a new variety of Camellia – ‘Volunteer’. This new variety was named to commemorate the International Year of Volunteers in 2001 in New Zealand. Incidentally, the International Week of Volunteers has just passed and was celebrated in May.

Anyway, back to Bunnings…..After some deliberation (for about 5 seconds) I purchased a Camellia ‘Volunteer’ and I squeezed it in amongst the plethora of plants in what I call my ‘chaotic cottage garden’. Well, the ‘Volunteer’ has thrived and is just over a metre in height. Throughout the month of May it has produced numerous blooms and they are quite spectacular. The flowers are quite large, deeply ruffled and variegated – they begin as a deep rich pink with white edges and fade to lighter shades of pink as they age.

Camellia ‘Volunteer’ is said to grow some 2m in height and 1.5m in width. It is a medium to dense upright shrub which is low maintenance. It produces multiple blooms over a long flowering period from May to September.

I can thoroughly recommend this Camellia as a beautiful addition to your Paluma garden. I was also thinking that this is an appropriate plant to grow in our little village, since the spirit of community and volunteering thrives here! I wonder if I could find some room for another one…….?

The flower of the Camellia ‘Volunteer’.

Text & Photo by Michele Bird

Breakfast Bombing by Birds

Macleay’s Honeyeaters are pretty fearless little creatures. 

As Jan Cooke stepped onto the deck today to enjoy a morning juice, suddenly she was ‘breakfast bombed’ by one of the cheeky Macleay’s Honeyeaters who pretty much dominate the fruit station. Such is life in downtown Paluma!

Thankfully the scrub turkeys aren’t as bold……..!

Jan Cooke with her very friendly Macleay’s Honeyeater. What’s for breakfast?