The Paluma Environmental Education Centre is seeking applications from those interested in the position of casual cook. This position will assist in facilitating catering for visiting groups of school students during the school term. Applicants will be required to hold, or be eligible to apply for, a working with children blue card (or blue card exemption) and be willing to undergo a criminal history check prior to commencing.
Additionally, we also have a current job listing on Smart Jobs for the position of Business Manager. Further details can be found using the following link:
For those interested in the cook position, please contact Cooper Locke (Business Manager – clock111@eq.edu.au) for further information or to submit your expression of interest.
If you are interested in the position of Business Manager, application details can be found on Smart Jobs.
The Spectacled Monarch (Symposiachrus trivirgatus) is a small and colourful songbird with an international range — from Eastern Australia, through New Guinea into the Islands of Indonesia and Timor.
There are multiple subspecies. In eastern Australia the northern subspecies is albiventris, with melanorrhous further south and gouldii at the southern limit of its range, Port Stephens in New South Wales.
According to the Australian Bird Guide maps, at Paluma we would expect to find sub-species melanorrhous. The differences between subspecies are somewhat subtle so in Paluma we may be seeing an overlap with the far northern sub-species albiventris. Albiventris is described as having a rufous upper breast sharply defined from more extensive white underparts than melanorrhous and gouldii.
Males and females are similarly feathered — blue-grey above, with a black face mask that extends across both eyes, rufous (red-orange) breast, white underparts and a black tail with white outer tips. Immature birds lack the black face and have a grey throat.
As well as subtle changes in plumage the sub-species are distinguished by a variety of songs and calls from rising mellow whistles in the Lesser Sundas to raspier whistled notes in Australia. eBird says that calls vary, but are generally “harsh and unpleasant-sounding buzzes and rattles”.
The eastern Australian sub-species are found in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or (as we have here at Paluma) the moist montane forests of the Wet Tropics.
The Spectacled Monarch is not an easy bird to photograph, stopping only for a few seconds to perch as it makes its way, mostly obscured, amongst dense foliage while foraging for insects below the canopy and on tree trunks or vines.
Google search comes up with several spellings for the scientific name: Birds in Backyards says Symposiarchus trivirgatus, most other sites use Symposiachrus trivirgatus
Photos by Peter Cooke and text gleaned and adapted from Wikipedia, eBird and Birds in Backyards. Location: jungle margin behind #56.
Due to a scheduled full road closure on the weekend of the 18th Oct, the Paluma Games Night has been rescheduled to October 25th. Hope you all make it.
Our first working bee for spring is on this Saturday, September 6th. Hall clean and vegetation control are on the program. Meet at the hall at 2pm. Bring along some good cheer and energy and a mate. Drinks on the verandah afterwards at 4pm.
Our first Friday Night Social for spring is on September 5th, this Friday at 6pm. There will be a table tennis competition for those wishing to begin their training for the upcoming Paluma Games night in October. Perhaps a few rounds of darts even for those wishing to hone their skills. Winners to be awarded a complimentary drink of their choice.
The bar will be open from 6pm. If you wish, bring some light nibbles and yarns to share.
The Grey-headed Robin (Heteramyias cinereifrons) is a large, plump robin of the Wet Tropics with a range extending north from Paluma to near Cooktown.
At Paluma it’s often seen along rainforest tracks and margins, usually feeding on or near the ground, scanning leaf litter from an upright perch on tree trunks or low branches before dropping to take its prey.
Both sexes are olive brown above, with gray crown and breast, stark white throat, and white wing patch, prominent in flight. Its upright stance, large size, intricate plumage, and pale pink legs are distinctive.
Breeding occurs from August or September to January, with one or two broods per season. The nest is a shallow cup made of bark, grass, and dry leaves. Spider webs are used for binding or filling, and strips of fern and palm for lining; the outside is decorated by dried vegetation. The nest is generally placed in a lawyer vine up to 10 m above the ground. A clutch of one or two eggs is laid. The eggs are buff, cream- or dark greenish-white, and marked with light brown splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end, and they measure 26 by 19 mm.
Photos by Peter Cooke and text adapted from Wikipedia and e-bird.
