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.
All Photos by Peter Cooke.
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
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.
Photos by Peter Cooke. Text by Peter Cooke and Michele Bird.
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……..!
A surprise visitor to our verandah in downtown Paluma this morning……a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron. Something different from the usual mob of rifle birds, catbirds and honeyeaters looking to see if we had put any fruit out for them. The ‘NNH’ moved with all the speed of a tired cuscus on the verandah rail when it wasn’t standing stock still. A very naive youngster who didn’t see us as a threat at all and let me approach to within a couple of metres without any sign of alarm. Didn’t mind me taking 100 shots in the low morning light (1/25 @ f8 ISO 1250 on Canon 5DSR). He/she was there at break of day and was still standing looking like it wanted to come inside out of the rain when I sent this post at 0900. Now all I have to do is sort through 100 photos and decide which few to keep!
Text & Photos by Peter Cooke
Most residents at Paluma are avid bird watchers and as the seasons change, so does the variety of bird species that come and go round the village. As winter approaches, many of our favourite species are becoming regular visitors to local gardens and verandahs as they check out what’s on offer at the bird feeder.
Last weekend was a great time for a spot of bird watching, with Jan and Peter Cooke taking up their favourite vantage point on their elevated verandah set adjacent to the rainforest. Some splendid feathered visitors arrived to enjoy the free fruit and easy pickings at the bird feeder.
Below are some of Peter Cooke’s fantastic photos from the verandah. What a way to spend the weekend!
Photos by Peter Cooke & Text by Michele Bird (A ‘Cooked-Bird Collaboration’).
by Jamie Oliver
Rainforests are the most biologically diverse of all terrestrial habitats, and the number of different species in just a small plot of forest can be huge. For the interested amateur, identifying the myriad of rainforest plants and animals can be challenging! We don’t know exactly how many species of plants and animals live in the rainforests of the Queensland Wet Tropics – for some groups e.g.fungi, some insect families, there may actually be more undescribed species than ones that have been formally identified. It is likely that during a short 15 min walk along Paluma rainforest tracks you could be passing several hundred different species of plants and animals. Some of these are large and conspicuous while others could require much closer inspection (and perhaps a hand lens) to identify.
Paluma is located at the southern end of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The WTWHA contains at least 663 vertebrate animal species, and invertebrate fauna is the richest in Australia. Land snails alone are represented by 222 species. It is estimated that the Wet Tropics probably has around 40,000 species of insect, including 230 butterfly species and 135 dung beetle species. Plant diversity is equally remarkable with 2,800 species of vascular plants – 700 of which are only found in the region[1].
All this seems very impressive but it leaves the casual visitor somewhat overwhelmed – to the point where any interest in identifying species can be lost in the enormity of the task.
The purpose of this series of posts is to enable even the most casual and inexperienced visitor to identify the five most common and distinctive species from each of 10 or so groups of plants and animals. By breaking the task down in to 5 easy species from each group a weekend visitor with a keen interest in the task might become familiar with 10 or 20 different rainforest species, and after a few such visits might claim knowledge of 50 or more species!
We will start with one of the easiest groups (birds) and then move on to other groups that may require a little more effort and patience. By the end of this series we hope to have compiled an online and downloadable guide to the 50 most common and easily identified species around Paluma village.
[1] https://www.wettropics.gov.au/biodiversity , https://www.wettropics.gov.au/insects
Birds are one of the most conspicuous rainforest animals and many of them are quite easy to identify, so it is appropriate to start our ‘5 easy species’ series with this group. The five birds listed here were chosen because they are very common around Paluma roads and walking tracks at most times of the year. They are also easy to identify from photos and descriptions. All of these birds are less common down on the coast and thus contribute to the feeling that you have entered a whole new environment when you take the drive up to Paluma.
Lewin’s honeyeater is commonly seen flitting among low branches of trees and shrubs along road edges or in open picnic areas. While its soft green and grey colouring does not make it stand out, the yellow half-moon cheek patch and its staccato call make it easily to identify.
It is also a very common visitor to bird feeders around the village. A related species, the yellow-spotted honeyeater, can also sometimes be found in the village. It has a more rounded cheek patch and its call is very different (not staccato).
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This strikingly bold black and white honeyeater is smaller than the Lewin’s and can be found flitting amongst shrubs and trees, feeding on flowers. It has a large white cheek patch and yellow streaks on the wings. It is one of the most common birds to visit bird feeders around the village. Here it displays a surprisingly bold demeanor, chasing much larger birds away from the food on offer.
This large black bird with a mostly bald red head is commonly seen around picnic areas, roadsides and along rainforest tracks where it uses its feet to scratch the leaf litter in search of insects. During the breeding season (August to December), males develop gorgeous yellow neck wattles to attract females. Eggs are buried in large mounds of leaf litter built and tended by the male. The heat of decomposition of litter in the mound provide the warmth needed to incubate the eggs.
This beautiful crimson and blue parrot is commonly seen around Paluma but almost never in the nearby coastal areas. It is found in trees or shrubs, as well as on the ground when grass seed is available. The head and breast are deep red, while its back is red with blue mottling. The tail, wings and throat are blue. While this species of Rosella is found in forests throughout southern Queensland and the southern states, in north Queensland it is restricted mostly to Paluma and the Tablelands. The only other parrot of this size in the area with predominantly red colouration is the King Parrot, which is red and green, instead of crimson and blue.
You are more likely to hear this bird than to see it. In the early mornings and evenings the forest often resounds with the raucous sounds of family groups of Chowchilla calling back and forth.
It is a small brown bird with mostly inconspicuous colouration – the female has a lovely orange chestnut throat, while in the female it is white. Both sexes have a distinctive white eye ring. During the daytime they are mostly silent but can still be heard, and with a bit of luck, seen scratching around in the leaf litter beside village walking tracks. It stays almost entirely on the ground although it will fly when disturbed.
There are many other species of birds that occur in Paluma, and lots of them are both common and easy to identify. Visit the Birds section of the website to learn more about what can be seen in the area.
Many of you will have enjoyed reading the informative ‘Nature Notes’ contributed by Paluma’s resident naturalist Roy Mackay over a great many years. Roy’s passion was to educate people about the natural world and to foster interest and respect for our native flora and fauna. In the spirit of continuing Roy’s great work and his legacy of reporting on nature’s treasures in and around Paluma Village, we present the following notes, observations and musings contributed by long-time residents and fellow naturalists Linda Venn and Colwyn Campbell.
Linda Venn writes:-
You already know (from previous postings) about our Northern Leaf-Tailed Gecko which made an appearance at Summerhouse (No. 16) over Christmas. Well, in the same time period, we had a common Green Tree Frog trying to get in the pet flap on the back screen door. We can hear several Green Tree Frogs calling when it rains, which is unusual. When we first came to Paluma, conventional wisdom was that the only Green Tree Frogs here had been inadvertently imported in goods brought up the hill, as it was too cold for them. Well, now we have at least three just at our end of the Crescent. Maybe Paluma is warmer now than it was 30 years ago? It’s certainly drier.
Another unusual visitor is the Pallid Cuckoo. There’s been a pair around for the last few weeks. These are not often seen in Paluma, though Andree Griffin recorded one at the dam in 1971 and Roy Mackay saw one in Paluma more recently. Their flight is very falcon-like, but whether or not they are a bird of prey was not confirmed by the smaller birds – who couldn’t care less about their presence and gave no alarm calls. This is interesting, considering that the Pallids parasitise honeyeater nests.
Talking of the cuckoo group, I heard a Koel calling one night, but not since (Phew! Noisy buggers!). Must have been just passing through, as were the family group of Black Cockatoos. Also got a good look at a Shining Bronze-Cuckoo this morning; usually heard but not seen. They’re quite small and delicately barred on the chest.
Another interesting one is the Red-necked Rail/ Crake that was calling outside our bedroom window one morning, in the regrowth forest at the rear of Fatima Cottage. This lovely little “chook” was first seen in Paluma by my brother, in the backyard of Ivy Cottage in 1982. Seems to stay close to creeks and is more likely to be heard than seen. Its call is a maniacal laugh, quite disconcerting at close range before dawn!
Yesterday, we had a solitary Metallic Starling in our rusty fig (now fruiting, so we’ve had a Figbird or two as well). To see just one starling is unusual, as they usually travel in flocks. Well, this morning a small flock arrived and spent time in the fig and the regrowth between Summerhouse and Mt Spec Cottage. Their fluttering flight is distinctive.
We also have a shy resident Tooth-billed Bowerbird who enjoys both the figs and the fruit of the walking-stick palm. He was giving his repertoire of mimicked bird calls the other evening, quite disconcerting until you realise that all those different birds are highly unlikely to be in the one tree at the same time!
Another bird that usually travels in a group is the Silvereye. We’d only seen a pair, then this morning a small flock arrived in the regrowth on the footpath.
Colwyn Campbell penned the following response:-
A few years ago, (I’d have to trawl through old diaries for the date), Linda Venn called me over to look at a bird feasting on the fruit of a rhodomyrtus in the front garden. It had been there all the previous day and it was the scolding of smaller birds that drew attention to it. It was unfazed by our presence and just kept eating, seeming determined to strip the tree. We were puzzled because it had the distinctive markings of a cuckoo. Roy Mackay came up and identified it as a young Pallid Cuckoo. We were puzzled as its presence was unusual here; also Linda wondered what local bird would have a nest big enough to have hosted the cuckoo.
The Red Necked Rail/Crake makes its way in the evenings along the creek area behind my house. Only twice in all the years I have been here have I seen one venture onto the back lawn. Last year I saw one at the edge of the shrubbery across from Manali. Coincidentally, that afternoon, two birdwatchers had the Rail/Crake on their ‘to see’ list and it emerged from the scrub long enough for them to take some good photos. Seven years ago near Roy Mackay’s house I found one dead on the road verge. It had evidently been hit by a car, but was almost unmarked and still warm. Roy stuffed it and it now is in the museum.
The Koel – yes, I was surprised to hear it too.
While Michele has described the efforts of our local Satin Bowerbirds in attracting a love interest, in the surrounding forest another Bowerbird, the Golden Bowerbird (Prionodura newtoniana), is also busy constructing bowers that are the largest of the all the Australian bowerbirds, and they are made by the smallest species. Despite its diminutive size, the Golden Bowerbird creates twin towers of twigs that can be up to 3m tall. It decorates them with lichen and pale cream flowers and places a horizontal stick between the base of the towers to serve as a display perch.
It takes a fair bit of work to make these bowers and it turns out that other males (including young males still experimenting at bower-building) are prone to stealing material and ornaments from other bowers to build their own. Immature males sometimes build small bowers close to a more established structure in the hope that they can distract a female over to its more humble edifice while the dominant male is away foraging or stealing from other bowers. If a mature bower-owning bird dies, his bower is usually taken over by another bird in matter of days. One recent study used game theory to determine at what point the pay-off from raiding other birds bowers exceeded the risk of abandoning a bower to other marauding males (distance between bowers was a key factor). The competition and intrigue is worthy of a Game of Thrones plot-line.
Last week, while photographing one of our local birds, I observed a small dull bird flitting ever closer to the bower through some dense foliage. I thought it might be a female, but I was able to get a shot of it as it took off from a branch just behind the bower and this clearly showed the yellow tinges to the wing that are diagnostic of an immature male. This immature male then went straight to the perch between the two towers of the bower and began inspecting the ornamentation. In a flash the mature male bower owner dived down and the two birds tumbled off into the ground foliage behind the bower in a flurry of feathers and screeches that lasted several seconds before the birds flew off in different directions. The younger bird was not seen again, but I can’t help but feel it is out there somewhere awaiting another chance to steal the throne and the females.
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Don Battersby is our local bird-whisperer -actually it’s more of a shout, but the birds certainly come flocking to his call. When I told him about my observations he regaled me with a complete history of this particular bower, which has occupied at least 4 different positions over the last decade or so, having been abandoned due to damage by tree-falls or in response to over-enthusiastic bird photographers. He was also kind enough to show me a small satellite bower near the site where I had witnessed the altercation. This might well have been built by the immature male that I had seen.
Don knows where virtually all the bowers, and some of the nests are. He is exceptionally generous with his time and is known nationally and internationally amongst “birdos” as the person to visit if you want to get good views and photographs of our rainforest birds. Thanks Don!
Text and photos by Jamie Oliver
In recent weeks the Satin Bower Birds of Paluma have been busy with the breeding season and courtship rituals. Male birds have been chortling and calling in the canopy and busily working on their remarkable bowers to attract a female mate.
This year I am lucky enough to have a bower in my own garden. (And I am going to brag about it!).
My bower was constructed over a period of about two weeks and not long after it took form, the blue trinkets and treasures started to appear. A quick inventory last Sunday noted the following:- 2 x bottle tops, plastic straw, surveyors tape, 4 x pen lids, lolly packets, cellophane, half a peg, electrical cable ties and plastic cord. All the items are of a similar shade of bright blue. None of the items observed in the bower have been collected from nature.
While the hard work and ingenuity of these birds in constructing their bower and decorating it with a variety of blue treasures is to be truly admired, it is very disconcerting to see that every item in this bower is made from plastic.
Is this a remarkable adaptation of the satin bower bird to the modern world, or a sad indictment of the intrusive impact of humans in every facet of the natural world?…….I can’t decide.
Text & Photos by Michele (Bower) Bird