A quiet day

Actually it was quite an exciting day, bird wise, but I have few photographs to support it (or damage your download limit).

Our morning walk was the default, along Mather Rd in Yungaburra.  Not far along there I noticed some small birds flitting about and it included a flash of red against a black body: Red-backed Fairy-wrens!  Then two larger birds attracted my attention.  Grey back and rufous breast indicated Bowers Shrike-thrush (Bird of the Day).

After that excitement and doing a few chores back home I headed out to walk to the Curtain Fig Tree National Park.  as I got on to the road towards there was an aerial ruckus which resolved to a large flock of Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos.  My guess was at least 100 of them.

On getting to the Park I headed up what looked like a service track.  Unfortunately it ran out after about 50m,  There were few birds around but these flowers were nice to see.

I then wandered into the forest, noting how some of the creepers which were almost invisible had hooks that could teach velcro a thing or two about never giving up.  Not much blood was lost!  I came to a small valley full of rocks which was pleasant to look at with no birds to interrupt the view.

So then I went to the boardwalk around the fig without great hopes.  A few birds were zooming about but in the low light (and given their great speed) impossible to identify.  A very harsh call attracted my attention to near the start of the walk and suddenly a beautiful male Victoria's Riflebird appeared.  It was very active and I couldn't get a decent photo.  But I have included this as my first snap of a Bird of Paradise.

A couple of Spectacled Monarchs and a Pale-yellow Robin added to the list.

As I walked back home I noticed these fruit on a cauliferous tree.  No idea what they are.

 Later in the afternoon I went for what could barely be called a run, passing by the house of the trigger-happy old fart.  This time I could see all of his flag!

I was bemused that with all these Trumpesque messages the notice on his front door came from his insurance company!

After tea we went for an owl prowl with  no success as regards nightbirds.  I did see a Northern Brown Bandicoot in the Curtain Fig car park (and lots of spiders on the boardwalk).  When I took Tammy out for her final comfort stop a fruit bat (I think a Spectacled Fruit-bat) was hanging off a tree in the garden.

• Bird of the day: Bowers Shrikethrush gets the tick.  This was only because I had already used the riflebird a few days back.  That was actually more exciting.  Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo gets the flock award.
• Vegetation of the day:  Blue flowers in rain forest
• Memorable moment:  Male riflebird.
• Comment of the day: A visitor to the house next door made a reference to Tammy as an ankle biter.  Most comments about her are amusing references to her size.
• Pie of the day: No submissions
• Troppo moment of the day. Gotta be the flag.  Another house in the area has a man cave. 

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Swimwear in various applications!

Initially, I couldn't come up with an obscure title!  but as I went through the images a theme sort of emerged.

We began the day with a walk along Peterson's Creek.  At Frawley's Pool we stopped to look across the Creek for tree-kangaroos.  This led us to discover a low level bridge to the far side.  Thus we could get in to the Mobi forest where the marsupials lurk.  They were not lurking where we could spot them today.

However this basalt boulder field was lurking.  Clear evidence of the volcanic nature of the area.

We found that Nature had blocked the path with this rather magnificent spider.

 There is an outbreak of red Grevilleas towards the Northern end of the Creek Track,  I suspect they are planted, but could still be natives, which are rather more spectacular up here.

 Getting back to Yungaburra I decided it was time to photograph a few things around the village.  A sign at an arty centre.

 We have noticed a couple of instances of X^N swimwear strapped to various things.  In this case the curves of the tree form a very good backdrop!

After a pause at home we left the small dog and headed off to Mount Hypipamee NP to try to track down a Golden Bowerbird.  I tried taking a shortcut to avoid the main street of Atherton which didn't really work as not all roads are on the map.  We ended up being held for 10+ minutes by these road works.  After about 5 minutes the lollypop man came for a chat.  He was quite reasonable, but it was still a pain.

At one point we dived into the forest to look for the bower and found these fungi instead: note the second, darker, equally unidentified, species in the background.

Another cauliferous tree, Yellow Mahogany (Dysoxylum parasiticum), was flowering beside the track to the Crater itself.  The specific name reflects an incorrect belief that the tree was a parasite.

We took a diversion to Dinner Falls, where backpackers were disporting themselves, in a more or less (mainly less) clothed fashion.

The guy in this image had a camera with him.  I hope it wasn't recording the squeals emitted by the females!

Epiphytes were also available.

This is the Crater itself.  It's 58m down to the water which is in turn 73m deep.

As we went back, Frances got a nice snap of the Barron River above the Falls.

During our walk I spotted a Mountain Thornbill.  Surely as close as it gets to a small brown bird.  However it was a lifer and thus Bird of the Day.

We went back more or less on the main road, including a stop at the Gallo Dairy Centre.  A very pleasnt counter person served us with tasters of cheese of which several varieties were acquired along with a very good ice-cream and 4 chocolates (at $2 a go).

Once home, while sitting on the patio we were visited by a small colourful fly.  It turns out to be part of the mosquito grouping within Diptera (ie flies) and probably Plecia sp.

I include this shot as it shows the halteres rather well.  (The lollypop shape above the leg.)

Some noise then erupted which appeared to be a pair of Bar-shouldered Doves having a battle.  Then matters advanced and it was apparent they were continuing the species!

• Bird of the day: Mountain Thornbill.  No flocks of particular interest.
• Vegetation of the day:  Yellow Mahogany
• Memorable moment:  Pool full of nubiles at Dinner Falls.
• Comment of the day: "I have to take cash before handing over."  A very apologetic lady at the Yungaburra Visitors Centre when I wanted to buy a shirt and found I had left my wallet at home.
• Pie of the day:  Second half of the large market item.  Still good.
• Troppo moment of the day. Being held up for 10 minutes while the CFMEU manouevered a pipe 

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Mareeba, Mareeba

After a thought about Rolf Harris for yesterday's post, this title might stir some memories of Pat Boone's song "Speedy Gonzales" although the fastest mouse in all Mexico de-emphasised the M.  I should also note, in a musical context, that while NY NY is a town "so good they named it twice" I make no such assertion about Mareeba.

It was a moist morning revealing the large number of spiders along Mather Rd.

We have noticed the buds on this plant for several days.  They have finally opened. The trumpet is about 15cm (6"in old money) diameter.  Following yet more good advice from Alison, it is definitely Solandra sp and I suspect more likely S grandiflora than S maxima.

As we headed off to Mareeba a hay truck appeared in front of us.  There seems to be quite an industry in hay farming around here - I suspect because water from Lake Tinaroo can be used for irrigation through the dry.

This sign on the outskirts of Mareeba is quite romantic in the remote places it names.  The degree of weathering of the lettering causes me to wonder how well (or at least frequently) it is maintained.

Our initial target was Lake Mitchell.  This is an artificial lake built by a private company, presumably with the idea of making it the focus of a residential development.  The water is not used for anything as far as Wikipedia knows!

We got on to the causeway shown as a red dotted line.  According to Lloyd Neilson's very helpful book the land out to the island in the middle of the Lake is privately owned and thus traversable.  The gate was apparently very heavy!

This view is from the end of the causeway looking back towards the Highway.

The most exciting bird seen was Green Pygmy Goose, with a flock of 14 birds seen.  There were few ducks around (but lots of swans and several Magpie Geese) which seems to be the case everywhere - Hasties Swamp!

This flowering bottlebrush (escaping the Callistemon/Melaleuca/Hakea question) was very attractive to Honeyeaters, with a flock of 12 Blue-faced Honeyeaters arriving at one point.

This very small Bean was growing on the causeway.

There were a good number of huge white water lilies scattered across the water.  This caused some initial confusion as to which were lilies and which were possibly interesting birds.

A bit further away from us much of the surface was covered with these much smaller white flowers - possibly Nymphoides indica.

Comb-crested Jacanas were walking around on the lily leaves but not at a photographable distance.

After leaving the Lake we stopped at Big Mitchell Creek to try for White-browed Robin.  I walked along the bed of the Creek: many Double-barred finches but no Robin.

I went to the other side of the Creek.  No Robin.
I played the birds calls.  No response, no Robin!
I jumped in the car and drove away!

We went to Mareeba for a look round.  There was really not a lot to see.  Unlike other towns and villages in the area Mareeba seemed to be totally full of modernish buildings with next to no history.  We acquired a pie and some buns for lunch and went to the Bicentennial Lakes to eat them.  We found a sign to the Lakes, but not one indicating that we had arrived - the red water lilies were a hint

Many feral ducks (Muscovies and Grey Lags), bin chooks (White Ibis) and a Yellow Honeyeater (Bird of the day) but not much else.

We thought about the loop to Granite Gorge and Nardello's Lagoon but the former seemed unlikely to be pet friendly so we passed.  We then headed to Nardello's Lagoon and got to a spot where we could see into it from a distance but not an access route.  So we drove to a nearby distillery and asked: they consulted Google Maps and suggested a route.  Their guinea fowl and banana palms were photographed

 and on we went.  The suggested route was blocked off for banana quarantine!  Into a nursery to ask again.  They knew no route in, so we gave up and headed off, stopping at a fruit stall for some lady finger bananas.  Note Wall of Shame!

We stopped briefly at the Rocky Creek War Memorial Park to marvel at the array of caravans ..

.. and inspect a few of the memorial plates bolted to the big rocks.

On the way from Atherton I went to inspect a possible owl-hunting area, and found where maize was being harvested close to the Curtain Fig Tree.  So after watching the finale of Le Tour took myself out there for sunset.

I was obviously too early for owls, despite waiting for a while.  As I drove back past the Curtain Fig a Long-nosed Bandicoot was digging on the roadside.

• Bird of the day: Yellow Honeyeater.  Green Pygmy goose gets the flock tick.
• Vegetation of the day:  Big yellow flower on Mather road.  Fringed water lily gets the carpet award (plant equivalent of 'flock award').
• Memorable moment:  The rocks at Rocky Creek
• Comment of the day: "I've only been here a year" - an explanation by the very helpful person at the distillery explaining why she didn't know how to get to the lagoon 500m from her place of work!
• Pie of the day:  I tried Brumby's in Mareeba.  They had another batch due in 15 minutes (so a tick for "home made" but the range left were all 'exotica'.  I tried a Beef and Onion and it was OK, if you like beef and onion pies. 6.5/10.
• Troppo moment of the day. Me, wandering up and down Big Mitchell Creek hunting for the Robin!

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Tie me (tree) kangaroo down, sport

Yes, I know, one shouldn't do or say anything favourable about Rolf Harris.  But I'm in the State where Pauline Hanson was preferred to the Brick with Eyes so anything goes.  (In case you wonder why there isn't a link for Pauline, its because those I thought suitable would be actionable!  Use your imagination.)  Thus I will disregard political correctness and tip my cap to the song Tie me Kangaroo down even though the macropods in question were - as will be shown later - up in trees.

Having got that out of the way (and I wish I could get Pauline out of the way) let us get to today's doings.  We started with a dog walk in Northern Yungaburra.  A notable garden plant in this area is Calandria, which is usually bright red.  Today I spotted a few white forms.

When in Capri many years ago the famous "Cave canem" sign from Pompei was common, but one house added "encore il padrone" together with a photo of a large handgun.  A similar attitude seems to underlie this place.

The view was confirmed by the flag in the front yard.

The full text on the flag reads "Kill them all.  Let God sort it out."  See preamble to this post for a context!

Meanwhile back in the main street the usual Sunday gathering of motorcyclists had happened.

As most of the bikes were rice-burners rather than Harleys it is probably OK under the anti-consorting laws.  (Incidentally, if you follow the link you will be astonished to find that rice-burner is considered to be racist.  That is the sort of thinking that gives Pauline traction: how comments about a motor bike (or a crop) can be considered a racial slur bewilders me).

An ultralight aircraft, apparently burning something other than rice, flew noisily overhead.  I was thinking about going to Mulgrave for a chat with the flag-owner to seek his assistance in resolving the matter, but then the aircraft went away.

On the topic of flying things a Red-banded Jezabel (Delias mysis) was in the Garden.  That makes two Jezabels for the list.

I had also seen a Ulysses Swallowtail (Papillio ulysses) float by when this huge butterfly settled.  It is a Varied Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina).

I'm pretty sure this is a Grass-dart (Taractrocera sp.) as it seemed to perch initially with hindwings down and forewings up.Trying to get the species is well beyond me

Going for a prowl down Mather Rd produced no exciting birds but a pretty bean.

Also an interesting view of a banana palm.

The pine trees were well decorated with Ibis.

Back home the palm fruit was very well decorated with Figbirds and Olive-backed Orioles.  At the peak there were 10 Figbirds and 2 Orioles at one time.

Most of the Figbirds flew away but a Metallic Starling came in.  This was Bird of the Day.

In the afternoon we went to explore Lakeside, a suburb towards the Lake (if a village can have a suburb).  The garden centre had a good letterbox, and after we had been, one sack less of scoria gravel - intended as mulch for some stuff back home!

A relative of Tinnaroo man was watering something!

The excitement of the day came after dark when I went on an extended Nocturnal outing led by Alan Gillanders.  The other e-word that applies is excellent.  As we drove to start the formal tour we saw 2 Northern Brown Bandicoots beside the road.  On getting to the meeting point there was a brief delay as one car full of clients were delayed.  That meant we found a Striped Possum in a tree.  Alan heard a Lesser Sooty Owl but it didn't call again or come closer so I can't count it.

Migrating to an area towards Herberton a Rose Gum (Eucalyptus grandis - called Flooded Gum in NSW) was host to a Sugar Glider, a tiny Feather-tailed Glider and this Yellow-bellied Glider.

, 

Alan spotted a joey sticking its head out of the pouch so it was a female.

Getting back to the road (where we spotlighted along the shoulder causing a number of vehicles to check on our well being) we found a lot of Lemurine Ringtail Possums (probably 8 animals in total).

The big score for the night - for me at least - was Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo.  The first sighting was of a mother and out of pouch joey and then this male.

I have outlined, with yellow dots, the animal in this image.  It emphasises the length of the tail.

• Bird of the day: Metallic Starling.  Australian Figbird gets the flock tick.
• Vegetation of the day:  Rose Gum, for hosting the gliders!
• Memorable moment:  Seeing the Tree-kangaroos.
• Comment of the day: "We're all good."  response to enquiries by concerned motorists.
• Pie of the day:A large item acquired at the market meat stall and eaten for evening meal.  Very tasty.  About half was left for 'ron (ie lateron).
• Troppo moment of the day. Troppo isn't restricted to humans!  A small (even smaller than Tammy) chihuahua at the Garden Centre gets an award for trotting up to her, snarling at her and then - sensibly, as she might have decided it was a bad-tempered rodent - running away.

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