Papuan birders 2008 list (1 Viewer)

[Papuan birder]

January 1st
suburbs of Cairns, Queensland, north-east Australia

A very eventful day the first day of the New Year for me. Started up with some garden birding and scoping through the forests around our house for about an hour or so. Was then planning on going to Cairns and managed to make a few stops at a few lakes and grassland areas on the way.

1. Yellow Oriole
2. Rainbow Lorikeet (closeby garden, neigbhours feeding over 40 daily)
3. Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (5 turned up in the group with Rainbow Lorikeets)
4. Willie Wagtail
5. Leaden Flycatcher
6. Spangled Drongo
7. Torresian Crow
8. Australian pipit
9. Rufous songlark
10.Golden-headed Cisticola
11. House Sparrow
12. Black-shouldered Kite
13. Rock Dove
14. Brown Quail
15. Brown Honeyeater
16. Rufous Whistler
17. Australian Brush-turkey (1 heard in the morning, seen late in the afternoon)
18. Cattle Egret
19. Great Egret
20. little Egret
21. Rufous Night-heron
22. Dusky Moorhen
23. Buff-banded Rail
24. Manded Duck
25. Pacific Black Duck
26.Grey Teal
27. Darter
29. Pied Cormorant
30. Galah
31. Common Koel
32. Blue-winged Kookaburra
33.Red-browed Pardalote
34. Southern Boobook
35. Diamond Dove
36. Pacific Baza
37. Common Starling
38. Tawny Grassbird

 

[Papuan birder]

January 2
Suburbs of Cairns, Queensland, north-east Australia

As I saw large number of waterbirds around a lake north of Cairns on 1st January I decided to go back there, birded for roughly an hour and saw mostly the same species but a few new ones was added.

39. Bush-hen
40. Little Grassbird (unusual far north, apparently two birds present the last 2 weeks or so)
41. Black-chinned Honeyeater
42. Great-billed Heron
43. Laughing Kookaburra
44. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
45. Little Black Cormorant
46. Australian Pelican (just a single one)

 

[Papuan birder]

January 4th
Cooktown, Queensland, north-east Australia

A friend of mine from Sweden was are staying with me for the next two weekss, he has seen most of Australia already but had yet to visit some of the northernmost parts so I planned to take him to the northern tip of the continent, took the car to make it more funny. On 4th January we started our journey up north, first stop was Cooktown, I didnt see much during the drive north, and nothing new. Well in beutiful Cooktown I had about 30 minutes to bird while my freind was away buying food other supplements.

47. Black Swan
48. Collared kingfisher
49. Striated Pardalote
50. Wedge-tailed Shearwater
51. Sooty Tern

 

[Papuan birder]

January 5th
Lakefield National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

After buying all neccesary stuff in Cooktown we slowly continued our journey northwards, and after a rough and long drive we finally arrived in Lakefield National Park, a place which I somewhat fall in love with Lakefield NP, its such a beutiful place. We tented about 2km outside the park. My swedish freind is very much into reptiles so he took of early in the morning. I didnt wake up before it was almost mid-day and I had no choice but head out in the field in search for birds, we would unfortunely leave Lakefield NP already the same day, it was very hot and sunny and I didnt see much, not much shelter and it was very though birding, I didnt see much but managed to get a few good ones, hard to find elsewhere.

We left Lakefield late in the afternoon.

52. Helmeted Friarbird
53. Red-winged Parrot
54. Wedge-tailed Eagle (a big, BIG bonus and something I didnt expect)
55. Zitting Cisticola (first one in Australia for me)
56. Masked Lapwing
57. Wandering Whistling-duck

 

[Papuan birder]

January 6th
Lakefield to Coen, Queensland, north-east Australia

We had left Lakefield late in the afternoon the day before to contiune our journey northwards to get to a small town named Coen, which meant that we had to drive mostly on pitch black roads to get to the town,which is located in the right in the middle of Cape York Peninsula.

We made several stops along the road during the night in search for night active animals, quite a risky operartion as several night actice snakes which is higly venomous is found in this area, we found several northern death adders and has a quite close encounter with one to my freind big joy.

We made totally 7 stops along the road which mean plenty of oppurtunities to search for night active birds. Will probably show to be the most rewarding night birding on this trip. We arrived in Coen early in the morning, was not much to see in this small town but we had decided to try and spend the day here and explore the area abit as well to get some well deserved sleep. There was several small freshwater lakes surrounded by large and open grassfields around Coen which seemed reabile for birds, I woke up in the afternoon and went out birding on my own.

58. Red-backed Buttonquail (my first ones in Australia)
59. Barking Owl
60. Australian Masked Owl
61. Tawny Frogmouth
62. Spotted Nightjar
63. Mistletoebird
64. Bar-shouldered dove
65. Peaceful Dove
66. Little Eagle
67. Hardhead
68. Radjah Shelduck
69. Plumed Whistling-duck
70. Magpie Goose
71. Great Cormorant
72. Yellow-tinted Honeyeater (few records from Cape York)
73. Little Friarbird
74. Lewins Honeyeater
75. Gouldian Finch (bird of the year so far)
76. Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
77. Pied Butcherbird
78. White-breasted Woodswallow
79. Australia Figbird
80. Magpie-lark
81. Grey-crowned Babbler
82. Graceful Honyeater

 

[Papuan birder]

January 7th
Mungkan Kandju National Park and closeby area north-east of MK NP, Queensland, north-east Australia

We left Coen early and the target this day was Mangkan Kandju National Park, located slighly north of Coen. We brought a man named John with us to Mungkan Kandju, he has has lived parts of his life inside the park and know every corner of it, and as there is very limited info about this park we soon realized that his knowledge proved valuable. We saw plenty of birds througout the day, but unfortunely very few new ones. We had seen most previous days outside Coen and in Lakefield NP. We did however see a good number of mammals and reptiles new for both me and my friend.

The whole day was spend in Mungkan Kandju, by the afternoon we drove John back to Coen and once again continued to drive north, tented about 4km north of the National Park, with strong hopes of reaching Iron Range NP already the next day.

83. King Quail
84. Great Bowerbird
85. White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
86. White-throated Honeyeater
87. Blue-faced Honeyeater
88. Oriental Pratincole

A very meager list so far, I hope it will start to build up as we get too Iron Range National Park where we will be at least 4 days.

 

[Papuan birder]

Mammal list for 2008

I have several harmless traps spread across my garden to catch small mammals, reptiles, insects etc, has proven to be very sucesful

1. House Mouse (in my house)
2. Short-beaked Echidna (in my garden)
3. Brush-tailed Phascogale (Cairns Suburbs)
4. Eastern Blossom Bat (Cairns Suburbs)
5. Black-footed Tree Rat (Cairns Suburbs)
6. Red-cheeked Dunnart (in my garden)
7. Common Brushtail Possum (in my garden)
8. Black Flying-fox (outside Cooktown)
9. Spectacled Hare Wallaby (Lakefield NP)
10. Dingo (Lakefield NP)
11. Cape York Rock Wallaby (Lakefield NP, new species to me)
12. Northern Brown Bandicoot (between Lakefield and Coen)
13. Northern freetail Bat (between Lakefield and Coen)
14. Cinnamon Antechinus (between Lakefield and Coen, new species to me)
15. Common Ringtail Possum (between Lakefield and Coen)
16. Grassland Melomys (between Lakefield and Coen)
17. Agile Wallaby (between Lakefield and Coen)
18. Little Red Flying-fox (between Lakefield and Coen)
19. Antelope Wallaroo (Mungkan Kandju NP)
20. Northern Nailtail Wallaby (Mungkan Kandju NP)

 

[Papuan birder]

January 8th
Arriving in Iron Range NP, Queensland, north-east Australia

We left the tent site early in the morning, we was quite tired and none felt like driving any large distances but as we wanted to reach Iron Range NP (or at least close to it) the same day we forced ourself up and we was on our way. The road up to a few km north of Mungkan Kandju NP was in good condition but after some hour we had to turn down a road in less good shape, the car good stuck a few times and it took us several hours do drive the fairly short road, the road conditions is unusul bad we have been told now.

We stopped about half way along the road to sleep for some hour, and there after birded about an hour in a closeby forest. Was easy to notice that we now was in a area whith a rich birdlife. By the early evening we were really tired of driving and choosed to stop for the day, Barn owls heard near but none seen. We were happy with the day as we was only a few km from Iron Range NP and was excited about the next day

89. Northern Fantail
90. Shining Flycatcher
91. Restless Flycatcher
92. Black Kite
93. Lemon-bellied Flycatcher
94. Black Butcherbird
95. Olive-backed Sunbird
96. Singing Bushlark
97. White-winged triller
98. White-rumped Swiftlet
99. Brown-backed Honeyeater
100. Yello Honeyeater
101. Varied Sitella
102. Collared Sparrowhawk
103. Horsefield Bronze-cuckoo
104. White-throated Honeyeater

 

[Papuan birder]

January 9th
First day in Iron Range National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

We wake up in the morning, left the car by the tent site and walked the last 6km as the road was in to bad condition to continue driving. The first day inside the park was amazing and we got a large number of species in our first day here, had lunch with us in the park and spend 6 hours of birding.

105. Pied Heron
106. Glossy Ibis
107. Purple swamphen
108. Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
109. Australian Reed-warbler (possibly Oriental)
110. Little Shrike-thrush
111. Olive-backed Oriole
112. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
113. Varied Triller
114. Channel-billed cuckoo
115. Metallic Starling
116. Silvereye
117. Crimson Finch (the near endemic evangelinae race)
118. Double-barred Finch
119. Masked Finch
120. Welcome Swallow
121. Little Woodswallow
122. Yellow-breasted Boatbill
123. Grey Whistler
124. Eclectus Parrot (amazing views, first time in Australia for me)
125. Brush Cuckoo
126. White-streaked Honeyeater
127. Spotless crake
128. Little Pied Cormorant

 

[Papuan birder]

January 10th
Second day in Iron Range National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

Was to be our second day in this park, we moved our tent 4km closer to the park entrence so that we didnt have to walk such a long way every time. We spend most of the morning around a large freshwater lake located about 1km before the park, we saw mostly waterbirds similar to the previous day, but a few new ones added. We birded the entire day in the park and mostly spend time in more open habitat in order to get some woodland species.

129. Eurasion coot
130. Intermediate Heron
131. Australian White ibis
132. Straw-necked ibis
133. Bush stone curlew
134. Brown Goshawk
135. Dusky honeyeater
136. broad-billed flycatcher
137. Black-faced Monarch
138. orange-footed scrubfowl
139. Yellow-legged flycatcher
140. Rufous fantail
141. Pied Currawong
142. Cicadabird
143. Yellow-spotted Honeyeater

 

[Papuan birder]

January 10th
Third day in Iron Range National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

The third and one of the last days in the park, we started the day with two hours of night birding in order to get some owls and nightjars, was not very succesful as we had hoped and didnt get many species. Morning and mid day birding around the lake, birding in the forest during most of the daya and spend the last hours of daytime to bird along the coastal part of the park, we put up the tents north of the park early in the evening, quite tired so no time for night birding unfortunely.


144. Rufous Owl
145. Papuan Frogmouth
146. Australian Grebe
147. Green Pygmy Goose
148. Red-necked Rail
149. White-browed crake
150. Royal Spoonbill
151. Black-necked Stork
152. Osprey
153. Brown cuckoo-dove
154. Emerald dove
155. frill-necked Monarch
156. Red-backed Fairy-wren
157. Little kingfisher
158. Green-backed Honeyeater
159. Red-headed Myzomela
160. Banded honeyeater
161. Whistling kite
162. Red-footed booby
163. Lesser frigatebird
164. Mangrove Heron
165. reef egret
166. Beach stone curlew
167. Pied oystercatcher
168. Swamp Harrier
169. White-bellied sea-eagle
170. White-faced heron
171. Red-cheeked Parrot
172. Lovely fairy-wren

 

[Papuan birder]

January 11th
Fourth day in Iron Range National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

This was our last day in Iron Range NP, we had a amazing time but now it was time to leave this amazing place and move on, we however had a single day left in the park and we had not see any cassowary yet, this as well as a few other rare species was the goal for the day. An hour night birding in the early morning but not much new species added, most of the rest of the time was spend birding in the forest.

173. Superb Fruit-dove
174. Brown Falcon
175. White-faced Heron
176. Black Bittern
177. Black-throated Finch
178. Fairy Gerygone
179. Wompoo Fruit-dove
180. Southern Cassowary
181.Rufous-banded Honeyeater
182. Red-bellied Pitta
183. Magnificent Riflebird
184. Spotted Harrier
185. Azure Kingfisher
186. Silver-crowned friarbird
187. Tawny-breasted Honeyeater
188. Black-winged Monarch
189. Barred Cuckoo-shrike
190. Tree martin
191. Large-billed scrubwren
192. Large-tailed nightjar
193. Northern scrub-robin
194. Rose-crowned fruit-dove

 

[Papuan birder]

January 13th
outside Bramwell, Queensland, north-east Australia

195. Weebill
196. Bar-breasted Honeyeater
197. Black-backed Butcherbird

 

[Papuan birder]

January 14th
Between Bramwell and Jardine River National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

198. Australian Kestrel
199. Grey Shrike-thrush
200. Pied Imperial-Pigeon
201. Australian Bustard
202. Black-winges stilt
203. Square-tailed Kite

 

[Papuan birder]

January 15th
Jardine River National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

204. Eastern Rosella
205. Fan-tailed Cuckoo
206. Noisy Friarbird
207. Varied Honeyeater
208. Star Finch
209. White-eared monarch
210. Palm Cockatoo
211. Black-breasted Buzzard
212. Pheasant Coucal
213. Rainbow bee-eater
214. Sacred kingfisher
215. White-throated Gerygone
216. Large-billed Gerygone
217. Spectacled Monarch
218. Trumpet Manucode

 

[Papuan birder]

January 16th
Jardine River National Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

The second day in Jardine NP, we spend a few hours inside the park in the early morning. We did however mostly search for mammals and reptiles this second day and I didnt pay attention to most of the birds, therefore not many new birds added. We did spot two distant cranes flying over a small river tributary, unfortunely unable to id exactly which species.

219. Little Tern
220. Grey Goshawk

 

[Papuan birder]

January 17th
Bamaga, Queensland, north-east Australia

Arrived in this beutiful city in the middle day, after having spent a few hours at a bat roost along the way, another beutiful place and one of of the northernmost communities in Australia. We once again spend most of the day searching for mammals and reptiles and had little time for birding, Brahminy Kite being the only new bird added.

221. Brahminy Kite

 

[Papuan birder]

January 19th
Bamaga, Queensland, north-east Australia

A few hours of birding in the outskirts of the town showed to be quite rewarding, mostly species we had seen earlier during the trip but several being much more numerous here than many places elsewhere.

222. Red-browed Finch
223. Fairy Martin
224. Brown Treecrepper
225. Forest Kingfisher
226. White-throated needletail
227. Shining Bronze-cuckoo

 

[Papuan birder]

January 20th
Northern Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Queensland, north-east Australia

A days trip out to the Great Barrier Reef for some scuba diving and to watch marine life.

228. Streaked Shearwater
229. Wilson Storm-petrel
230. Masked Booby
231. Great Frigate bird

 

[Papuan birder]

January 22th
Bramwell, Queensland, north-east Australia

After having visited the northernmost tip of Australia and spending another day in Jardine NP (no new birds) we started to head back towards Cairns again. Back in Bramwell in which we only night birded for two hours.

232. Barn Owl