Centenary Lakes, Cairns Botanical Gardens

After returning from our day on the outer reef, there was just enough time for a walk around Freshwater Lake at Centenary Lakes, part of the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Straight out of the car, we spotted an Intermediate Egret feeding on the other side of the Freshwater Lake (not terribly exciting for the locals but Intermediates are rare in southern Vic so I'm always happy to see one and the setting was beautiful)

Intermediate Egret, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

and a small flock of Radjah Shelduck right on the near shore

Radjah Shelduck, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

These cormorants swam past, synchronously diving and coming up for air…I wonder how they do that...

Little Black Cormorant, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

A small island at the end of Freshwater Lake is a roosting site for a wide range of birds

Australian White Ibis, Little Black Cormorant, Black-necked Stork,
Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

including an immature Black-necked Stork prowling around. We walked slowly around the lake to get closer to the other side of the island and the stork. The shadowed foreground and backlight made photography challenging but resulted in some interesting shots.

Black-necked Stork (immature),
Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

On the way, we also spotted several freshwater turtles sitting out on small islands (I haven't had the chance to try to identify these to species yet).

As we continued further around the lake a Little Pied Cormorant was spotted sitting on a branch over the lake.

Little Pied Cormorant, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

It was almost impossible to get a good angle to photograph through the surrounding vegetation. By the time I found one, the sun was just dropping below the treetops behind me

Little Pied Cormorant, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

but fill flash worked well to bring the snap back into the image and it allows a better exposure of the background.

Little Pied Cormorant, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

The setting sun played nicely with reflections on the settling water in the middle of the lake just as this Pacific Black Duck swam past.

Pacific Black Duck, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

Another Radjah Shelduck was captured standing pensively on the lake shore. Again, I tried to improve it with flash but, in this case, I am not sure which I prefer.

Radjah Shelduck, Centenary Lakes, Cairns Qld

and so we came to an end of our FNQ experience - 50 new species photographed in some fabulous locations with some great friends and the opportunity to meet some new ones - a quick taster for more trips north as soon as the bank and leave balances will allow.

Cairns Pioneer Cemetery

We were given a tip about a pair of Brahminy Kites nesting in a tree in the Cairns Pioneer Cemetery. When we got back from our day at Kuranda there was about an hour of light left so I decided to go and investigate.

On arrival I counted five Bush Stone-curlew skulking around the graves.

Bush Stone-curlew, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

More intriguing was the interaction between a Laughing Kookaburra, perched on a low branch and a Willie Wagtail that clearly objected to it being there.

Laughing Kookaburra + Willie Wagtail, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

The Kookaburra refused to fly away and the Willie Wagtail persisted for at least 20 minutes giving me time for a range of shots. Mostly this is just luck as the action happens so quickly you just have to try and predict when things will happen and fire off a short burst, hoping to catch something interesting.

Having seen enough of this, and with the light fading, I went off in search of the kite nest, soon finding it in a fork of a large pine tree. One bird was sitting on the next, almost totally obscured from sight.

Brahminy Kite, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

As I walked around the tree looking for a better viewing angle, a pair of Pied Imperial Pigeons landed in a palm nearby.

Pied Imperial Pigeon, Pioineer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

Just as the sun was setting and clouds came over the western sky, the second kite landed on a dead branch at the top of the nest tree. It was so dark, I popped the flash on to brighten up the bird.

Brahminy Kite, Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

Almost immediately, a Magpie Lark that had previously been feeding on the ground at the base of the tree, did it's best to discourage the kite from staying.

Brahminy Kite + Magpie Lark,
Pioneer Cemetery, Cairns Qld

As with the Kookaburra and Willie Wagtail, this interaction went on for some time with neither giving in.

Cairns Foreshore...again

We spent most of today being tourists but managed to carve out the late afternoon for more birding along The Esplanade and found even more waders:

Great Knot, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Curlew Sandpiper, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Bar-tailed Godwit, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Black-fronted Dotterel, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

including a few of last night's favourites

Eastern Curlew, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Greater Sand Plover, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Grey-tailed Tattler, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Pied Imperial Pigeons were among the many birds looking for roosting sites in the palms along the Esplanade

Pied Imperial Pigeon, Cairns Esplanade,Qld

but the most interesting interaction was between these two:

Helmeted Friarbird + Varied Honeyeater, Cairns Esplanade,Qld

The two birds sat on this palm frond for a few minutes eyeing each other but did not otherwise seem to mind the presence of the other.

Cairns Foreshore

We drove from Ingham to Cairns today with a few stops for walks but it was so hot in the middle of the day that the birds were sensibly nowhere to be seen. Apparently only mad dogs, Englishmen and Victorian tourists go out in the north Qld midday sun :-)

I have never been to Cairns before so I was really looking forward to a combination of being a tourist and doing some FNQ birding on the side. The legendary Cairns foreshore was beckoning as soon as we arrived. The scene from the apartment balcony teased us with a view of the late afternoon outgoing tide; perfect for the close-up views of waders I'd heard so much about.

Apartment view, The Esplanade, Cairns Qld

I am a frequent visitor to the Western Treatment Plant in Werribee Victoria, one of the great wader locations in Australia; I have been to Roebuck Bay in Broome where the waders number in tens to hundreds of thousands and I have been to several of the prime wader watching sites in North America but the Cairns foreshore experience blew me away. As the tide recedes, you can stand on the boardwalk viewing hundreds of wading birds that are seemingly oblivious of the masses of humanity carrying on their recreational activities just metres away.

As the light levels dropped quickly (one of the disadvantages of being so far north is the lack of twilight and the mountain range behind Cairns means the sun 'sets' earlier), I tried out the flash for some of the shots. I still need to work on the settings to make the look more natural but I am enjoying this new challenge and the flash does provide  a "white light" view of the coloration and plumage detail that is often difficult to render under natural light in low light conditions.

Highlights were several species that are either rare or difficult to find/photograph in Victoria so special treats for a southerner:

Species such as Greater Sand Plover are not rare in Victoria but take some finding and are often in out of the way locations so I was thrilled to have this as the first bird I saw right in front of the seawall.

Greater Sand Plover, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Similarly, Eastern Curlew and Whimbrel are not rare in Victoria but they are usually a long way away and I've never been able to get within 30 metres of them due to a combination of their lengthy flight distance and my lack of willingness to wade/crawl through mud. Here they were as close as 8 metres.

 

Eastern Curlew, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Their feeding behavious could be observed close-up, including going face-deep in the mud.

Eastern Curlew, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Whimbrel, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

I like this shot because it displays the distinctive dark brown crown with the pale central dividing line

Whimbrel, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

I could go for years without seeing either of these species in Victoria:

Grey-tailed Tattler, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

Terek Sandpiper, Cairns Esplanade, Qld

and, for something completely different, not your usual mudflat species:

White-breasted Woodswallow, Esplanade, Cairns Qld