Well, the parrots avoided me again and I have moved on, for now at least. It was quite an active morning around the pond but I think that was mostly due to the presence of a raptor, a Brown Goshawk (above). This was my first for the year and posed nicely for me, even if it was a bit high in a tree. Iimagine that his presence didn't encourage the parrots to come in but he sure kept the honeyeaters and Magpie-larks busy.
After leaving Windmill Creek, Imoved on up the coast to a spectacular national park, Iron Ranges National Park. This park holds the largest lowland tropical rainforest in Australia and a whole bunch of birds and other animals that are either unique to the area or found only here and in Papua New Guinea. Because of that, I am here to see what Ican see. Arriving was a bit disappointing as the region was hit very hard by Cyclone Monica this past April and there is extensive damage to the canopy and understory. Ican only imagine what the place looks like in its full growth. More to come on the natural regrowth that is necessary with these storms later in the week. The biggest disappointment though was that the campground I wanted to stay at, Chili Beach, was closed. This means not only do I not get to see that spot but I will miss a few of the birds that are found only there. Oh well, a good reason to return.
I had a quick walk down the street this evening and picked up several new birds and think there will be lots of good opportunities for photos in the next few days. I also did a mini spotlighting trip around the campsite and came across two new species of mammal, a Cape York Melomys (mouse-like) and a Northern Brown Bandicoot. I also saw another mammal but it was mostly a blur of fur as it frantically hopped off into the darkness never to be seen again but my guess was it was some sort of Rat-Kangaroo.
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