Daintree Crocodylus Camp, Daintree River Crossing, Driving South to Tyto Wetlands, Queensland.

Heading out of the Rain Forest to the Wetlands.

Australia, Day Twenty Three.

 

Red-necked Crake (Rallina tricolor).

Today we were leaving Crocodylus and to be honest I would not miss the camp site but it did give us a few good species which we would have missed if we had not visited, with some work (quite a bit) and a bit of money (not a great deal considering the cost of a stay was quite expencive) being spent it could be a far better experiance.

Red-necked Crake (Rallina tricolor).

Red-necked Crake (Rallina tricolor).

Before we left we visited to pool again and almost straight away we dropped on to a cracking Red-necked Crake (Rallina tricolor) but as with a lot of the species in the rain forest it was in a dark place and the ISO was huge again.

Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus).

Pied Monarch (Arses kaupi).

We also had Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus), Topknot Pigeons (Lopholaimus antarcticus) flying over, a calling Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus maculosus), Australian Swiftlet (Aerodramus terraereginae), Pied (Arses kaupi) and Spectacled Monarch (Symposiachrus trivirgatus), Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis), Yellow-spotted (Meliphaga notata) and White-throated Honeyeater (Melithreptus albogularis), a slightly more confiding Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor) which actually stood still in the Open for at least 1 second, Little Shrikethrush (Colluricincla megarhyncha), Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons), Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela), Dusky Myzomela (Myzomela obscura), Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus) and Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis).

Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena).

Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana).

Mangrove Gerygone (Gerygone levigaster).

We packed the car and headed back to the Daintree River Ferry, as we crossed there were several Welcome Swallows (Hirundo neoxena) perching on the railings and when we were reaching the far side Ian picked up a Heron sat on the shore which turned out to be yet another lifer for me a Great-billed Heron (Ardea sumatrana).

Eastern Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus).

Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata).

We tried to get better views of the Heron but the Mangroves were too thick, however we added Striated Heron (Butorides striata) to the day list and had another new species for me a Mangrove Gerygone (Gerygone levigaster) before pushing on south past Mossman and on via Cairns South, on the way we saw Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii), Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles), Brahminy (Haliastur indus), Whistling (Haliastur sphenurus) and Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis).

Hinchinbrook Island from Cardwell.

On our way down to Cardwell where we had lunch we picked up White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Eastern Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Great White Egret (Ardea alba), Australian Ibis (Threskiornis molucca), Peaceful Dove (Geopelia placida) and a White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster).

Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta).

Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta).

Yellow Honeyeater (Stomiopera flava).

Yellow Honeyeater (Stomiopera flava).

We had Lunch and Coffee in Cardwell before continuing on to Ingham where we were stopping for the night, before we reached our destination we had Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys), Laughing (Dacelo novaeguineae) and Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii), Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis), Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) and a flying Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata) which Deb had spotted perched on a dead tree but by the time we turned around it had decided to fly off but we still had nice views.

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis).

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis).

Brown Quail (Synoicus ypsilophorus).

Brown Quail (Synoicus ypsilophorus).

We checked in to the Ingham Motel and whilst we were there I checked out some Bottle Brush plants and found Brown (Lichmera indistincta) and Yellow Honeyeaters (Stomiopera flava) and in the trees along the road Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis) and Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus).

Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus) male.

Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus).

Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus).

Luckily the Motel was right across the road from the Tyto Wetlands entrance so after unloading we had a walk over, before we got there we accidentally flushed up two Brown Quail (Synoicus ypsilophorus) but the one bird did not fly more than a couple of meters and gave us great views.

Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis).

Once we were in the reserve we started to find good numbers of new species again including the stunning Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus), Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris), Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus) and Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis).

Green Pygmy-Geese (Nettapus pulchellus).

Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii).

On the first pool we reached there were a good number of Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea), several Green Pygmy-Geese (Nettapus pulchellus), a single Wandering Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata) and Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton).

Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus).

Gecko Species.

On the second much larger pool there were Cotton Pygme-Geese (Nettapus coromandelianus), a distant Azure Kingfisher (Ceyx azureus), Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia), Baillon's Crake (Zapornia pusilla), Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae), Magpie Geese (Anseranas semipalmata) and a dusk started to fall we heard and saw both Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus) and Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius).

Dusk arrivals.

The Last of the Light.

On the edge of some reeds we also saw what looked like a large 4 meter plus Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), on the shelter where we were standing we had a Gecko species and as we walked back to the Motel a Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus).