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Posted by Elsa Alvear on 23:26:32 09/08/12
I had the incredible privilege and pleasure of a trip to eastern coastal Australia from July 7- 15, 2012. It was much too short a trip, but enough for a lifetime of memories and enough to truly fall in love with Australia, its diversity and harmony with nature. I was only able to spend a day in Sydney, two days in Daintree Rainforest, and a few days in Cairns, which only left me wishing I could explore the whole continent. My favorite bird was a tie between the adorable Orange-footed Scrubfowl and the personable Buff-banded Rail. Most memorable encounter was having to step out of the way of a Southern Cassowary in the Daintree Rainforest because she (he?) wanted to walk by where I was standing, and who am I to stand in a bird s way, especially one that could seriously injure me with a kick. I won t soon forget how she walked right up to me, after I spent the morning trying to find one. I totally dipped on honeyeaters and that alone merits a return trip. An even better reason to return is the wide variety of habitats I couldn t see on this trip, jam-packed with lifers awaiting discovery, such as the Lyrebird...for next time. Imagine the thrill I got this time as every single species was a lifer with the exception of Osprey, Great Egret, Eurasian Collared-dove, and Common Mynah. Page numbers are from The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia © 2010 by Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight, a truly excellent field guide. Many thanks to my sister Nicole McGrath, who just finished a year there, and showed me around, sweetly indulging my birding habit.
(S) =Sydney Harbour area including Botanical Gardens and Circular Quay
(C) = Cairns
(D)= Daintree Rainforest & Cape Tribulation
(G) = Green Island
Southern Cassowary (D) p18
Orange-footed Scrubfowl (D) p20
Australian Wood-duck (S) p26
Great Frigatebird (C) p112
Australian Pelican (C) p114
White-faced Heron (C) p116
Eastern Reef Egret (C) p 118
Little Egret (C) p118
Great Egret (C) p120
Australian White Ibis (S & C) p126
Straw-necked Ibis (C) p126
Royal Spoonbill (C) p128
Osprey (G) p138
Buff-banded Rail (G) p156
Bush Stone-curlew (C) p164
Black-winged Stilt (C) p206
Masked Lapwing (S & C) p220
Silver Gull (S) p230
Crested Tern (S) p236
Spotted Turtle-dove (C) p248
Bar-shouldered Dove (C) p250
Brown Cuckoo-dove (D) p252
Eurasian Collared-dove (C)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (S) p272
Rainbow Lorikeet (S) p274
Lesser Sooty Owl (D) p312 heard only
Laughing Kookaburra (D) p324
Forest Kingfisher (D) p326
Noisy Miner (S) p384
Shrike-thrush spp. (D) p446
Spectacled Monarch (D) p448
Satin Flycatcher (G) p452
Willie Wagtail (C) p456 Who wouldn t be delighted to discover a bird with this name!
Magpie-lark (C) p474
Swallow spp. (C) I am really bad at ID ing swallows they are just too fast!
Silvereye (G) p524
Common Mynah (C) p530
Other wildlife:
Wallaby
Long-nosed Bandicoot
Flying Fox
Python
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