From Tablelands to Table

Spotted Harrier

Time is flying by and good intentions of keeping this blog going must be upheld. 

The past couple of weeks has seen me resign from my job with Sunpalm so as to have a few weeks off before starting my "Dry Season" job with Oztours.  More on that later.

The time off has given me some time to do things with Ian - when he isn't working.

We've taken a couple of trips to the Tablelands.  The first was to beautiful Lake Mitchell.  Always a favourite with beautiful scenery and lots of birds.

Lake Mitchell

Driving home via the Port Douglas Road, we were treated to the rare sight of Black-necked Storks resting on the low tide sand banks.  Ian executed a swift U-turn and we were soon clambering down the steep rocky banks from the road to the beach.  We're good at this as we had some good lessons with this sort of thing from Clive (Ian's brother) in Darwin.  See Clive's Shortcuts http://winkali.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/clives-shortcuts_24.html

It's good to have a win once in a while.  Ususally Black-necked Storks fly off as soon as you're in Cooee of them.  These two hung around for quite some time and when they flew off, they went one at a time, just in case our cameras weren't focussed properly the first time.

The Black-necked Stork is Australia's only endemic stork.  They were formerly called Jabiru, however, the Jabiru is actually a South American stork.  

They stand about 1.2m high with the male slightly larger than the female and have a wingspan around 2m. Females have a yellow eye - males black.

They have a striking plumage.  The white is almost luminous.  The black isn't black at all.  It changes from black to turquoise, to violet, green, blue. . .

Back home, Winkali has been having a bit of cosmetic repair.  All her exterior timber trim was stripped back and revarnished.  We had to wait for the end of the wet season for the humidity to ease.

Another trip to the Tablelands.  This time anticlockwise.  We went through Julatten where we saw these two young Sea Eagles soaring and practising aerial acrobatics.  They seemed too young to be courting but this young fellow is certainly going to impress some lady Sea Eagle one day.

Wow.  This was food for our shutter hungry fingers.

A little further up the road we stopped in at Abattoir Swamp. We mainly like to go there because of the name.  There is a Boardwalk there that leads down to a bird hide where you never see too many birds.  Usually the obligatory duck, sometimes an Egret.  

The Egrets were more interested with interacting with the cattle in a nearby paddock today.  The cattle disturb the insects as they walk through the grass and graze.  The Egrets like this very much.

It was time to take Winkali back up to Port Douglas now.  A friend of ours, Vic, offered to let us use his mooring piles as he isn't using them at the moment.

While we were waiting for high tide to allow us out of Blue Water Marina we went to the Home and Camping show in Cairns.  I have been keen to get my hands on a thermal cooker and was hoping to buy one.  I wasn't disappointed as there were three stalls there. Joy, we had decisions to make.  We chose wisely!  The most expensive!  The price will be long forgotten while the Thermal Pot endures (we hope).

Armed with Thermal Pot and high expectations, we sail up the coast at a snappy 7-8kn.  Two nights at Low Isles - we've missed that place.   

We had a rock and rolly first night.  That wonderful 30kn wind that brought us here so swiftly, also brought swell.  Well, at least we knew we were on a boat.

The fish were abundant.  We aren't allowed to catch them as it is a green zone here.  First class snorkelling can be done here if you're not afraid of the over- friendly fish.  

But, it is a different matter for the birds.  They had a great time fishing.

An Osprey dives in and catches a fish

He carries it away

To the light house where he enjoys a meal

The Ospreys were joined by the Brown Boobies who employed slightly different fishing tactics.  

Not so graceful, but very entertaining.

A flock of happy tourists sailed in on the catamaran, Sailaway.

Some enjoyed a bit of snorkelling while others looked through glass bottom  boats.  Some snorkelled and looked at bottoms.

                                                                                   Photo by Ian

Eventually the day turned gloomy and rain set in.

Sailaway sailed away.

It was time to try out the new Thermal Pot.  The idea is you heat the food to cooking point, then place the pots into the thermal cooker.  It's very efficient at retaining the heat and food can be left in for up to 8 hours safely.  Similar principal to slow cooking in a Crock Pot, but without having to use gas or electricity.

We carefully documented the whole process with the video camera expecting magnificent results.  Our expectations weren't met.  However, with much editing, here is the result.

This clip is 8.3Mb and goes about 2 3/4mins 

Oh well, practise makes perfect.  I'm looking forward to the next time.

I'm off to Cape York this week as I'm starting my new job with Oztours.  Some interesting blogs coming up if I have time.

The down side is that I can't take Ian with me.  I'll be away for 2 week blocks for the nest 3 months.  The up side is we're getting closer to our next sea-going adventure with Winkali.

Winkali Revived

Hello to all, we're back.

There has been an absence of blogs lately as Ian and I have been flat out working.  Unfortunately, our days off haven't coincided and we've been leading rather dull lives - mostly.

You will notice that I have removed the 'Winkali in Cairns' blog. The 3 posts I made in this have been moved to the original 'Winkali' blog and slightly edited 'The Great White Hunter Returns' and 'Low Isles 1' for continuity between the posts.  (I hope there is such word as continuity).

In a nutshell, over the past few months, Ian has graduated with his Coxswains Certificate with flying colours - that was to be expected.  Hopefully, this qualification will help with employment when we set sail again (later this year?).  In the meantime he is laying blocks and looking for local work in the Coxswain field.  

I have been driving airport shuttle buses to and from Cairns and Port Douglas.  I have a bit of interesting work coming up next month with Oztours.  Blogs will be coming from Cape York again!

Winkali has been resting and wondering why she is spending her life tied to a pontoon.  We had to reassure her that it was only temporary.  We took her to Cairns boatyard for a bit of maintenance.  As we were sailing her the short distance to Cairns I told her we were taking her to hospital.  Ian had to rebuke me.  He said that boats didn't like hospitals.  Hmmm, "Sorry Winkali, did I say hospital?  I meant Beauty Parlour!"

Ian had to invent some protective gear when sanding off the old antifoul paint from Winkali.  She now has a nice new coat (or three) to keep her slime and barnacle free.

I had the misfortune of having to help.  We both finished up blue from head to foot from the antifoul dust.

Ian also did some secret men's stuff to internal workings.  This was very important to prevent sinkage whilst at sea.  I fanned him with a bread-board to keep him alive while he did this as he had to cram himself into tight little spaces that I will never venture into.  Not much fun in the tropical heat.

After a week, we had done all things necessary out of the water. Fees are expensive to keep a boat on the stand and time out of the water is kept to a minimum.



It was strange launching her again.  I was hoping that everything would be ok and she would float safely again.  She did!


In March, I went to visit my father in Melbourne.  Krista, my daughter, flew from Tasmania and we had a bit of a family reunion.  Ian had to finish his Coxswains course and flew down a few days later.

We went to Charlie's (friend of my father) farm at Yarra Glen, where Krista had a good time flattening my phone battery so I couldn't ring Ian.







Ian got to see Charlie's farm too.  There was a bit of wildlife around which you don't often see.  A wombat crossed the road in front of us.





As we drove up the lane to the property, we saw deer on the hillside.












A little Silvereye perches on a Prickly Pear.  You can eat the fruit of these as you can from any cactuses.  Ian cut one off for me and warned me to be careful with it as they are covered with very fine hair-like prickles.



As my eyesight is not what it used to be, I couldn't see them and didn't heed the warning.  I spent the car trip home with my glasses on, pulling out millions of spines from my fingers.  I can't remember what the  Prickly Pear fruit tasted like.




We went to the Dandenongs where Crimson Rosellas flew out of the majestic Mountain Ash trees, hoping for some yummy sunflower seeds.  My father didn't disappoint them.

Back home in Cairns, we had a Guurrbi at a secret spot Ian had found near where he had done his Coxswain  course.





He had found a Red-Kneed Plover on a swampy patch.  I was jealous.  I didn't even know they existed.

Meanwhile, as we were sneaking about in wildlife territory, a Black-winged Stilt was getting very upset and vocal with us.  It must have had a nest nearby and thought we were there to raid it.






It threw itself to the ground and struggled feebly as though injured.

It then struggled to a puddle of water and pretended to be drowning.

When it was satisfied that it had led us away from its nest, it happily went about its own bird business.

 We are now at Jessee's flat cat-sitting while she is holidaying in Sydney.  "Kitty" is a very timid cat and spent the first couple of days hiding in Jessee's bed.

New Years Day 2013

After having worked late and arriving home after 1 o'clock in the morning for 2 nights in a row (Ian waited up for me in sympathy), I wasn't going to have another late night on New Year's Eve.  Ian and I went to bed early and woke at 7 - a sleep in for us!

Waking refreshed, we decided to check and see what was happening at Hasties Swamp and anywhere else along the way.

So, up the scenic Kuranda Range we went, looking for Cassowaries along the way (in vain).  The low lying cloud amongst the rain forest trees created an eerie atmosphere.  I suppose the Cassowaries may have been a bit spooked and were hiding.

Then it was on to the Mareeba Saleyards which is usually a hive of activity for all sorts of birds - especially Channel-billed Cuckoos.

Channel-billed Cuckoos are the largest of our parasitic birds.  They migrate to New Guinea and Indonesia for the winter and come to the Mareeba Saleyards in summer to breed (they might go to other places as well).  They mainly use Currawongs, magpies and crows for their host as they are a large bird of 58-65cm.

Channel-billed Cuckoo

This Channel-billed Cuckoo got self concious when he caught me looking at his beak, so he flew away.

Channel-billed Cuckoo

Looking about for more victims for my camera lens, I spotted this mangy looking Sulphur-crested Cockatoo - minus his crest.

He also got self concious



                                                                     and flew away.


The reason there are so many birds at these saleyards is because of the huge and very old Fig Trees which grow there.

The cattle that come to the saleyards to be sold, enjoy the cool shade they provide.

Female Fig-bird

The Fig-birds that come to the saleyards, come there for the Fig Trees.  They love figs.

There is more than enough figs to go around and the Pale-headed Rosellas are taking their share.

Watching all the birds eating figs made us hungry, so we had some too. YUK! We had better go to McDonalds for some people food.

They forgot to put the sausage in Ian's Egg and Sausage burger.  He is used to them getting his order wrong and wouldn't let me take it back.

It was time to go to Hasties Swamp at Atherton.  As I watched the newly ploughed rich red earth of the Atherton Tablelands, I got my hopes up that I would see some Brolgas.

We have had a long dry season this year in the Wet Tropics and Hasties Swamp was transformed to Hasties Paddock with a small puddle.

Intermediate Egret in Breeding Plumage

But the small puddle held a beautiful treasure.

An Egret stood among a group of Glossy Ibis.  His filament-like breeding plumage couldn't fail to impress some luck lady Egret.

Then we got too close and he flew away.










Since the star of Hasties Swamp had flown away, we jumped back in the car and continued on our merry way.

Not long after we were treated to this family of Brolgas feeding in a paddock.  Brolgas eat snails, frogs, small fish, beetles etc and they also eat roots.



Birds that dwell on the waters edge and in wide open spaces have quite a large personal space that they don't like you to intrude into and Brolgas fall into this group so we left them in peace before they flew away.

Next place we dropped into was Lake Barrine which is always a popular place for locals and tourists alike.  It was so popular today that there were no parking places left, so we flew away.

Down the Gillies Range we went to make our circuit home.

"STOP!!!", I cried.

Ian stopped the car.

"Jabiru", I said.

Ian backed the car up to the previous paddock to where there was a stately Black-necked Stork, minding his own business.

We took photos, then I got out of the car to try and get closer.  Although he wasn't alarmed by me, he had his personal space of about 100 meters and as I got closer, he casually moved away so as to keep that distance.

The funny thing was that, as he was keeping his distance from me, he was moving into the territory of the Plovers which breed at this time of the year.  This caused them to turn into  what Ian calls 'Messerschmidts'.






So, I take a step forward and so does the Stork.  In swoops the plover.

The Messerschmidt  gets in closer and closer. . .

Too close for comfort.








The Black-necked Stork flies away with the Messerschmidt in hot pursuit.

 The beginning of a Happy New Bird Year for us and for you too.

Cairns Esplanade

Well, it's been about 6 weeks since we returned from our sailing trip.

Ian has signed up for some TAFE courses which will lead to a Coxswains cetificate and I started a new job driving shuttle buses between Port Douglas, Cairns Airport and Cairns city.

After not having worked for over 4 months to working a 6 day week, I needed a Guurrbi.

What's that?



I've copied this extract from Willie Gordon's site http://www.guurrbitours.com/

I've had the pleasure of taking one of Willie's rock art tours.  It is a spiritual interpretation which mingles the art with ones own personal experiences.

Well, now and then when Ian and I need to have some time out together, which is often, we say we need a Guurrbi, and off we go with our cameras and take photos of mainly birds, plants, nature or anything interesting.

Our Guurrbi might be a bit of a loose interpretation of Willie's but that's what it is to us.

Today I needed time out before starting work this afternoon so, with time being short, we did a little trip to the Cairns Esplanade, in the hope that the wading birds were pushed up close to the shore by the rising tide.

We had no sooner stepped out of the car and started to make our way, when a Willie Wagtail decided to take advantage of Ian's footsteps disturbing the insects in the grass.

Willie Wagtail waiting for someone to disturb the insects

Ian co-operates

Mangrove Robin

We had to sail to the top of Cape York Peninsular to see one of these Mangrove Robins as they were always secretive and elusive in Cairns.  Now they decide to let us see them up close back home.

White-Breasted Woodswallow

This little White-fronted Woodswallow returns to his lookout with a tasty little morsel.

A bumble-bee gathers nectar while a green ant sneaks up from underneath.  Green ants are very territorial.

Godwits

The tide was already high when we got there, so most of the waders had gone to where waders go when they're not wading.  A small group of Godwits had decided to relax by the water's edge.

Some fishermen (and kids) relaxing by the water's edge.

Ali in action

It was time to go as I had to work this afternoon.  On the way back to the car, I 'enjoyed' Ali and her owner enjoying a game.

Dogs are great people.

Low Isles 1

We - Ian and I - have just returned from a 4 month trip to the Kimberleys in our yacht "Winkali".  


 Low Isles: 

These islands are about 1 hours sail from Port Douglas on a favourable wind or 8nm in distance.  A popular destination for tourists and local yachties alike.

They consist of 2 islands: 
Woody Is which is the larger mangrove/coral cay island.  There are restrictions on access to this island as it is an important breeding area for many birds and other marine life.
Low Is is the smaller of the two and is a vegetated sandy coral cay with a light-house and several buildings on it which have accommodated light-house keepers and scientists in the past.  The light-house itself was automated in 1993 but there are still caretakers residing on the island who take weather readings, prepare the beach for tourists.  There is also a short interpretive walk across the island.

Woody Is

Low Is

What did we do?  We left Port Douglas with our crew for the day which consisted of Jessee (Ian's daughter), Josh and Gaye (Jessee's friends) and Lokki (Gaye's son).  Lokki turned out to be the feature of the day as his joy and enthusiasm was infectious.

With Lokki and Jessee sharing duties at the helm, we made it safely to Low Isles where we moored for the day.

Ian took the crew over to Low Is to do a bit of exploring, both above and below water.



Then it was back to Winkali where the fun escalated.   Marine life came from all directions to share lunch with us.

Batfish

Giant Trevally

More Batfish

Batfish and Ramora

This Black-tipped Reef Shark and his Ramora (sucker fish) wanted lunch too.

Lokki  wonders whether the shark has had enough lunch.

Low Isles is a favourite island destination for Ian and I.  Many birds breed there at different times of the year.  There are a few resident Ospreys which have built nests on the Lighthouse.  They are often seen flying back to their nests with a fish in their talons.  At the moment Bridled Terns, Blacknaped Terns and Pied Imperial Pigeons are busy in their nests.  

This video goes for 6min 7secs and uses 57.8mb

I published this blog as 'Around Cairns' a couple of weeks ago and intended to be informative about the areas around Cairns that Ian and I go to.

I've changed my mind and decided to keep it in the Winkali theme, as when we went away.

See you soon.