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Greetings,
Sorry to be so long in putting
together another of these newsletters. I'll be on
tour from the 6th to 13th of December inclusive but will
be working over the Christmas period. I
wish you and yours all the best for the festive season.
Weather
When it turned warm in September, Maria suggested
packing away at least most of our winter clothes. With
great prescience (some one called it something else) I
resisted this move. Today in the middle of November I
have just taken my coat off at 10.30. We did have a couple
of stinking hot days early last week; it got into the
mid thirties! Rain fell in September and October, with
a total for the two months of about 100mm. We have just
had our first fall of November, 3.3mm. It is cool, windy
and with the prospect of more light rain. Where are the
storms?
A recent study by Dr. Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution
at Stanford University has determined that "to keep pace
with the present rate of temperature change plants and
animals would have to migrate poleward by 30 feet a day."
— Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, Nov. 20, 2006
Plants
Bunya catkins were obvious a month ago
and now catkins are falling from the Kauri Pines. Young Bunya
nuts are setting. It looks like being a good crop this
year. The Northern Tamarind,
Diploglottis diphyllostegia, is in wonderful
fruit. I'm collecting some for jams and sauces but the
Brushtail Possums do not appear to be eating them as heavily
as most years. I have seen the odd fruit bat in them.
On the bridge coming into the village of Yungaburra a
pink flowered form of the Bloodvine,
Austosteenisia stipularis, has been flowering
and now has fruit set. Both species of Darlingia have flowered well with their strongly scented
white flowers. Black Beans,
Castanosperma australe, are coming into flower
now but as few have lost many leaves I doubt that it will
be a great flowering. The same applies to the Flame Trees.
A few Candlenut trees did set fruit
so I apologise for misleading you earlier in the year.
It is true though that some trees flowered for a very
long time to set little or no fruit. I wonder how much
this set back their recovery over those trees which just
gave up trying to reproduce this year. Will the rate of
predation by rats be so high, because of the reduced food
available, that it was a waste of time?
Butterflies
On the eucalypt covered section of the
Lamb Range I had a great butterfly day in mid September.
This range is the northern boundary of the central Tablelands
area. It is composed of ancient granites and is bordered
on the south by Lake Tinaroo. Butterflies were in profusion
and numerous pairs were copulating. Big Greasy, Lemon Migrant, Blue Tiger,Orchard
Swallowtail, Macleay's Swallowtail, Spotted Green Triangle,
Common Crow and Dingy Swallowtail were
all fling around at head height. Lower down were ringlets,
darts and a few Helena Browns. A Grass
Yellow of an undetermined species flew
into the car while I was sitting in the back eating my
lunch in the shade. I did not see it arrive and when it
landed on my wrist it was almost swatted. Yellows, whites
and small blues dominate the scene in the garden at home.
Mammals
In September I witnessed a large male
Platypus cruising along
the banks of the creek in the village of Yungaburra, checking
out the entrances to all the burrows. A female in October
displayed similar behaviour. Now in mid November all the
females have bare patches on their tails from the attentions
of amorous males. Tail holding and log rolls seem to substitute
for hand holding and dancing in our species. With the
water levels the highest they have been at this time of
year for some time we can look forward to lots of little
Platypus in the new year. Plural is Platypus or Platypuses
but never Platypi as it is derived from the Greek not
Latin.
A single female Whiptail wallaby has been seen
near the Yungaburra village cemetery. While there are
Agile Wallabies there
also, I have not seen them together. The numbers of Agiles observed along
Petersen Creek have been lower and this may be due to
the increased traffic of dogs. Agile Wallaby numbers
at Pelican Point near Tinaroo have recovered so it was
not the lodging of the overgrown pasture that was the
problem for them.
A population change in the other direction is that Lumholtz's
Tree-kangaroos are being seen regularly
along Petersen Creek. In fact at one stage it was easier
to see one there in the daytime than on one of my tours!
A female with a young at heel was to be seen near the
Allumbah Pocket shelter shed. On a number of occasions
she was joined by an older juvenile, probably male, and
an adult male. Four tree-roos right out in the open on
the edge of town! Many of the young at heel from last
year are now trying to make their own way in the world.
Fortunately none have moved into the busy part of the
village this year. Unfortunately none has set up a territory
where I can see them easily. Jill and Dorothy are both without
their accompanying young. The pouch joeys though are getting
large. On one night Jill's
joey had one arm draped along the lip
of the pouch and the other hand behind its head. It looked
so relaxed that it brought extra smiles to our faces.
We do not often see Pexie
because of the position of her territory. It was a joy
to see her with a large pouch young on the first of this
month. Amanda still has not produced
any young in more than three years.
An Echidna was a welcome addition
to the nocturnal viewing. It is not often that we see
these fascinating creatures. Do you know that their milk
is pink?
After doing it tough through
and after the cyclone it is great to see how the Green Ringtails are breeding
so well. A number of back young and many large pouch young
give hope for this species. Since the posting of my last
newsletter in September, we have had eight nights where
ten or more sightings have been made. The best was a night
of 14 sightings of at least 11 individuals. Coppery Brushtail sightings
have been most irregular. I don't have a suggestion as
to why this is, although the Lychees are not flowering
well this year. That always brings them out. There is
plenty of fruit on the Northern Tamarind, Diploglottis
diphyllostegia. This is usually a favourite but does
not seem to be so this year.
Birds
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Tattler, Red Necked Stint and
Lesser Sandplover were all seen in breeding
plumage on the Cairns Esplanade in September. That seems
so long ago now.
Brown Gerygones and a Victoria's Riflebird have
nests at the Curtain Fig. This fig has again gone through
a deciduous phase in early October. Common Koels are calling
at the moment. In our garden they are eating the cherry
tomatoes but just up the road they are into the mulberries.
As I walked past and their dogs came out to meet me there
was an eruption of Koels. Three females and a male burst
out of the tree. One female had no tail. The local Pied Butcherbird did not
know which one to chase but eventually settled on one
of the females. The harassment continued for three minutes
I would estimate.
The famous Golden Bowerbird
from Longlands Gap is no longer with us and while there
is a young male near the road none have "stepped up to
the plate." Maria was distressed to observe a female not
far from the bower calling softly as if for her lost suitor.
At another site I saw a male bird chase off an intruder
but it was without the spectacular displays I saw 12 months
ago at the same place. That was goose bump giving. This
male has two walls of unequal height and length rather
than the usual two towers.
The Barking Owls which sometimes roost
in our yard are still doing their circuit of the village.
They gave some information centre volunteers quite a fright
when we were having a barbeque in the park. I believe
they may be in our yard today as they were calling here
at dawn.
On the raptor scene we have had fewer birds this year
than most but only the Black Falcon has been missing from
the usual rollup. A Black-breasted
Buzzard over Lake Eacham was a bit of
a surprise. Square-tailed
Kites have been around but not as predictable
in their habits as in many years. The Little Eagles which have bred
near the junction of the Barron with Tinaroo do not seem
to be hanging around their territory this year. A number
of Little Eagle sightings
have been reported from around the Tablelands. Spotted Harries have again bred
well producing some of the local pale strange birds which
can be very confusing. Swamp
Harriers were seen in large numbers much
later in the season than normal. On one day with guest
we saw eight species of raptors, including the three eagles.
Little Kingfishers
have been seen regularly at Tarzalli Lakes and it is good
news that this establishment is reopening to the public
on the first of December. It can be a great spot for waders
and herons. Platypus are most easily seen there of all
the daytime spots I know. Once I was trying to get a guest
onto a triller at this place and giving directions from
the trees, I ended by saying, "Just in front of
the Tree-kangaroo!"
While Little Kingfishers
are sometimes seen along Petersen Creek it is more often
that Azure and
Forest Kingfishers
are seen. I believe that a pair of Forest
Kingfishers have taken over the nest used
last year by a pair of Laughing Kookaburras.
As bad as our species moving into houses much too large
for their needs! Blue-wings and Laughing Kookaburras
are nesting at Hasties Swamp.
Painted Snipe
were a pleasant surprise at Hasties Swamp and I have reliable
reports of them from Tinaburra as well. Better than that
a friend has come round with video. Marsh
Sandpipers are regular at both these sites
and on one day there was a Tereck
Sandpiper at Hasties
Swamp. Lost birds end up in all sorts of places
and it is often that they will be missed by not having
an observer there at the time.
Channel-billed Cuckoos
and Barred Cuckoo-shrikes
have been in good numbers on Thomas Road and in a large
fig about 40 metres south of the Curtain Figtree.
Blue-faced Parrot-Finches
have shown up early this year at Gourka Road Butchers
Creek but are not yet providing regular good views. There
is a lot of grass heads coming into seed.
Cassowary sub-adults
have been seen in greater numbers on the Tablelands than
for more than twenty years. Whether this relates to breeding
success or to the cyclone is yet to be determined.
A small flock of Black-chinned Honeyeaters were
a surprise during a morning walk along Petersen Creek.
I was looking for the family of Tree-kangaroos which have
been creating a lot of excitement in the village.
Forsayth Road between Atherton and Kairi often turns up
interesting sightings but the altered farming regimes
mitigated against it this year. Five Australian Pratincoles
is a low number for this site but always pleasant to observe.
They have been seen on a regular basis on two turf farms
down on the coast as well.
Pelican Point near Tinaroo continues to be a great spot
for honeyeaters and water birds. I saw my first Satin Flycatcher for that
place recently. There have been earlier records.
The death of a Masked Owl
on the road near my nocturnal site was a sad loss. It
was too far gone by the time I found it to be worth collecting.
We have been having some good owl sightings but still
not on a regular basis. A Lesser Sooty Owl sitting
at three metres and six metres away from us was a special
for one evening and last night one put on a great show
for us; flying past, landing on the ground and then in
a Macadamia tree.
Migration in Australian Birds
We have many more nomadic birds than those
of you from northern climes because of our unpredictable
climate. Much of Australia is arid with a stop-go type
ecosystem. That is the ecosystem is turned on by rain
and off by the lack of it. This is not a predictable seasonal
thing like winter and summer. Budgerigars and arid land
pigeons are highly nomadic.
On the east coast the migrants
which go well south out of the tropics arrive there before
the tropical migrants arrive here. For example within
the populations of just one species, the common
Koel, birds heading to New South Wales migrate from Indonesia
through the Northern Territory whereas our birds come
from New Guinea through the Cape York Peninsula. It was
a puzzle for me for some time as to why birds arrived
in the south before the north. The Buff-breasted Kingfishers
arrive in the Daintree area in the last week of
October and on the Tablelands in the first week of November,
more or less. Sacred Kingfishers which pass through here
on migration have largely gone south now but there were
extraordinary numbers this year. At least three birds
moved through our yard. At Kaban on one occasion there
were Forest and Sacred Kingfishers and Laughing and Blue-winged
Kookaburras on only two spans of power line. The Spangled
Drongos which migrate have moved on but we still have
the
residents.
Quiz
For those who complained about
having to wait for me to produce another quiz you might
like to visit this site:- http://www.abc.net.au/science/quizzes/
Here you can test your knowledge about all sorts of things.
Last month's Quiz was about
famous naturalists
1.
Who was know as the Modern Adam and why?
Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne 1707-78) so called
because he named the 'beasts of the field and the birds
of the air.'
2. "On the Formation of Mould
through the Action of Worms," was written by whom? Charles
Darwin (1809-82)
3. Which prolific shooter of wildlife,
particularly birds, has an American conservation organisation
named after him? Jean-Jacques Audubon
(1785-1851)
4. Name the Roman general turned
naturalist who perished in Pompeii's eruption. Pliny
(23-79)
5. He was an English cleric who
wrote enthusiastically about nature and beautiful women.
First to write on the territorial significance of bird
song. Gilbert White (1720-93)
This
month it is about astronomers.
1. Who was it that came
up with the idea of rotating spheres within the earth
to explain the changes in our magnetic field. Hint, he
used his intimate knowledge of Newton's work on gravity
to calculate the return of a comet.
2. Known for establishing
the scale of the universe in terms of distances to our
nearest stars, this German astronomer predicted the presence
of Neptune in 1840 because of the irregularities in the
orbit of Uranus.
3. Another German known
for his precocious ability with mathematics, he determined
orbits of asteroids with great accuracy. Also noted for
his work with magnets.
4. Credited with the invention
of the astronomical telescope, he discovered sunspots,
phases of Mercury and the satellites of Jupiter.
5. While he
kept the Ptolemaic system of epicycles and deferents,
he saw the solar system as heliocentric; or at least a
point near the sun as the centre.
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