I’m thinking back to Australia today! Here’s another vignette from last summer’s trip. At the beginning of our trip, Jim bravely drove us out of the Sydney airport and headed for Glen Davis, en route to Bowra Station, using my 20-year-old map of New South … Continue readingSludgie-that’s-Mudgee
Papuan Frogmouth at LotusBird Lodge (Photo by Narca) On our southward journey back down the Cape York Peninsula, we take a long side-loop from Musgrave, stopping first at LotusBird Lodge, where Sue shows us a Papuan Frogmouth in her yard and gives us great tips … Continue readingStumpy
Magnificent Riflebird displaying (Photo by Jim Shiflett) The loud whistles of displaying male riflebirds cut through the rainforest of the Iron Range on the Cape York Peninsula. Largest of Australia’s birds of paradise, the Magnificent Riflebird ranges from northeast Australia to New Guinea. Males are … Continue readingThe Magnificent Riflebird
Heathland of the Iron Range (Photo by Narca) The Iron Range… what does that name conjure for you? For me it’s synonymous with remoteness, a place of mystery, a place with rich interweaving of viney rainforest, heathlands, and mangrove-fringed tropical beaches. Its fabled birdlife crisscrosses … Continue readingThe Iron Range
Male Cairns Birdwing (Photo by Narca) We weren’t in Australia at the best season for butterflies to be on the wing, yet a few were flying in the tropical northeast, and the butterfly house at Kuranda gives splendid photo ops at any time, of several … Continue readingThe Butterflies of Oz
A Gathering of Galahs (Photo by Narca) Most of us grow jaded with what’s familiar. However awesome the spectacle, however exquisite the trogon, once we’ve seen a hundred or a thousand, or twelve thousand, we eventually stop seeing––seeing––them. Noel is exceptional in this regard. In … Continue readingGalahs in Every Light
Little Red Flying Fox (Photo by Narca) South of Musgrave on the Cape York Peninsula is a chittering, rustling, squabbling, aromatic colony of 2.5 million Little Red Flying Foxes––reportedly the largest flying fox colony in Australia. We find our way to the edge of the … Continue readingLittle Red Flying Foxes
Powerful Owl on Mt. Coot-tha (Photo by Narca) Our friend John Coons, a leader for Field Guides, has given us a tip about where to find a Powerful Owl: the track at Mt. Coot-tha near Brisbane. We arrive there and find a whole maze of … Continue readingThe Powerful Owl
Spectacled Flying Foxes in Cairns (Photo by Narca) Cairns in Queensland is justly famous for offering splendid birding along its Esplanade and excellent diving and snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef. Not everyone, however, knows about the colony of huge bats––Spectacled Flying Foxes––that roosts in … Continue readingOf Pythons and Flying Foxes
Tree fern in Lamington’s forest (Photo by Narca) Lamington National Park’s system of hiking trails penetrates the ancient, mossy Antarctic Beech forest, a relict from deeptime––from the misty, long-ago era of Gondwanaland. Antarctic Beech, a species of Nothofagus, is related to our oak trees, although … Continue readingLamington’s Ancient Forest