Kutini-Payamu NP Iron Range: Part Four

 

Ms Australian Spotted Cuscus

This is the fourth blog entry about my Trip to Kutini-Payamu NP in January 2023. I have to say that to me, that year seems like something from Star Trek. I cannot be looking at 2023 on expired expiration dates. It’s in the future. It’s impossible that it is this year but... it is and I will be seventy this August. Now that really is impossible. But I digress before I have even begun. As I do.

I am back to writing blog entries. I feel like there is a permanence to my Blogspot page that FB does not have. It’s why on the advice of friends, I began blogging back in 2015. Since then a lot has changed on social media as well as with me. It was eight years ago. It was the year that we began, “the year that became a book.” Yes, that seems impossible too. The second book ended in 2021 which seems like just the other day, while also seeming like a long time ago. Time is weird and the older one gets, the weirder it gets. You cannot understand that until you have lived it.

Yes, I spent a week in one of my favourite places in the world. That was wonderful time. In this entry I will recap some more of the week and include a few things that I did not include in the other three blogs. James, Clint, David and I arrived in Lockhart River on Monday afternoon. After a quickish visit to the grocery, we dropped off our stuff at the wonderful house on the hill across the street from Greenhoose. I loved it. Full stop. Thank you, Sophie for your hospitality as well as being a friendly, positive ray of sunshine.

That arvo we went to Quintel Beach and had the best views I have ever had of Palm Cockatoos. Even I got some excellent photos. Those photos (and the Green Tree Pythons) remain my favourite pics of the trip.

As told in Part Two, the next day brought my biggest target of the trip hopping across the leaf litter of the rainforest floor and onto my Australian Life list. Number 765 Papuan Pitta you are beautiful. All of us saw that bird. We also all saw the Graceful Honeyeater in the front garden at our house as well as a Frill-necked Monarch and a cool as Channel-billed Cuckoo. I had Graceful on my list from my first visit in 2015 before it was split into the Cryptic further south and Graceful in the Iron Range. It was nice to get a photo of an old armchair tick. That evening James shared my Lifer Pie ice cream (I pushed my luck and purchased it at the grocery before I had seen the Pitta).

Graceful Honeyeater, seen, heard, and photographed.

I love a Channel-billed Cuckoo

Frill-necked Monarch without its frill up

Lifer Pie ice cream 

That night we began our experiences with the emerald beauty noodles (Green Tree Pythons). As told in part three, the first was a young, yellow one shown to us by the delightful, Jazz Zeleny of Faunagraphic. She also tried to show us our first Australian Spotted Cuscus. I rushed over to the Greenhoose but Jazz had left and I could not find it and I stood on an ant’s nest wearing Crocs (never a good thing. Only one sting but the pain lasted for over an hour). Later that day, Matt Wright, my dear friend and the other half of Faunagraphic, and Jazz refound the Cuscus on the Greenhoose grounds and I got a Lifer mammal. Later, we had one by our track up to the Heaven House (I will refer to our house on the hill as ‘Heaven House’ because that is how I felt about it). The opening pic and these are the photos of that one. Also I will thank Matt for delivering 'our' 4WD Triton. He brought it to the house and took away the van we had been using. I appreciated that.

With much gratitude, I will mention the generosity of the professional birding tour guides that were up there. January in Kutini-Payamu was literally a who’s who of tours and guides and they all shared some info with us. I am grateful, and I consider many of these people my friends. Some I have known longer than others and some I have spent more time with than others, but they all deserve my heartfelt thanks and I will mention them briefly here. Thank you my dear friend David Mead of Great Northern Birdwatching Tours for not only your knowledge up there but your and Janet’s hospitality in Cairns. And thank you my dear old friend Laurie Ross of Tracks Birding (I have known Laurie longest) He gave me excellent info as he has many times before. Thank you to Matt and Jazz of Faunagraphic. I love you guys. Thank you Phil Maher for your friendship, sense of humour and for sharing your scope with us in the rain on Chilli Beach so that James could get his Black-naped Tern tick (I got to use my new umbrella, see photo). 

I referred to Phil as the Plains Wanderer Whisperer in the first book. It was great seeing him up there. And thank you to one of my new favourite real-life friends, Doug Herrington of Birdwatching Tropical Australia who I had only previously met through social media. Doug shared the beautiful Northern Death Adder with James and me.

We saw some lovely birds and critters during our week and I will include some photos (recording shots mostly). I have written a lot in the first three blogs. There is not that much left to say (although there could be if I just kept writing). I wrote about the ‘vibe’ up there in the third blog entry. The importance of that cannot be overstated. It is very real. I can feel it. It is so ‘me’ up there. Here are some photos.

Pacific Golden Plover on a termite mound by the airport

Trumpet Manicode there were a few around

Black-winged Monarch

Magnificent Riflebird (female or young male)

A pair of Marbled Frogmouths

Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo just behind Heaven House

Large-tailed Nightjar and its chick (we did not notice the chick until we saw our photos later)

Papuan Frogmouth seen spotlighting

Yellow-legged Flyrobin 

Papuan Frogmouth on nest in someone's yard in Portland Roads

And I will include a few scenery shots. Just because they are wonderful to see.  In no particular order here they are.

Veranda at Heaven House

Chilli Beach beautiful on a rainy day

Chilli Beach beautiful on a not rainy day

Portland Roads

Portland Roads (there is a cafe and a few houses tucked in there- such a wondrous place)

All too quickly of course it was Sunday and time to leave Heaven House. Normally (being the anxious kind of guy I am) I do not do any birding or much of anything on the days that I fly out. I just double-check everything and go to the airport and wait, But our flight was not until afternoon and we had a lot of time. So I ended up taking a few photos of Spotted Whistling Ducks at Mango Farm dam. Thank you David and Clint for sorting permission to go on the Traditional Owners land. 

We flew to Cairns where once again Janet Mead collected us (David was on the same flight). We went to their lovely home and had a delicious dinner with them and spent the night. James discovered that the Ulysses Butterfly eggs that we had seen being laid the week before, had hatched and there were little caterpillars on the leaves. Very cool.

James and my flight home was easy. I had arranged for a taxi service to take me to Lara. For those of us with difficult ADHD anxiety issues, (other than having a friend or family collect you) a good taxi company is a God send. I called the company I had used before and everything was taken care of seamlessly. I rolled up at our house in Lara in a comfy, cool Mercedes. For me, the peace of mind is very much worth the cost.

Keep in touch. I love hearing from y'all.

Sending love as I do ❤️