Monthly Archives: April 2012
Old Mates (ANZAC Rememberance)
Newborn babies in the arms of their defence force parents joined veterans as old as 90 to commemorate ANZAC day during a moving dawn service in El Arish yesterday. Thousands flocked to events held throughout the Cassowary Coast to celebrate … Continue reading
Koel
The Koel is a distinctive spring visitor to Mission Beach and the birds remain in the village until the end of April or early May before migrating north to PNG and possibly further north. Arriving in August or September they … Continue reading
Tree Martin
The Tree Martin is a swallow like bird which can easily be distinguished from the more common Welcome Swallow by its lack of chestnut color on the throat and square, rather than forked tail, in flight. Otherwise Tree Martins have … Continue reading
Large-tailed Nightjar
Australia has 3 Nightjar species with all being recorded from the Mission Beach environment. The most common of these is the Large-tailed Nightjar, a bird with a distinctive call resembling the chopping of wood. Indeed early pioneers named this the … Continue reading
The Sooty Owl
The Sooty Owl was once considered an endangered species. Further work has revealed that these secretive birds are more common than was once thought and so they’ve been happily removed from that list. A primitive Owl, the Lesser Sooty is … Continue reading
Welcome Swallow
The Welcome Swallow is one of the most common birds along the east coast of Australia. Aerial feeders, these birds have adapted well to human settlement and often nest in outbuildings or under eaves. The distinctive mud nests are well … Continue reading
White-eared Monarch
The White-eared Monarch is not an uncommon bird in the Mission beach rainforests but a difficult one to see clearly as it is both a secretive species and also spends a lot of its life high in the canopy. Seeing … Continue reading
Jungle Carpet Snake
As regular readers and residents will know Professor Birdbrain occasionally turns a deft hand to reptile relocation around the village and one recent serpent is well worthy of a post. A mid-morning call comes from a local resort one wet … Continue reading
