Mission Beach Blog | Cassowary Coast | Queensland | Australia

Bush Hen

Mission Beach Tourism — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:21:17 +0000

The Bush Hen is a common but very rarely seen inhabitant of the Mission Beach rainforests. A ground dweller and belonging to the Rail family, Bush Hens are smaller then chickens but as loud as the average rooster. The most often heard call is a donkey like braying usually given at dusk. The birds will emerge from the rainforest but rarely leave dense cover.

Their nests are often found amongst tall grasses, an untidy structure the size of a football with a side opening. Their diet is composed of insect life collected from the forest floor and occasionally a quiet observer who is close to the birds may hear a sharp clicking call as pairs of Bush hens maintain contact in their darkened homes.

Look or listen for this elusive species in any rainforest area but particularly along creeks.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain

Adrian’s book – Birds of Mission Beach and environs is available through the Mission Beach Visitor Centre at $5.00 plus postage. To purchase call on 07 4068 7099 or email enquiry@missionbeachtourism.com

Graceful Honeyeater

Mission Beach Tourism — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:08:03 +0000

The Graceful Honeyeater is a common Mission Beach bird and very similar in appearance to its close relative the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. The tow may be distinguished by the Graceful having a more rounded yellow cheek patch and also on call as the Graceful gives a single ‘chip’ note unlike the longer repetitive call of its cousin.

Whilst Gracefuls are primarily birds of the rainforest they will visit gardens with flowering native shrubs such as Grevillea or Bottlebrushes.

Look for them throughout the village but beware a definite identification until you have heard the two species calling clearly.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain

Adrian’s book – Birds of Mission Beach and environs is available through the Mission Beach Visitor Centre at $5.00 plus postage. To purchase call on 07 4068 7099 or email enquiry@missionbeachtourism.com

Guanabana or Soursop

Mission Beach Tourism — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:12:24 +0000

The Guana Bana, also known as Soursop, is the largest member of the custard apple family and is produced by the Graviola Tree. It is a large fruit of a small fast growing tree. Its skin is dark green or golden yellow with conical nibs all over. The white fleshy pulp is very juicy and has a lovely sweet tangy and slightly acidic taste. This fruit is best eaten fresh. However it does make a refreshing drink, and the fermented fruit can also be used to make a cider- like drink. The flesh is peppered with small black shiny seeds which are inedible.

When ripe, this exotic fruit feels slightly soft to touch and the skin is lighter green. It is a superb dessert fruit either fresh and chilled, or cooked. Seeded fruit can be cut into pieces, sprinkled with sugar with added milk or cream. It can be pureed and frozen and is delicious eaten as a sorbet. Unripened fruit can be cut up and cooked as a vegetable – a great addition to curries or soups. This fruit dries very well, and this increases the nutrient content. The Guana Bana are very high in Vitamin C.

In the Mission Beach region, the Graviola Tree is grown in a trellised fashion. This strengthens the tree against strong winds, allows better light to encourage more fruit, and makes it easier for the farmer to harvest his crop. This method of growing proved beneficial when Cyclone Yasi swept through our region, and not one of 450 established trees was lost.

Just one of the many stunning fruits we offer for tasting at our Tropical Fruit Safari every Monday and Tuesday at 1.00pm at the Mission Beach Visitor Information Centre. $4 per person. Pay at the Visitor Centre when you arrive. Bring your own chair in the busy season if you have one!

Terri Scarborough
Mission Beach Visitor Centre Volunteer
Tropical Fruit Safari Presenter

Yellow-faced Whip Snake

Mission Beach Tourism — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:33:58 +0000

One of the least seen creatures inhabiting the Mission Beach area is the small, secretive Yellow-faced Whip Snake. These little reptiles which rarely attain a size of more than 70 cms in length are skink eaters and so active by day and also quite venomous.

I relocated one recently, only the second specimen I’ve seen over the years doing this task. Both came from the Sth Mission area indicating a colony of the reptiles there.

The venom won’t kill but does affect the nervous system and causes extreme pain in the vicinity of the bite so these little guys are definitely best left to a professional.

Both I have caught have been inside houses where they obviously enter in search or pursuit of their prey.

Adrian Walker

Old Mates (ANZAC Rememberance)

Mission Beach Tourism — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:25:03 +0000

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 the 97th ANZAC anniversary, with games of Two Up played in watering holes after Gun Fire breakfasts, and poppies dropped from a plane into a huge crowd in Innisfail.

But the day was especially meaningful in El Arish – the historic soldier settlement town named after a key WW1 battleground in Egypt. During WW1 it was the site of a strategically important battle won by the Allies that enabled them to push forward into the Damascus.

All but one of the streets in town are named after well known leaders of WW1.

Locals yesterday celebrated the towns 90th birthday and commemorated the 80th ANZAC day event to be held in the town hall which was battered by cyclone Yasi last February.

A crowd of 300 joined returned servicemen, including 90 year-old WW2 veteran Arthur Sanderson, and 20 HMAS Cairns navy personal, marching to the town’s cenotaph for a dawn service. Wearing his service medals, and joined by his wife of 65 years Marj, Mr Sanderson reminisced about the years he served in the army, working on trucks in the jungles of Borneo and New Guinea. When he was discharged in May 1946 he started cane farming, joining former WW1 soldiers who lived in the around El Arish, starting his family who were all there to see him join the Anzac parade yesterday.

“To be honest I had a pretty easy time of it,’’ he said.
“Well I would call it easy compared to some.
“I managed to get through it all without any serious accidents but it was an unusual time in my life.
“I tell the kids about it if they ask.
“Today is an important day for me, a day to remember.
“I used to lead the march in past years but I am getting on now but I still make sure I am here – it is a day to remember the past and the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country.’’

Community leaders including mayoral hopeful Wayne Kimberly and current Cassowary Coast Regional Councillor, Jennifer Downs paid tribute to the Anzac spirit, saying it was just as alive as ever.

“That mateship and courage are still evident today, especially in this region after cyclone Yasi”, Cr Downs said.

HMAS Cairns Ardent five crew members at the commemorations had just returned to the Far North on Sunday after an eight week operation near Christmas island. Some were young dads who brought their newborn babies to El Arish to share in the ANZAC event.

“For me, ANZAC day is about remembering the past and being with your Navy mates,” said one crewman Rowan Verheijen as he held his nine week old daughter Ava.

“It is not a day I would bypass and plan on making sure my daughter understands and cherishes what is all about too.

Natalie Dixon

Koel

Mission Beach Tourism — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:33:30 +0000

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 are more often heard with the males having the loud ‘Coo-eee’ call that is often heard pre dawn soon after their arrival. True cuckoos, their hosts include Friarbirds and Drongos.

The diet is principally fruit with native figs popular as well as Mulberries.

The genders vary greatly in appearance with the males almost all dark and glossy plumaged with prominent red eyes and the females streaked brown and white with numerous spots about the wings.

Look for them in fruiting rainforest trees.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain

Tree Martin

Mission Beach Tourism — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:41:54 +0000

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 similar habits in that they feed aerially on insects, build nests of mud, although theirs are more bottle shaped than Swallows, and congregate together.

The birds are rarely far from water, drinking in scoops on the wing and also utilizing water to make the mud for their nests. Otherwise they favour open ground. Uncommon in Mission Beach look for them in open pastures between Bingil Bay and El Arish.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain

Large-tailed Nightjar

Mission Beach Tourism — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:40:20 +0000

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 Axebird!

Unlike their ground feeding relations, the Frogmouths, Nightjars feed on the wing and also build no nest whatsoever, relying instead on their cryptically camouflaged eggs to deceive would be predators. By day the birds usually roost on the ground and are hard to see amongst rocks or leaf litter.

Nightjars call at dusk and so listen for the clear ‘chop-chop-chop’ call and follow the direction of the sound. Bicton Hill track is an excellent place to find these elusive nocturnal birds.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain

Adrian’s book – Birds of Mission Beach and environs is available through the Mission Beach Visitor Centre at $5.00 plus postage. To purchase call on 07 4068 7099 or email enquiry@missionbeachtourism.com

Bar-shouldered Dove

Mission Beach Tourism — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:58:53 +0000

The Bar-shouldered Dove is an abundant bird locally. Usually in pairs or small family groups these confiding pigeons are seed eaters as distinct from the more numerous fruit eating pigeons. Their call is a soft coo-coo-coo which isn’t easily heard unless an observer is close to the birds.

The nest is flimsy collection of sticks generally placed in a low shrub and 1 or 2 young are normal.

The birds inhabit the township and open grassy places as well as roadsides and remain a common sight in the village.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain

The Sooty Owl

Mission Beach Tourism — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:51:01 +0000

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 the local form and like its cousins in the south is strongly territorial and mates for life.

Lesser Sooty’s are confined to rainforest and spend the daylight hours hidden inside a tree hollow, emerging at night to prey on rats and bandicoots, the larger prey being taken by the female who is bigger and stronger than her mate.

Breeding also takes place in a hollow and underlines the importance of older forests for the continued survival of the species.
Look and listen for their falling bomb whistle call at Lacey’s Creek or other rainforested areas.

Good luck and good birding
Adrian Walker aka Professor Birdbrain