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| White-streaked Honeyeater |
Following our
stopover at Mt Carbine (see following post) we continued north to the
iconic hotel of Lions Den, at the northern end of the coastal
Daintree-Bloomfield Road, for a two-night camp.
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| Annan River |
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| Lions Den Hotel |
I've stayed here
occasionally over the years and the place maintains its rustic charm,
with a few rough edges.
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| Orange-footed Scrubfowl |
The camping ground
by the Annan River is pleasant enough, with Orange-footed Scrubfowl scraping around the tents. The river cuts through this charming countryside of hills and valleys with its interesting mix of rainforest, eucalypt and health-like scrub.
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| With Charlie & Lewis Roberts, Shiptons Flat |
The highlight was a
day spent in the Shiptons Flat area with brothers Lewis and Charlie
Roberts - true bushies by any measure and third generation tin
farmers and cattle ranchers. They were close friends with another
friend of mine who lived locally, Jeanette Covacevich, who passed
away recently. The stamina demonstrated by Charlie and Lewis, with his trademark bare feet, is something to behold.
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| White-streaked Honeyeater |
We spent most of the
day going up and down rainforest gullies in an unsuccessful search
for Bennett's Tree-Kangaroo. Some compensation was on offer with good
birds, notably White-streaked Honeyeater; Shiptons flat is at the
southern end of this Cape York endemic's range. We flushed a Rufous Owl but did not manage to track it down for a photograph.
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| Graceful Honeyeater |
Graceful Honeyeater
is a tad more mundane but it was good to see one again after so long.
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| Northern Fantail |
Northern Fantail was
present in small numbers though not as common as Grey or Rufous
Fantails.
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| Yellow-breasted Boatbill |
Yellow-breasted
Boatbill is always a pleasure.
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| Lovely Fairywren pair |
As is the Lovely
Fairywren, with the female's distinctive plumage.
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| Grey Whistler |
Grey Whistler showed
nicely.
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| Pied Monarch |
The distinctive
northern race of Pied Monarch put on a show.
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| Tropical Scrubwren |
Tropical Scrubwren
was also present; this species is at the southern end of its range
here. However, there is considerable debate about whether these are true Tropical or if this is a hybrid zone with Large-billed Scrubwrens.
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| Black Butcherbird |
Black Butcherbird was among other birds present. List of species found in the Shiptons Flat area can be seen here.
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| Black Mountain |
We had a look at Black
Mountain as we headed on to Cooktown.
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