North Queensland Road Trip Winter 2020 – Northern Bettong & Northern Quoll at Lake Tinaroo

Northern Quoll (above). After visiting the Malanda area of the Atherton Tableland (see following post) we spent time exploring the surrounds of Lake Tinaroo. The Cathedral Tree, a huge fig, is a must-see in Danbulla National Park, which abuts the vast lake’s eastern shore.

A walk around the Mobo Creek Crater turned up a vocal pair of Chowchillas, always a difficult bird to photograph.

We moved around to the western side of the lake, seeing a flock of about 80 adult and juvenile Sarus Cranes in fields near the town of Kairi.

We then camped for a couple of nights in the Barrabadeeb scout camp on the shore of Lake Tinaroo. Thanks Kath Shurcliff for the tip; it was certainly worthwhile. Northern Bettong is regarded as endangered and one of the more difficult marsupials to see. It is found only in a relatively narrow strip of open forest fringing the wet tropics rainforest of north Queensland. Kath had seen it here and after some effort, wading through large numbers of Agile Wallabies, I finally found one in the extensive campground. I saw another on the second night and managed a photograph.

The Northern Quoll is disappearing in the Kimberley of WA and the NT’s Top End as the poisonous cane toad continues its westward march. The species was similarly drastically impacted in Queensland by toads; it once occurred as far south as Gympie. However, the quoll managed to hold on in a small number of pockets, and in recent years appears to have significantly increased its population, reappearing in areas where it has long been absent. It wasn’t on the radar at Lake Tinaroo so I was surprised when the managers told me one was about, and delighted when it decided to briefly visit our camp that night. I saw it – or another quoll - later in the night elsewhere in the campground (first image in post). Northern Brown Bandicoot was plentiful around the campground.

Northern Brown Bandicoot(above). Plenty of birds were also about including nine species of honeyeater, with the delightful Yellow Honeyeater vocal and numerous.