Nesting Grey Goshawk, Barred Cuckoo-Shrike, Bush-hen, Bandicoots & Gliders in the Garden

Grey Goshawk nestling

A pair of Grey Goshawks are successfully raising a single fledgling on their nest in a tall creekside eucalypt near Cooroy. During my visits to the nest I have seen only the large female goshawk in attendance.

Female Grey Goshawk with nestling

Barred Cuckoo-shrike

A few Barred Cuckoo-shrikes are out and about, with this one seen in wet sclerophyll forest behind Wappa Dam, near Yandina. Others have been seen at Little Yabba Creek recently. Rose-crowned Fruit-Doves have returned in good numbers, with plenty of birds calling throughout the Sunshine Coast hinterland at sites where there was no indication of their presence a couple of weeks ago. White-eared Monarchs are also highly vocal at several sites; this morning I had a couple of pairs along the Maroochy River.

Barred Cuckoo-shrike

Pale-vented Bush-hen

A pair of Pale-vented Bush-hens are showing well at the North Arm site where I have recorded them annually. I had excellent, prolonged views of both birds this morning. Interestingly, the bush-hens had not apparently been present at this site in recent weeks, and their reappearance (or vocalising) coincides with the first decent rainfall for a long while. Lewin's Rail has also been calling at this site.

Emerald Dove

In the garden at Ninderry, Emerald Dove is usually a scarce visitor but a pair have been frequent visitors lately. Also in the garden, a Northern Short-nosed (Brindled) Bandicoot has taken up residence.

Northern Short-nosed Bandicoot

Northern Short-nosed Bandicoot

Squirrel Glider

A less welcome find in the garden was this dead Squirrel Glider. It was killed by a neighbourhood cat which I had noticed on several occasions, late at night, lurking in the area where the glider was found. The cat, needless to say, is presently the focus of my undivided attention.

Lady Elliot Island Part III - Turtles & Snorkelling

Greg Turtle

The birdlife on Lady Elliot Island was superb (see here for a post on terns and here for a post on birds other than terns) but other wildlife did not disappoint.

Turtle leaves beach trail

The island is a major breeding ground for Green Turtles and Loggerhead Turtles and our stay coincided with the nesting season. The first turtles emerge as darkness falls, leaving a distinctive trail in the sand as they haul themselves up the beach to find a place to lay their eggs.

Green Turtle digging nesting chamber

During a couple of excursions in the vicinity of the resort and airfield I found four Green Turtles in various places laboriously digging large holes in the sand in which to lay their eggs. Each Green Turtle comes ashore to nest only every 5-7 years and they are not sexually mature until they are 30-40 years old.

Green Turtle

Often a turtle expends considerable energy digging a hole before deciding it is not suitable for some reason - it then calls it quits and returns to the sea, presumably to try again another time.

Green Turtle laying eggs

One of these turtles was found laying eggs right in front of the resort. About 70 eggs were laid over a period of about 30 minutes. The turtle then covered them with sand and returned to the water. This turtle can expect to lay several clutches during the nesting season.

Snorkelling on Lady Elliot Island

Snorkelling the coral reefs around Lady Elliot Island is exhilarating. It is possible to walk a few metres from your accommodation around high tide to snorkel in the island's shallow lagoon. The best snorkelling, however, is a 5-10 minute walk from the resort to the island's southern shore at the Coral Gardens, or at the Lighthouse. The reef edge is a short distance offshore with a spectacular variety of fish, turtles and corals on offer, but be wary of venturing too far out due to strong currents.

Green Turtle feeding on jellyfish

I saw numerous turtles during my twice daily snorkelling excursions. The Green Turtle in the images above is feeding on a jellyfish. The turtles are fearless of people and it is possible to follow and watch them at close quarters.

Green Turtle

Manta Ray

One of the specialties of Lady Elliot Island - and the island resort's logo - is the Manta Ray. As many as 300 of these magnificent rays frequent island waters at certain times - a substantial proportion of the entire Great Barrier Reef population of the species.

Manta Ray

I saw several Manta Rays while snorkelling off the reef edge; the one in these images had been tagged by research scientists. These are big fish and the initial contact can be a tad scary as this huge black creature appears seemingly out of nowhere.

Manta Ray

The rays are extremely graceful in their movements.

Bird Wrasse

It was a challenge to identify some of the many fish frequenting the reef. I'm grateful to Chris Gurraway, a resort staffer and diver, for the lend of his underwater camera to capture a few images. The fish above is a male Bird Wrasse. The male is much more colourful than the female: I was unaware that some fish were sexually dimorphic.

Blackspot Damselfish

This damselfish is large and secretive, preferring to hide under reef outcrops.

Brown Sweetlip

Brown Sweetlip are large, formidable-looking fish.

Clam

Clams of various shapes and sizes are frequently encountered while snorkelling.

Coral outcrop

Hard, colourful corals in excellent condition fringe Lady Elliot Island in a broad band.

Leopard Shark

I was pleased to encounter this large Leopard Shark patrolling the reef seabed.

Lined Surgeonfish

Many reef fish are brightly coloured.

Picasso Triggerfish

Some, such as this triggerfish, have the slightly unnerving habit of nibbling snorkellers.

Rainford's Butterflyfish

Three-spot Cardinalfish

Lined Butterflyfish

Saddled Parrotfish

Scissor-tailed Sergeant

These small black-and-white sergeant fish were inquisitive and endearing.

Scissor-tailed Sergeant

Blue Linkia Starfish

Starfish of various colours and shapes are common on the reef bed.

Coral spawn

From the air as we approached and departed the island, extensive brown plumes of Trichodesmium, also called sea sawdust, could be seen in the sea. 

Lady Elliot Island - Part II (Birds other than Terns)

Red-tailed Tropicbird

Apart from the impressive populations and variety of terns on Lady Elliot Island (next post - see here) there are plenty of other avian attractions, chief among them the Red-tailed Tropicbird. Two pairs of tropicbirds were nesting during our stay - one at the end of the airstrip and one in front of a tourist cabin. Both nests contained a single well-fledged youngster. Like most other island birds, the tropicbirds were unconcerned by the presence of humans.

Red-tailed Tropicbird

Great Frigatebird - male

Frigatebirds were frequently seen flying about the island, although none were spotted landing or roosting during our stay. A good proportion of birds were young, presenting identification challenges at times, but I estimated that 70-80 per cent of the 100-120 frigatebirds I saw over five days were Great Frigatebirds.  The remainder were Lesser Frigatebirds; often the two species were in the air together. Small numbers of Brown Booby were among other seabirds seen offshore.

Great Frigatebird - female

Lesser Frigatebird - female

Buff-banded Rail

Buff-banded Rails were extremely common on the island, with 200-300 birds present. They could be a nuisance at the dinner table, being quick to raid an unattended plate. The rails are secretive in their well-vegetated habitat on the mainland but on the island they are fearless and forage openly, even at night.

Buff-banded Rail

Eastern Reef-Egret

 Eastern Reef-Egrets were fairly common; about 70 per cent were white phase, the remainder grey phase.

Lesser Sand-Plover

 About 10 Lesser Sand-Plovers were on the island.

Pied Oystercatcher

One pair each of Pied Oystercatcher and Sooty Oystercatcher was present, sharing similar habitat. Note the large eye-ring of the northern race of Sooty Oystercatcher opthalmicus here.

Sooty Oystercatcher

Grey-tailed Tattler

Both species of tattler were in good numbers and it was interesting to see them sharing similar habitat (like the oystercatchers). A total of 22 Grey-tailed Tattlers and 9 Wandering Tattlers were counted. Sometimes they roosted loosely together at high tide on the reefs.

Wandering Tattler

 I was surprised to find a Wandering Tattler in breeding plumage roosting in a tree.

Wandering Tattler

Pacific Golden Plover & Ruddy Turnstone

Good numbers of Ruddy Turnstone and Pacific Golden Plover were on the island along with a few Red-necked Stints.

Red-necked Stint

Sanderling

An unexpected find was a Sanderling which fed on the airstrip or along an adjacent beach, sometimes keeping company with the stints.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were nesting commonly about the resort, including a pair behind our cabin. They flew in after dusk and were quite vocal throughout the evening, which is why the resort supplies free earplugs to guests. I also found several beachwashed Short-tailed Shearwaters on the island - they would not normally be expected here but it was not surprising given the extent of the huge wreck of this species being experienced this spring throughout south-eastern Australia.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Silvereye

A few Silvereyes of the distinctive Great Barrier Reef race chlorocephala were about, though not as commonly as I expected. Other land birds included a couple of Tawny Grassbirds, several Sacred Kingfishers and Channel-billed Cuckoo heard. The only raptor seen was a single White-bellied Sea-Eagle.

Lady Elliot Island Resort

A general shot of the resort (above) and the island's historic lighthouse. The service and food at the resort was excellent and this ecotourism destination can be highly recommended. A separate post will follow on turtles and fish seen.