Brown Booby - A Distinguished Guest

 A Brown Booby stayed on a buoy near Cheung Chau for a few days last week, what made this bird interesting is that it was an adult! Which is not a common sight at all in Hong Kong. Hoiling and I made the effort to go see this distinguished guest, we contacted the sanpan owner which saw us on the 9am ferry to Cheung Chau, where we met the owner at 10am. The trip from Cheung Chau to the buoy of interest took another 30 minutes. We saw the bird sitting on the buoy way before we even got there. 

The bird was not particularly active, it was very alert and was aware of our presence, although it did not mind us getting close to the buoy in true Booby fashion. We enjoyed fantastic views of this large goofy looking seabird, although knowing that it probably won't change pose for us we decided to leave it in peace. The bird was reported for another day after our outing and disappeared the day after, hopefully gained enough strength to continue on its journey. Though not a lifer, this was a Hong Kong tick for me, and I am glad to get this on my Hong Kong list at long last.

Locustella season has begun at Telford Gardens, this little gem on the rooftop garden of a shopping mall in Kowloon have become one of the best places in Hong Kong if not the world to see Grasshopper Warblers. While my friends found a Baikal Bush Warbler that showed for only a day, numerous Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers been coming and going in the flowerbeds. I saw this at least two birds on my last visit, one of which was relatively showy, although not easy at all the photograph.

Still not much luck with any snakes, but got a lifer in form of the Hong Kong Slender Gecko. This species was only recently described and is the only endemic gecko in Hong Kong. It does look a bit like a Chinese Gecko, but the patterns on its back is different, plus they are much smaller, only the size of a juvenile Chinese Gecko. 

Shan Liu Village is one of the butterfly watching hotspot, though I myself is not a huge butterfly person, I do feel quite fortunate to be able to live in close proximity to so many beautiful butterflies. Here are some interesting ones I found along the stream of late.

Common Gull - Cepora nerissa

Tawny Rajah - Charaxes bernardus 

Spangle - Papilio protenor

Chinese Peacock - Papilio bianor

Common Grass Yellow - Eurema hecabe

Other than common species, I few rarer species also turned up, including the Green Skirt Baron, it looks similar to the male Common Archduke but much smaller and have a dark trail edge to the hind wings. The Five-bar Swordtail is not rare but still one that I enjoy seeing everytime, especially when it is drinking water.

Green Skirt Baron - Tanaecia whiteheadi

Five-bar Swordtail - Graphium antiphates

One of our local specialty is the Spotted Sawtooth, a rare species in Hong Kong but regularly sighted at Shan Liu. I have seen them even at my doorstep, although seeing it drinking by the stream resulted in some good photos. A Forget-me-not is perhaps one of the less impressive looking species, although also quite uncommon in Hong Kong.

Spotted Sawtooth - Prioneris thestylis

Forget-me-not - Catochrysops strabo

Queensland Australia - Jan 2020 : Part 4

Day 13:

I booked a day tour with Seastar Cruises to visit the world renowned Great Barrier Reef, if you ever wish to visit the reef I highly recommend going with them, they were very well organised and staffs were extremely helpful and friendly. As birders, we are not just interested in the colourful coral reefs and fishes, we are especially interested in the birdlife that make this world heritage site their home. A small sandy island call Michaelmas Cay interested me, being the 5th largest seabird colony in the Great Barrier Reef, it is also the most accessible. There are at the moment two commercial cruises that are allowed to land on the Cay each day, and Seastar Cruise gets to land earlier in the morning, making it the more ideal company to go with as birders.

We walked over to the pier from our hotel and arrived at 7:30am. After some safety briefing the boat which hosted just under 20 guests headed out of Cairns. It took roughly an hour to get from Cairns to Michaelmas Cay. Upon seeing the flat sandy island you can see thousands and thousands of seabirds all roosting and flying around the island.

Michaelmas Cay

All the other visitors changed into their wetsuits and prepared a snorkelling session around the Cay, Hoiling and I however got our binoculars and cameras ready. From the boat we saw plenty of Brown Boobies flying around, I also spotted two Red-footed Boobies but they flew off soon after and were not seen again.

Brown Booby - female

Red-footed Booby - only brief views

Numerous Lesser Crested Terns came back to the island with fish in their beak, this obviously attracts the attention of Frigatebirds which patrols the Cay, I saw mainly Great Frigatebirds with very few Lesser Frigatebirds flying in the distant.

Lesser Crested Tern

Great Frigatebird - female

Upon landing on Michaelmas Cay, you must pause for a moment to gather yourself the spectacle that surrounds you. It's as if you have entered bird paradise! Everywhere you looked there were seabirds, some literally right by your feet! As a bird sanctuary, they have fenced off most of the island with some rope, visitors are not allowed to go past the rope and into the nesting area, but honestly there is no real need as the birds were all so close!

All the seabirds by your feet!

Brown Boobies greeting us on the sign

Thousands of Greater Crested Terns nested near the middle, all protecting their eggs with their own body from the relentless sun. On the outskirt of these terns were a few Brown Booby chicks accompanied by their parents, these fluffy chicks were extremely adorable and we spent the most time looking at them.

Greater Crested Terns colony

Male Brown Booby with chick

Brown Noddy was one of the commonest species on the Cay, you have to be careful where you step as sometimes they were just roosting next to your feet! I looked for Black Noddy but didn't see any.

Brown Noddy

Several Lesser Crested Terns landed on the beach, as it turns out there were a few young chicks there begging for food, although looking at the chaos it seems the chick don't really know which one is its parent, other scavenging terns came in trying to steal the fish out of the parents beak just added to the drama.

Lesser Crested Tern with chick

Only a few Greater Crested Terns roosted up on the beach, while I saw a few chicks strayed all the way to the beach, likely that its parents are out fishing somewhere now that it's big enough to fend for itself.

Greater Crested Tern & Brown Noddy

Greater Crested Tern chick

Sooty Terns were also in good numbers, being a rare species in Hong Kong I've only seen juveniles before, so I was very happy to finally see adults flying around. Most of the roosted far away from the beach, but a few young birds were there which meant the parents had to come over to feed it.

Sooty Tern juvenile with adult

Great Frigatebirds soared over our heads like planes, I was hoping to get some that perch closer to the beach but all of them were roosting pretty far away.

Great Frigatebird - female

The sun was most unforgiving, and soon we were overheating. We could only retreat back to the shades of the boat where I continued with some flight shots of various seabirds. There were small numbers of Black-naped Terns breeding on the Cay as well, we saw several flying past our boat.

Lesser Crested Tern

Brown Noddy

Brown Booby

Black-naped Tern

After lunch our boat headed over to Hastings Reef, a outer reef on the very edge of open water where corals thrives. We got in our wetsuits here and jumped into the water for some snorkelling, our TG5 came into great use! Although I was not particularly good at taking photos underwater, this will take some more practice...

Hastings Reef

The most abundant fishes were hundreds of Scissortail Sergeants swimming right beside you. A pair of Black-backed Butterflyfish came past us.

Scissortail Sergeants - we called them the 'stripy fish'

Black-backed Butterflyfish

We saw quite a few beautiful Six-banded Parrotfishes, these interesting looking fish apparently spends over 90% of their day feeding on algae that grows on the corals, which in turn keeps the reef healthy. Their strong beak is also able to crush dead corals and they will literally poop out white sand...so next time you sit on a white sandy beach just remember you are literally sitting on a large pile parrotfish poop.

Six-banded Parrotfish

A slightly bigger Spotted Parrotfish came very close, it was accompanied by a Checkerboard Wrasse. A different looking individual also came close, this species changes colour throughout it's life stages, this one is probably a younger individual, it was accompanied by a Sixbar Wrasse.

Adult Spotted Parrotfish & Checkerboard Wrasse

Juvenile Spotted Parrotfish & Sixbar Wrasse

The third Parrotfish species we saw was the Steephead Parrotfish, easily recognised by it's large bump on the forehead. It was accompanied by a Orangestripe Triggerfish and a Striped Surgeonfish.

Orangestripe Triggerfish (left), Steephead Parrotfish (middle), Striped Surgeonfish (right)

A little deeper down we saw several Bluespotted Cornetfish, a curious looking fish with elongated body and beak. Sitting motionlessly on the bottom was a Titan Triggerfish.

Bluespotted Cornetfish

Titan Triggerfish

I noticed a fish that sat on the coral, it was a Freckled Hawkfish, while a few Clark's Anemonefish were swimming in the open instead of hiding within the cover of soft corals.

Freckled Hawkfish

Clark's Anemonefish

Another fish I've often seen in aquarium was the Foxface, but I prefer to see them in the wild. We also saw a Small Giant Clam, this species doesn't grow larger than 20cm, but is just as colourful as any other Giant Clams.

Foxface

Small Giant Clam

Schools of Chinese Demoiselle swam below us, a much larger Two-spot Red Snapper stayed motionlessly as I swam past it while getting back onto the boat.

Two-spotted Red Snapper & Chinese Demoiselles

We got back to Cairns at around 4pm. After a little rest in the hotel we decided to head out to the esplanade once again for some casual birding. Bush Stone-curlews are very common around Cairns and in the park opposite to our hotel we found many sitting below trees during the day. They are nocturnal birds, being a lot more active by night and often very noisy.

Bush Stone-curlew

The Australian Pelicans were even closer than the previous day, many tourists sat down to look at these funny looking birds, it was a lot of fun just looking at them preening and stretching out their throat pouch.

Australian Pelican

The tide was a lot higher, leaving little space for waders to perch and feed, although this doesn't affect the Great Egret. We found a few Bar-tailed Godwits roosting at the beach towards the end of the esplanade.

Great Egret

Bar-tailed Godwit

On our way back a few more waders flew in to roost, including many Whimbrels. I was delighted to find a flock of Great Knots as well as a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper also decided to come into roost. I added a single Grey-tailed Tattler while walking to the restaurant for dinner.

Whimbrel

Great Knot with single Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Grey-tailed Tattler

After dinner we enjoyed the night scenery along the esplanade, I noticed a bird out on the mudflat, turns out it was a Rufous Night Heron, another addition to our trip list!

Cairns Esplanade at night

Rufous Night Heron

Day 14:

For our last morning at Cairns we didn't really want to go very far and decided to head back towards the Botanic Gardens to look for the Papuan Frogmouth one last time. We were again disappointed, and there wasn't a lot of interesting birds to be seen. A Bush Stone-curlew and it's chick was probably the only highlight of the morning.

Bush Stone-curlew - with chick

The streets was boiling, temperature soared to 36°C on the day which made this the hottest day we've experienced the whole trip. Seeing that it probably wasn't a good idea to engage in anymore outdoor activities, we paid a visit to the Cairns Aquarium, which we throughly enjoyed! The aquarium housed many native animals including freshwater fish, reptiles, amphibians and of course reef fishes. It was quite large and you can easily spend two to three hours strolling through the various exhibitions.

Freshwater Turtle Exhibition at Cairns Aquarium

Barramundi, one of Australia's favourite food fish...

Show piece reef tank at Cairns Aquarium

After lunch and some last minute shopping we returned our car at the airport and that was the end of our time at Cairns. Overall, Cairns got this unique charm that is quite unlike other parts of Australia I've visited, its got an almost South East Asia feel to it.

Cairns from above

Day 15:

This was our final day at Brisbane before departing back to Hong Kong. My aunt let us borrow her car again for the last day, we first visited the Tinchi Tamba Wetland Reserve, located just north of Brisbane. Here you can find mangroves, woodlands as well as tidal mudflats. Unfortunately, the tide was very high during our visit. Our first and probably best bird there was a male Rose-crowned Fruit Dove which Hoiling spotted, this was the last resident Fruit Dove species we were missing from Queensland, so I was glad to get this on our list!

Boardwalk at Tinchi Tamba Wetland Reserve

Rose-crowned Fruit Dove - male

In the nearby woodlands we saw many Spangled Drongos, a Black-faced Cuckooshrike dropped in on a tree quite far away. We also saw a few female Red-backed Fairywrens but they didn't show very well.

Spangled Drongo

Black-faced Cuckooshrike

Along the river channel we saw a flock of Little Black Cormorants diving and feeding. Australian Swamphens foraged on the lawns, this species was formerly lumped together with other Porphyrio as Purple Swamphen, they have since been split into six species.

Little Black Cormorant

Australian Swamphen

Next we visited the Boondall Wetlands, the circuit walk from the information centre was very pleasant. I especially like the 'Wildlife Alert' signs saying 'Do not disturb the birds and the birdwatchers', never knew birdwatchers are considered wildlife in Australia!

Boardwalk at Boondall Wetlands

We need signs like this in Hong Kong!

The woodlands around the wetland was quite productive, we saw a Pied Butcherbird, a Brush Cuckoo singing from its perch and a Rufous Whistler. A few Grey Fantails also showed well.

Pied Butcherbird

Brush Cuckoo

Rufous Whistler

Grey Fantail

Along the trail Hoiling spotted four Tawny Frogmouths roosting together. These comical birds are never boring to look at, two of them were quite alert at our presence and kept a watchful eye on us, while the other two just carried on sleeping.

Tawny Frogmouth - giving us 'the look'

It started raining so we took shelter inside the bird hide. We watched a few Torresian Crows sitting on the boardwalk, they are common and widespread in Australia, although I love their unique blue greyish eyes which stands out from the rest of its plumage. Across the river channel we added a Torresian Kingfisher, a split from the Collared Kingfisher.

Torresian Crow

Torresian Kingfisher

We continued after the shower had subsided. A fairly confiding Laughing Kookaburra was our last one of the trip. We also found a group of Red-backed Fairywrens, the bold male showed off its bright colours, a male in moult and female was also nearby.

Laughing Kookaburra

Red-backed Fairywren - showy male

Red-backed Fairywren - moulting male & female

Our final stop for the day was Nudgee Beach, we only walked to the bird hide and back to the carpark, here we were able to add two mangrove specialist in form of a Mangrove Gerygone and a small flock of Mangrove Honeyeaters.

Boardwalk through mangroves at Nudgee Beach

Mangrove Gerygone

Mangrove Honeyeater

On our way out we also saw a few Greater Crested Terns flying around the river mouth, whereas a White-bellied Sea Eagle perched up on a dead tree for good views. We drove back to my aunt's place for a family dinner before taking the evening flight back to Hong Kong.

Greater Crested Tern

White-bellied Sea Eagle

It was most unfortunate that during our visit the neighbouring states of New South Wales and Victoria experienced some of the worst bushfires in recent history, whether these disasters were manmade or natural shows what thin-line we are walking on, if we are not careful we could endanger even more of these unique animals, worst still lose some of these incredible wildlife.

The sad reality is, Queensland is now listed as a deforestation hotspot, clearing forests and bushland in an unprecedented rate. In 2015-16 alone around 395,000 hectares of lands were cleared in Queensland, that is equivalent to 1,500 football fields per day. We did experienced this first hand, as we birded at Kuranda, trucks loaded with timber hauled out one after the other, while emptied trucks drove back up the hill for more, I was horrified by the fact that commercial logging was going on within state forests, and God knows what chemicals they may be spraying up there! Habitat loss is therefore a huge concern for many species in Australia, the recent bushfires may have made this worst.

Negativity aside, almost everyone we have met during the trip was extremely helpful and friendly, making our trip in Queensland incredibly enjoyable. Despite the flu which hindered our mobility slightly, I am glad it didn't really affect our itinerary too much. When it comes to birding, Australia really has a lot to offer, not only does it have some of the most unique birds in the world, but the fact that many of these birds live in close proximity to human makes birding in Australia so much fun. We ended up with 221 species of birds in just 15 days, and not all of those days were purely spent birding. We also recorded many key target species, including 13 of the 14 wet tropic endemics, although out of those 2 were heard only (Lesser Sooty Owl and Tooth-billed Bowerbird), but considered the limited time we had I thought we did pretty well.

Bird list:

	Species	Note
1	Black Swan	Small flock at Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
2	Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata)	A few at Cairns Centenary Lakes
3	Spotted Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna guttata)	Small flock at Cattana Wetlands
4	Green Pygmy-Goose (Nettapus pulchellus)	Seen at Cattana Wetlands and Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
5	Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata)	Common at Brisbane City Botanic Gardens
6	Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa)	Common
7	Mallard
8	Hardhead (Aythya australis)	Common at Brisbane Botanic Gardens and other water bodies
9	Australian Brushturkey (Alectura lathami)	Common
10	Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt)	Common throughout Cairns area
11	Helmeted Guineafowl (Domestic type)	One at Cattana Wetlands carpark
12	Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)	A few at Brisbane Botanic Gardens
13	Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)	Large flock at Lake Barrine
14	Rock Dove (Columba livia)
15	White-headed Pigeon (Columba leucomela)	One near Montville, another at O'Reilly's
16	Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
17	Brown Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia phasianella)	Commonly in forested areas
18	Pacific Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps longirostris)	Common around forested areas in Cairns, also seen at O'Reilly's
19	Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes)	Common in suburban and open areas
20	Wonga Pigeon (Leucosarcia melanoleuca)	Common around O'Reilly's
21	Peaceful Dove (Geopelia placida)	Abundant at Cairns
22	Bar-shouldered Dove (Geopelia humeralis)	Fairly common around Brisbane and regular at Kingfisher Park
23	Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus)	Seen at Mt Lewis, Kingfisher Park and Black Mountain Road
24	Superb Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus superbus)	Common at Mt Lewis and Kingfisher Park
25	Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus regina)	Single male at Tinchi Tamba Wetlands
26	Torresian Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula spilorrhoa)	Abundant at Cairns
27	Topknot Pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus)	Often seen flying through at O'Reilly's and Mt Lewis, single bird at Cairns Esplanade
28	Australian Bustard (Ardeotis australis)	At least 10 birds near Mt Carbine
29	Pheasant Coucal (Centropus phasianinus)	One seen flying across the road between O'Reilly's and Brisbane
30	Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis)	Seen at Mt Carbine and Cattana Wetlands
31	Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae)	Very common at Mt Coot-tha, heard elsewhere
32	Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus)	One seen at Mt Coot-tha
33	Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)	Two seen at Cattana Wetlands
34	Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis)	One juvenile at O'Reilly's
35	Chestnut-breatsed Cuckoo (Cacomantis castaneiventris)	One heard at Kingfisher Park
36	Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus)	An adult at Boondall Wetlands, heard elsewhere
37	Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides)	Two seen at Mt Carbine, four seen at Boondall Wetlands
38	Australian Owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus)	Numerous heard at O'Reilly's, none showed
39	White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus)	Sparingly seen throughout the trip
40	Australian Swiftlet (Aerodramus terraereginae)	Sparingly seen throughout the trip
41	Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)	Common in Brisbane Botanic Gardens and other water bodies
42	Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)	Seen at Brisbane Botanic Gardens, also seen at Lake Barrine
43	Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus)	A few seen near Tinchi Tamba Wetlands
44	Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis moluccana)	One seen at Hunter Creek Park
45	Red-necked Crake (Rallina tricolor)	Regular visitor to bird bath at Kingfisher Park
46	Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius)	Seen at Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, common throughout Cairns
47	Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris)	Two seen along Cairns Esplanade
48	Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)	Common
49	Greater Sand Plover (Charadrius leschenaultii)	A few at Cairns Esplanade
50	Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea)	A mother with chicks seen at Cattana Wetlands
51	Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)	Cairns Esplanade
52	Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis)	Cairns Esplanade
53	Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)	Common along Cairns Esplanade
54	Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris)	Small flock at Cairns Esplanade
55	Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)	Singles at Cairns Esplanade
56	Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)	Small flock at Cairns Esplanade
57	Red-necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis)	Small flock at Cairns Esplanade
58	Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes)	Singles at Cairns Esplanade
59	Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)	Singles at Cairns Esplanade
60	Painted Buttonquail (Turnix varius)	A pair seen on the way up to O'Reilly's
61	Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)	Common along coast
62	Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus)	Abundant at Michaelmas Cay
63	Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus)	Abundant at Michaelmas Cay
64	Little Tern (Sternula albifrons)	One from the boat just off Cairns
65	Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)	Seen along Cairns Esplanade
66	Black-naped Tern (Sterna sumatrana)	A few breeding on Michaelmas Cay
67	Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii)	Abundant at Michaelmas Cay
68	Lesser Crested Tern (Thalasseus bengalensis)	Abundant at Michaelmas Cay
69	Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel)	One female seen flying high above Michaelmas Cay
70	Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)	At least six birds around Michaelmas Cay
71	Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)	Up to twelve pairs breeding on Michaelmas Cay plus more out at sea
72	Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)	Only two birds seen before landing on Michaelmas Cay
73	Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae)	One at Lake Barrine, later also seen at Cattana Wetlands and Boondall Wetlands
74	Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)	One at Brisbane City Botanic Garden, a few elsewhere
75	Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)	A few at Cairns Centenary Lakes and other wetlands
76	Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius)	One seen flying through at Boondall Wetlands
77	Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)	One flock at Cairns Esplanade, also a pair at Lake Barrine and few at Boondall Wetlands
78	Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)	One seen by Hoiling at Cattana Wetlands
79	Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
80	Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia)
81	Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
82	White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)	One seen from the road out of Cattana Wetlands
83	Pacific Heron (Ardea pacifica)	One seen from afar at Big Mitchell Creek Reserve
84	Pacific Reef-Heron (Egretta sacra)	One seen from the Cairns Esplanade
85	Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
86	Striated Heron (Butorides striata)	One at Brisbane City Botanic Gardens
87	Rufous Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus)	One seen at night along Cairns Esplanade
88	Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)	One at Cattana Wetlands
89	Australian Ibis (Threskiornis molucca)	Abundant
90	Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis)	Fairly common throughout
91	Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia)	One at Cairns Esplanade
92	Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)	A pair seen in the distant at Boondall Wetlands
93	Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris)	A few seen from the road to O'Reilly's
94	Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata)	One at Brisbane Botanic Gardens, two more at Mt Lewis
95	Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)	A pair seen on the way to O'Reilly's
96	Grey Goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae)	One seen on Black Mountain Road
97	Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus)	One seen at Caterson Park, Brisbane
98	Black Kite (Milvus migrans)	Common
99	Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus)	One seen near Mt Carbine
100	Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)	One at Boondall Wetlands
101	White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)	One at Nudgee Beach
102	Lesser Sooty Owl (Tyto multipunctata)	At least two heard at Kingfisher Park
103	Azure Kingfisher (Ceyx azureus)	One at Hunter Creek Park, another near Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
104	Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)	Common
105	Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii)	A few seen at Mt Carbine
106	Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii)	Common around Kingfisher Park and surrounding area
107	Torresian Kingfisher (Todiramphus sordidus)	One seen at Boondall Wetlands
108	Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus)	Common throughout
109	Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher (Tanysiptera sylvia)	Fairly common at Kingfisher Park, also seen at Mt Lewis
110	Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus)	Common at Cattana Wetlands
111	Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)	One seen from the road towards O'Reilly's, another at Mt Carbine
112	Australian Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)	Common on roadsides
113	Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla)	Abundant at Mt Carbine, few elsewhere
114	Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)	Common throughout
115	Australian King-Parrot (Alisterus scapularis)	Abundant at O'Reilly's, a few at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
116	Red-winged Parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus)	Small flock at Mt Carbine
117	Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)	Abundant at O'Reilly's
118	Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus)	A pair at mango plantation at Brisbane plus a few at Mt Carbine
119	Double-eyed Fig-Parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma)	Heard on Mt Lewis
120	Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus)	Abundant
121	Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus)	A few at Caterson Park and Mt Coot-tha
122	Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor)	Three birds seen at O'Reilly's, also heard on Mt Lewis and Black Mountain Road
123	Albert's Lyrebird (Menura alberti)	One male seen at O'Reilly's
124	Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus maculosus)	Common at Mt Lewis, heard at Lake Barrine and Black Mountain Road
125	Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris)	A few seen at O'Reilly's
126	Tooth-billed Bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris)	Heard on Mt Lewis
127	Regent Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus)	Common at O'Reilly's
128	Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)	Common at O'Reilly's
129	Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis)	Seen at Mt Carbine and Mt Molloy
130	White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea)	Seen at O'Reilly's, also on Mt Lewis and Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
131	Variegated Fairywren (Malurus lamberti)	Seen at Caterson Park
132	Lovely Fairywren (Malurus amabilis)	Three birds seen at Centenary Lakes
133	Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus)	A few seen at O'Reilly's
134	Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus)	Seen at Caterson Park, Mt Carbine and Boondall Wetlands
135	Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)	Common at O'Reilly's, also at Mt Lewis and Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
136	Yellow-spotted Honeyeater (Meliphaga notata)	At Mt Lewis and Hunter Creek Park
137	Lewin's Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii)	Common throughout
138	Graceful Honeyeater (Meliphaga gracilis)	A few at Kingfisher Park
139	Yellow Honeyeater (Stomiopera flava)	Seen at Cattana Wetlands
140	Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Caligavis chrysops)	A few seen at Kingfisher Park, Hunter Creek Park and Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
141	Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)	Abundant in Brisbane
142	Bridled Honeyeater (Bolemoreus frenatus)	Numerous at Mt Lewis and Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
143	Varied Honeyeater (Gavicalis versicolor)	A few seen at Cairns Esplanade
144	Mangrove Honeyeater (Gavicalis fasciogularis)	A flock at Nudgee Beach
145	Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus)	A few at Hunter Creek Park and Cattana Wetlands
146	Dusky Myzomela (Myzomela obscura)	Seen on Mt Lewis as well as Black Mountain Road
147	Scarlet Myzomela (Myzomela sanguinolenta)	Singles at Mt Lewis, Hunter Creek Park and Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
148	Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta)	A few at Cairns Esplanade
149	White-cheeked Honeyeater (Phylidonyris niger)	Only seen at Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
150	Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)	Common throughout
151	White-throated Honeyeater (Melithreptus albogularis)	Seen at Mt Carbine and Hunter Creek Park
152	White-naped Honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus)	Seen at O'Reilly's as well as Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
153	Macleay's Honeyeater (Xanthotis macleayanus)	Common at Kingfisher Park, Mt Lewis and Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
154	Little Friarbird (Philemon citreogularis)	A few at Mt Carbine
155	Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides)	Seen at Cattana Wetlands and Centenary Lakes
156	Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus)	Common throughout
157	Fernwren (Oreoscopus gutturalis)	One seen on Mt Lewis, numerous heard
158	Yellow-throated Scrubwren (Sericornis citreogularis)	Very common at O'Reilly's
159	White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis)	Very common at O'Reilly's, also seen elsewhere
160	Atherton Scrubwren (Sericornis keri)	A few seen briefly on Mt Lewis, also at Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin and Lake Barrine
161	Large-billed Scrubwren (Sericornis magnirostra)	Fairly common throughout
162	Mountain Thornbill (Acanthiza katherina)	Mt Lewis and Atheron Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
163	Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla)	Common
164	Fairy Gerygone (Gerygone palpebrosa)	Only seen near Mt Carbine
165	Large-billed Gerygone (Gerygone magnirostris)	Seen near Mt Carbine as well as Centenary Lakes
166	Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki)	Common
167	Mangrove Gerygone (Gerygone levigaster)	A few at Nudgee Beach
168	Australian Logrunner (Orthonyx temminckii)	Fairly common around O'Reilly's
169	Chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii)	A few seen on Mt Lewis
170	Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Coracina novaehollandiae)	Fairly common throughout
171	White-bellied Cuckooshrike (Coracina papuensis)	One seen at Mt Carbine, another at Hunter Creek Park
172	Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela)	Fairly common in woodlands throughout
173	Common Cicadabird (Edolisoma tenuirostre)	Seen at Mt Coot-tha, also at Centenary Lakes
174	Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus)	Very common at O'Reilly's, heard and sometimes seen elsewhere
175	Crested Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus)	One seen on the way to O'Reilly's, another seen near the canopy walkway
176	Bower's Shrikethrush (Colluricincla boweri)	A pair on Mt Lewis
177	Grey Shrikethrush (Colluricincla harmonica)	Fairly common throughout
178	Little Shrikethrush (Colluricincla megarhyncha)	Few at Kingfisher Park and Black Mountain Road
179	Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis)	Fairly common throughout
180	Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris)	One seen at Boondall Wetlands
181	Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus)	A few at Mt Carbine and Mt Molloy
182	Green Oriole (Oriolus flavocinctus)	One seen at Cattana Wetlands
183	Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti)	Fairly common around Cairns, one bird seen at Brisbane Botanic Gardens
184	Yellow-breasted Boatbill (Machaerirhynchus flaviventer)	Seen on Mt Lewis and Lake Barrine
185	White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus)	Common in Cairns
186	Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus)	Fairly common throughout
187	Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis)	Fairly common throughout
188	Black Butcherbird (Cracticus quoyi)	Common around Centenary Lakes, heard at Barron Falls
189	Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen)	Common throughout
190	Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina)	Very common at Montville, casual elsewhere
191	Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys)	fairly common throughout
192	Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons)	Common around O'Reilly's and Mt Lewis, also seen at Nudgee Beach
193	Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)	Fairly common throughout
194	Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus)	Common in wooded areas
195	Paradise Riflebird (Ptiloris paradiseus)	Two birds at O'Reilly's
196	Victoria's Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae)	One male on Mt Lewis, females seen Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin and Black Mountain Road
197	Black-faced Monarch (Monarcha melanopsis)	Fairly common at Mt Lewis, also seen at Mt Coot-tha and Cattana Wetlands
198	Spectacled Monarch (Symposiachrus trivirgatus)	Very common around Kingfisher Park, also seen at O'Reilly's
199	Pied Monarch (Arses kaupi)	One female on Mt Lewis
200	Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca)	Common throughout
201	Torresian Crow (Corvus orru)	Common
202	Pale-yellow Robin (Tregellasia capito)	Breeding around Kingfisher Park, also seen on Mt Lewis and Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
203	Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis)	Very common at O'Reilly's, also seen at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
204	Grey-headed Robin (Heteromyias cinereifrons)	Common on Mt Lewis, also at Mount Hypipamee National Park
205	Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis)	One at Cattana Wetlands
206	Tawny Grassbird (Cincloramphus timoriensis)	One at O'Reilly's
207	Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena)	Common
208	Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel)	Flocks around Brisbane city centre by the river
209	Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)	Common throughout
210	Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica)	Breeding near Kingfisher Park, also seen around Cairns
211	Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
212	Russet-tailed Thrush (Zoothera heinei)	A few at O'Reilly's
213	Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum)	Seen on Mt Lewis, also Barron Falls and Cattana Wetlands
214	Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)	Fairly common around Cairns
215	Red-browed Firetail (Neochmia temporalis)	Very common
216	Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton)	A few at Cattana Wetlands
217	Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii)	Only seen at Caterson Park
218	Blue-faced Parrotfinch (Erythrura trichroa)	A few seen on Mt Lewis, one seen well at the clearing
219	Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)	Common
220	Chestnut-breasted Munia (Lonchura castaneothorax)	Common at Kingfisher Park and Cattana Wetlands, a pair seen at Caterson Park
221	House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Mammal List:

	Species	Note
1	Short-beaked Echidna	One at O'Reilly's at night
2	Platypus	One at Kingfisher Park and another at base of Mt Lewis
3	Yellow-footed antechinus	A pair seen at Kingfisher Park
4	Common brushtail possum	One at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
5	Coppery brushtail possum	Two at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
6	Striped possum	One at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
7	Yellow-bellied glider	One at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin, expertly found by Christina
8	Common ringtail possum	Common at O'Reilly's
9	Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo	One at Mt Hypipamee and a mother with joey at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin
10	Red-legged pademelon	Very abundant at Atherton Tablelands Birdwatchers Cabin, also seen at Kingfisher Park
11	Red-necked pademelon	Quite common around O'Reilly's
12	Agile Wallaby	Up to three groups seen on our way out of O'Reilly's
13	Red-necked Wallaby	One group seen on our way out of O'Reilly's
14	Spectacled Flying Fox	Common at Cairns
15	Grey-headed Flying Fox	At colony out of O'Reilly's
16	Black Flying Fox	At colony out of O'Reilly's