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Contact Call Newsletter of BirdLife Northern Queensland Volume 5 Number 3 August–September 2016 NICE WEATHER FOR DUCKS Read the story about the Innisfail outing on page 4 Crane Count, 3rd September 2016 Call for counters Please contact Virginia Simmonds on 40958302 to register or for further information. You do not have to be an expert birder to participate and enjoy this event. Crane Count Activities Day Count: Contents This activity is a great excuse to explore the back roads of the Tablelands. You may find yourself in Convenor’s report places you have never been. You will be assigned IBA Healthcheck of Michaelmas Cay an area to explore to count the cranes present. An Aussie has broken North Americas ‘Big Year’ Keep your eyes open, there are platypus in the record creeks as well as lots of other birds during the day! Digi-Volunteering – For the birds Afternoon Roost Count: Nice weather for ducks Meet at Hastie’s Swamp bird hide at 3pm for the A bird list for Mulgrave Landcare usual pre-count briefing and to meet your team. You will be assigned a roost area. Then it is off to Owl Box project BY Barron Catchment Care the roost area to count incoming cranes until Observations from a billabong nightfall. Take a hot drink and chair. Recent literature about north Queensland birds Dinner: Tablelands Crane Week Meet at the Malanda Hotel, 7pm for dinner (at own The Far-west of Queensland, May 2016 cost) and be entertained, sharing your crane count experiences and count numbers with the crowd. Crocodile Concerns After dinner, there will be a special guest speaker, Cairns Meeting Report, Saturday 23 July Graham Harrington, who will present on Kasanga Tyto Wetlands – White-browed Crake Conservation Park in Zambia. It will be interesting to hear how or if things have changed in the years Counting PIPs in 2016 that Alan has been a tour operator in far north Birding and botanising KK and Mount Kinabalu Queensland. Noticeboard and activities BirdLife Northern Queensland From the Convenor I have recently returned from this year's grasswren survey in western Queensland, designed to assess how well the two species of grasswren – Carpentarian and Kalkadoon – have fared after a few years of extensive wildfires and drought. The excellent news is that they seem to have done very well, as there was a record number of grasswren groups encountered, nearly 60 in all! There was also a record number of 24 participants, who together spent over 260 days doing systematic surveys, and donating thousands of dollars’ worth of fuel and vehicle expenses! We were also treated to a chopper lift to get us into some more inaccessible spots at Boodjamulla National Park. There are now renewed efforts to support a regional fire management plan, which will include the two important bird areas of Boodjamulla and Buckley River. We should all congratulate the efforts of the volunteers, property owners, Southern Gulf NRM, and of course our leader, Graham Harrington. From a personal perspective, it was a chance to see amazing country and to meet some of the local landholders Grasswren surveying in style! whose hospitality and generosity are truly legendary. We could never achieve these results without them! This seems to be the year for records, because at our last presentation evening which featured Martin Willis Your BirdLife Northern Queensland Committee with some of his images of the local birds of Northern Convenor – Kath Shurcliff Queensland, we had the largest turn-out of over 100 people to an evening meeting – an outstanding Deputy Convenor – Martin Willis achievement! Many of those attending were non- Secretary – Renee Cassels members, so it was a great opportunity to spread the word about the importance of protecting our native Treasurer – Wendy Cooper birds. We received excellent advertising in local Cairns Area Coordinator – Tom Collis Tablelands newspapers, and the evening's success is due to the enthusiasm of Tablelands members and Tablelands Area Coordinator – Peter Valentine residents. Cooktown Area Coordinator – Kath Shurcliff Looking ahead, we are excited about the first BirdLife National Twitchathon which will be held the last Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator – Ceri Pearce weekend in October. This will be a fun and fund- raising event, to support important conservation Stickybeak Coordinator – Golo Maurer projects. The six Queensland branches will pull IBA Coordinator – Graham Harrington together to share raised funds among our priority Members Coordinator – Sam Willis species. We'll have more details on this event closer to the date. Conservation Coordinator – Peter Valentine Other important events coming up include the Crane Count Coordinator – Virginia Simmonds September annual Crane Count, Torresian Imperial Website Manager – Mikey Kudo Pigeon counts on our coastal beaches, “Welcome the Waders Back”, BirdLife Aussie Bird Week, and several Newsletter Editor – Ceri Pearce us: interesting outings to new locations, such as Tully Gorge and Palmer River just south of Cooktown. email: Hopefully, we will see you in the field soon! [email protected] Kath Shurcliff, Convenor 2 Contact Call. Volume 5 Number 3 BirdLife Northern Queensland IBA Healthcheck of Digi-Volunteering – Michaelmas Cay For the birds One of the ambitions of BirdLife Australia’s Indigenous Digital technology enables automated monitoring of Grant program is to build capacity among recipients for almost anything from birds to distant galaxies, plus the longer-term involvement in bird conservation. So it is scanning of valuable historic paper records. But, on the great to see the 2014 winners of the grant—the next step, technology does not do so well. To extract Yirrganydji rangers—taking on the IBA Easter Health- key details from digital images, human eyes (and check for Michaelmas Cay. Their ongoing involvement brains) are essential. with site monitoring (supported by the Queensland Several bird-related projects, and others, are seeking Parks and Wildlife Service) and their traditional ties to help from internet-connected volunteers to process the Cay and the sea country surrounding it makes digital images in their leisure time, from the comfort of them ideal guardians for this beautiful IBA. home. Currently, volunteers are needed for transcribing Vermont bird surveys and historic ornithological journals, and for extracting details from nest camera images in far north Queensland. I’m involved with the latter, where the birds are Pied/Torresian Imperial Pigeons (as some members might have guessed). The DigiVol system covers a diverse range. As some of the virtual ‘expeditions’ get completed, and new ones get started, the selection of projects will change over time. If you’d like a change from birds, you could help with transcribing labels of museum specimens, historic field diaries or camera traps in the bush. There is no pre-commitment. You can process just one Yirrganydji rangers take on the IBA health check (from L to image, or as many as you like. But a warning, this can R, Rangers Gavin Singleton, Tarquin Singleton and Shane be somewhat addictive. You will be the first person to Singleton with Gemma Haley QPWS). study the image, and sometimes you will come across unexpected and intriguing things. Have a look here: http://volunteer.ala.org.au/ AND IN TWITCHING NEWS: Julia Hazel An Aussie has broken North Americas ‘Big Year’ record Australian Reptile Park’s John Weigel has set a new record for a “Big Year” in North America, spotting over 750 bird species. An it’s only July! Who knows how many he will see by 31 December. The previous ‘Big Year’ record holder, Neil Hayward from Massachusetts, sighted 749 different birds in 2013. To read about A NestCam example from the DigiVol online system. Johns exploits go to: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central- coast/aussie-swoops-in-and-pinches-coveted-big-year- prize/news- story/c3d7f8566ebd039a4612b616234cc952 August–September 2016 3 BirdLife Northern Queensland scanning the beach, parking area and Caravan Park for Nice weather for ducks signs of a Cassowary. A beautiful White-bellied Sea- Eagle flew overhead and Sulphur-crested Cockatoos could be heard but there was no sign of the big bird. INNISFAIL OUTING 14 MAY 2016 Thinking that we should head to the Fish Farm before people became disheartened we all piled back into the When I was woken by very heavy rain at five-thirty cars and set off in a convoy away from the beach and am, I thought, “Good, that’s the rain over with for the there they were! One adult Cassowary with FOUR day”. When dawn broke and all I could see were black chicks, standing in the middle of the road for everyone clouds I was a little concerned. Arriving at the Driver to see. Behind us, birders were hanging out of every Reviver meeting place I thought I was the first to window, cameras snapping, with big smiles on their arrive, but no, there they all were, the Early Birders, faces. It was a happy group who arrived at the Fish taking refuge from the rain under a picnic shelter. As Farm. more birders arrived from the Tablelands, Tully and Cairns, plus Bill from Sydney to join the Innisfail group We walked to a pond where we often see White- there was generous sharing of umbrellas, raincoats browed Crake but instead saw a flock of Wandering and ponchos. Thus decked out in inclement weather Whistling-ducks standing in front of a pile of grey mud. gear we set off in Indian file towards Shaw Road. This Everyone got a good look and then the “mud” opened road is part of the old Bruce Highway and goes down its mouth! It was a large crocodile. A Kodak moment to the old Johnstone River Bridge. There has been with more happy snapping.