Ulysses Butterfly at Digger Creek

Yesterday's trip from Port Douglas to Mackay was necessarily a fast one.  No time for long stops to check out the many, too many, beautiful beaches and other points of interest along this 800 kilometre route. However this is probably the best time of the year to travel in north Queensland and every stop to fuel up or change drivers was enhanced by at least one rewarding moment. 

On the northern side of Al Arish at Digger Creek rest area (clean toilets, picnic facilities and even a small commercial food van), a Ulysses butterfly wandered among the vegetation along the creek bank.  I have yet to see a photo of a Ulysses that captures the startling irridescence of its wings.  It is a strikingly beautiful creature.  They are not rare in this part of the world, but every sighting is a heart lifting experience.

Black Swans

Black swans are nesting now in North Queensland. Black swans mate for life and both parents care for the egg and the young.  The pair I saw here in Port Douglas had built their nest of dried grass and leaves on an island in shallow water.  Although one of them was sitting on eggs they were still lining the nest with down and soft material.

ClaireWood
http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
email:  JustClaireWood@gmail.com
 longlines, In The Atmosphere

Port Douglas: Orange Footed Scrub Fowl

The evening walk up Flagstaff Hill is enlivened by orange footed scrub fowl which dart from the forest bordering the road.  They then either cross the road or run along the edge of the forest for a short distance before crashing back into the bush.  They seem to thrive in this remnant forest which grows around residential housing on the hill overlooking Port Douglas.

The YouTube link is of a pair crossing Murphy Street, as I forgot the camera each time I walked to the lookout.

Claire Wood
http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
email:  JustClaireWood@gmail.com

Shining Starlings Easter at Port Douglas

A flock of shining starlings wheels and turns above Macrossan Street in Port Douglas as evening descends and the street lights come on.  It is a continual shape changer, curling in on itself then spreading into loops and curves, ever diminishing in size until the entire flock has roosted in the trees in the centre of the street.

The flock seems to contain many juveniles and I wonder if they have recently fledged and are preparing for the annual northern migration or if they are permanent residents of the town

Travelling North

A quick trip from Townsville airport to Cairns airport, collecting incoming passengers at both airports did not allow me time to stop on the way up, but passing through Tully, fifteen months after Cyclone Yasi, revealed just how devastating the cyclone had been.  The sight of huge coconut trees still lying where they had been uprooted and tossed around by the gales, and of gutted buildings, was a reminder that though natural disasters quickly fade from the public interest, their legacy lasts a long time. 

Brolgas

Early afternoon - yesterday

A pair of grey feathered brolgas in a paddock recently harvested of cane beside Sandy Creek turn alert pink heads to the observers on the road.

My first sighting of brolgas in this area was in the ti-tree swamp on the McEwens Beach road last January.  Since then I have seen them, not often but regularly during drives in the area, sometimes surprisingly close to town.

7th August 2011
ClaireWood
Daily Blog:  http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
Longlines Blog:  http://longline8.blogspot.com

Spectacled Monarch Flycatcher

Early Sunday morning

The spectacled monarch, with its blue cape, rufous breast, black band through its eyes and black tail, is a dandy.  It flashes its brilliant colours through the cane and along waterways choked with vine and brush, chattering continually in search of  insects.

Claire Wood
Daily Blog:  http://JustClaireWood.blogspot.com
Longlines Blog:  http://longline8.blogspot.com