Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge

08/09/2026

Someone once asked me if I ever stop birding. Clearly the answer is No. I'm here in Cairns for radiation treatment and took a short walk in Woree to a pharmacy, only to be overtaken by a high-speed Peregrine Falcon putting the cars to shame on the Bruce Highway and heading for Innisfail ;-)

05/09/2026

Quite an interesting day hereabouts in Julatten today. While I was standing on the lawn a Brown Goshawk swept down not 5 metres from me and swiped a bird off the ground under the seed feeder. Judging by the feathers we found near the washing lines it was a Peaceful Dove that drew the short straw. Then while I was planting a bush out the front an Australian Hobby zipped in and landed in the Poinciana, just as Andrew had seen it do (with prey) 2 days ago. Then this afternoon our stroll on McDougall's Rd with Keeto had its own share of surprises. A high-pitched call proved to be from an Eastern Osprey that launched itself from a tree beside McDougall's dam, surprisingly not startling any of the Black Ducks, the Australasian Grebe, nor that local novelty, a Moorhen. I was watching a group of Topknot Pigeons heading for the hills when some circled back into a Quandong tree. Not for long, as a big male Brown Goshawk shot through. It had squealed before that and quickly showed why when it started swooping, diving and circling with a smaller female. Feeling quite satisfied with our dog-walk birds we ended by counting 29 Magpie Geese and a Little Pied Cormorant that was still sitting on a sloping tree above Bushy Creek on both our to and from crossings of the bridge.

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03/09/2026

Well, my first 2 weekday sessions of radiation treatment to mop up after my hysterectomy for endometrial cancer are behind me. Only 26 to go 😃 The plus side has to be the location of Cairns Hospital for those after-rad walks. Here is the beautiful Rufous Owl, and the lovely coastline where the mud at low tide (yes, mud, - less sand thankfully) has a good array of waders, most just in my too-hard basket with the wrong binos and no scope. I plan head back to Kingfisher Park tomorrow and every subsequent weekend, but guests on weekdays will just have to put up with Andrew! 🤣Keeto the dog will at least have a big hello for everyone.💋

01/09/2026

Well, this afternoon, after several wet, windy, nasty days the sun finally came out to welcome the first day of Spring and a male Yellow-breasted Boatbill went nuts singing his heart out, little tail and head angled upwards as they do, giving guests a nice show. Olive-backed Oriole, Barred Cuckoo-shrike, Rufous Whistler and others were warbling away too so there's plenty happening here. Two guests saw one of our elusive Noisy Pittas today on the track from the creek, and the visiting Red-necked Crake has shown up for everyone over the last couple of days, in spite of the warring Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodes), the rampaging Brush Turkeys and the predatory Black Butcherbirds we seem to have unfortunately acquired. I've seen one take a swipe at the Chestnut-breasted Mannikins but they are getting wise to that. Just one call from it and everything rockets away to safety. Apart from the Brush Turkeys. :-(

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25/08/2026

Macleans Bridge Rd as pictured on this page 24th May is coming up with the goods again. This morning revealed 2 Black-necked Storks, one White-necked and one White-faced Heron, 20 Royal Spoonbills, Little, Plumed, Great and Cattle Egrets, Straw-necked and White Ibis, one Little Pied Cormorant, several Black Ducks, Masked Lapwings and motionless on the edge of the water were two Snipe, likely Latham's but I couldn't say. Another local pond seen by guests had 100+ Wandering Whistling-Ducks and a big flock of Magpie Geese. And yesterday evening our dog-walk on McDougall Rd turned up that fluff-ball of an Australasian Grebe again, while across the highway at dusk I heard a Darter call from the dam over there while hundreds of yapping Cattle Egrets took up their positions decorating their favourite roost tree.

21/08/2026

Waterbirds have been hard to find but this afternoon, as I drove back from Mt Molloy I noticed a LOT of ducks and white things🤣 (sorry, I was negotiating a Z bend at the time) on a large, local pond on private land that has been almost devoid of birds for months. I couldn't stop today but I do hope it's a sign of things to come. Our dog walk this evening was accompanied by the sound of pigeons: Bar-shouldered Doves, Brown Cuckoo-doves, Wompoos and Superb Fruit-doves, while the silent Topknot Pigeons winged their way home overhead. I think the sunshine of today after yet more showers - one so heavy yesterday my windscreen wipers were labouring even on Fast speed - had everything feeling like singing. (Fortunately, Andrew restrained himself....🧑‍🎤🫨)

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17/08/2026

Congratulations to Martin Cachard and Sally Sheldon for identifying a Common Redshank off Cairns Esplanade yesterday, apparently being the first one since the 1987 sighting by Keith and Lindsay Fisher :-D Any birders in Cairns may want to follow the telescopes, I suspect.

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17/08/2026

The Red-necked Crake had a HUGE bathing session outside the kitchen at 4.45pm tonight, sitting right down in the water and flapping for ages after scoffing a dozen mealworms while I distracted Mildred the Megapode with soggy banana. Meanwhile, I have successfully employed another of my upturned hanging baskets with chains attached (originally designed to keep clumsy Bar-shouldered Doves off the seed feeder), now to keep the Black Butcherbird off the mesh banana-feeder. For a hefty, crow-size bird it shows remarkable agility but I think I may have snookered it at last.😈

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16/08/2026

A surprise visitor to one of the bird baths in front of the units a few days ago: a Victoria's Riflebird getting its trousers wet, captured on camera by guest Meiring Gouws.❤

16/08/2026

The Grey-headed Robin has become very reliable 7.45am and 4.45pm for a few mealworms but a couple of days ago perhaps decided a guest's dish-like parabolic sound recorder might have mealworms on offer as it landed on the top edge while the guest stood holding it in the orchard!😂

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