Spotted Whistling Ducks update
We’ve had some fairly hot and humid weather which is usual for this time of the year but watching the storm clouds build yesterday afternoon was something of a relief. In the morning I could hear a lot of Magpie Geese honking – so I left the weeding job in the vegetable garden and walked down to the hide on Graham’s pond where one group of about 60 birds had our single resident Jacana skipping around the outskirts of the flock probably feeling overwhelmed by the noisy invasion. There were 4 Wandering Whistling Ducks tucked away in a quiet corner but no sign of the Spotted W.Ds, however I wasn’t too concerned as there are many out-of-site channels and ponds. Later in the day Allen, who has been working in a different part of the property, reported both Wandering and Spotted W.Ds in the same vicinity. Although they were near each other, Allen said that when disturbed, the 4 WWDs gathered close together and moved away.
The gathering storm clouds passed us by, the huge flock of visiting geese departed and sultry conditions persisted until a welcome 52 mm of rain during the night. A quick check of Graham’s pond this morning before we left for a day in Cairns resulted in a count of 10 Spotted W.Ds enjoying some peace and quiet. We’ll have a good look around tomorrow but we often find the Wandering Whistling Ducks will leave as soon as there is a decent shower of rain.
The big questions are - will the Spotted Whistling Ducks remain in the local area?
- we know they rest on branches during the day, do they roost at night?
- and if they do, where do they roost?
Living on Beans
When picking beans this morning I was busily dodging the Green ants who live on the vine, doing a good job of keeping the bean fly away, when I noticed there were quite a few grasshoppers hiding on and amongst the leaves. They are, no doubt, enjoying some nutritious fresh, green bean leaves. I don’t usually worry too much about our vigorous bean vines but this crew may give them a bit of a beating so I’ll keep an eye on things. I may have to resort to some relocation! Given a chance these beans – a Dwarf Snake Bean and a Rattlesnake Bean – will keep growing through the wet season when many other vegetables struggle, although so far we’re still producing a good supply of capsicum, eggplant, shallots and an assortment of edible greens.
The bean leaf should give some idea of the size of this Giant Grasshopper, (Valanga irregularis). There is a lot more information available on the Brisbane Insects site including photos of nymphs of various sizes – many of which I noticed today.
The back view, above, shows the spines on the back of the legs which they will use to defend themselves when necessary although their first defence when disturbed is to move into shadow under a leaf . Below; caught with a mouth full of green and some conspicuous holes in the leaf nearby!
Spotted Whistling Ducks
We first encountered these unusual ducks in Mungan Kundju National Park in 2009. At first we were totally baffled as to their identity but a quick study of our Field Guide, Pizzey & Knight, gave us the answer …….. Spotted Whistling Ducks are native to Philippines, East Indonesia, PNG and Bismarck Archipeligo. The first sightings in Australia were apparently at the Weipa sewerage farm in 1995. They are now regular and breeding at Weipa and also at Coen and Mungan Kundju N.P. is only just a little north of Coen. As the ducks were on the other side of a large lake we only had a distant view and a very poor photo but felt generally quite pleased about our sighting.
Last September 13 Spotted Whistling Ducks were observed on a pond at Wonga (about 10 km north of Mossman) and since then they appear to have been frequenting a variety of swamps and dams in our area. When we were returning from our weekly shopping expedition to Mossman yesterday we saw them in flight when we were about 10 minutes from home. We have been seeing them regularly on our ponds or perching in low branches overhanging water but when they flew in this morning I only counted 10 . They are quite approachable, although they will keep completely still while assessing a situation with normal behaviour resuming within a minute if all seems well. They are very well camouflaged when totally still!
There is a considerable amount of water weed in our ponds and we’re very happy to see the ducks enjoying it.
Although sometimes its nice to have a bit of variety!
And they also like to perch on branches overhanging the water.
Click on images to enlarge
Gardenia actinocarpa hybrid
Although we have already posted some information on Gardenia actinocarpa there is a follow-up story……………..
We have two plants growing in tubs on our verandah, so that we can maximize our enjoyment of their delightfully intense perfume. The two verandah plants both produce only female flowers. Both our plants continually set seed which surprised us as they are the only Gardenia actinocarpa growing on the property. So where did the male pollen grains come from? At first we thought that perhaps the seed would be infertile. However, we were able to germinate a few seed and we grew a couple of very healthy, sturdy plants that eventually flowered themselves - beautiful white flowers which have a lovely perfume, not quite as intense as the female parent but the flowers are dramatically larger with a 90mm diameter when fully opened.
After a little head scratching we realized that the progeny bear many similarities to a Gardenia scabrella which is growing in the garden on the other side of the house. Our G.scabrella, which produces only male flowers, was purchased from a nursery, its area of natural distribution is further north on Cape York Peninsula. It is a hardy shrub with large, white flowers completely lacking in scent. The photo below is of a young flower which has not fully opened.
We rarely see our G. scabrella without flowers so cross pollination is not hard to envisage. The leaves of the new hybrid shrubs are very similar to the leaves of G. scabrella, the shrubs have a similar sturdy growth habit and while the flowers look like G.scabrella they have a perfume similar to, but slightly less intense than the female parent G. actinocarpa. So, in a serendipitous moment we have accidentally brought two plants close enough to cross-pollinate and succeeded in growing a hardy shrub which produces large, beautifully scented flowers for much of the year.
Grey Whistler
Grey Whistlers don’t have any particular ’look-at-me’ traits but they are delightful little birds. I think of them as having a rather pleasant personality (perhaps a somewhat anthromomorphic description) as they quietly hunt for insects without any apparent aggressiveness towards other insect hunters. They have a sweet, almost tentative call that sounds to me like it is not quite complete. We see them on their own or in pairs and sometimes in mixed foraging groups.
There are two races of Grey Whistler (Pachycephala simplex). We have race peninsulae here and we have observed such a huge variation in the extent and depth of the lemon-yellow underparts that we have occasionally wondered if we also have the nominate race.
Nesting activity
A pair of Large-billed Gerygone are once again taking advantage of a branch arching over the Spring-fed Ponds on which to construct their nest. They made a start about 4 days ago -
I noticed one of these delightful little birds busily pulling at some silken thread that was holding two leaves together (possibly a retreat constructed by one of our many Jumping Spiders)
and watched it making a start on the nest. A very clever design with a sloping verandah which shields the occupiers from our heavy tropical downpours, it looks remarkably like a bit of flood debris caught on a branch. The birds enter the nest by flying up under the sloping verandah. I’ve been watching the building progress over a few days – there was no activity at the nest when I visited today although I could hear a call close by. The nest, in the RH photo looks close to complete.
Another hanging nest; Brown-backed Honeyeaters returned for their breeding season after a few months absence during the winter. Their nest is a rounder shape than the Gerygone with a more obvious verandah over the side entrance and they appear to be very fond of using Paperbark from the various species of Melaleuca growing here. The photo on the right gives a better view of the verandah.
The Brown-backed Honeyeater parents were very busy cramming food into the noisy inhabitants of this nest on Rupert’s Island. I was sitting in the canoe – stuck in the muddy margin but my proximity was still a bit disturbing so I didn’t stay long. The afternoon light was lovely but as the sun sunk lower in the sky I sensed an urgency in providing adequate nourishment to satisfy the nestlings through the night.
And in a different area of the property this BB Honeyeater was busy with nest construction - and still has quite a job ahead of it.
Cool green theme for a hot day
Today the temperature rose dramatically but the humidity remained low, a breeze was blowing and it would have been enjoyable weather if it hadn’t been for the smoke haze from the extensive fires on the Atherton Tablelands. As an ex-resident of country Victoria I particularly dislike smoky, hot, dry days.
After spending a beautiful (and productive) morning in the garden I went looking for the Barred Cuckoo-shrikes I could hear – they were feeding out-of-sight in a large fig tree but I had a happy time observing the Double-eyed Fig-parrots that were much lower down in the same tree, along with Fig Birds and Yellow Orioles. The melodic calls of the Yellow Orioles seem to increase in frequency as the weather warms until they become a background to our summer days.
It fascinates me how these little parrots roll tiny fruit around with their tongues, patiently extracting the minute seed while bits of
discarded fruit flesh drop to the ground.
The female Fig-parrot, in the photo on the right, is particularly well camouflaged when viewed side on!
After lunch when many AFL fans were gearing up for the big match, I was attempting to contact Jetstar about an alteration to a booked flight and being distracted by the sight of a Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata) moving up the edge of the glass door adjacent to my desk. As I watched it reach the top of the aluminium frame a Laughing tree frog (Litoria rothii) took a giant leap to safety on the verandah table. The Jetstar voice recognition software went into overdrive with my pauses and exclamations so I gave up on the idea of speaking to a real person , grabbed the camera and got a couple of photos.
It almost looks like a piece of dark hose disappearing into the hollow tube that makes up the door frame; but I gave it a tickle and 
a head appeared briefly before the snake slid completely out of view into the tubing.
Back inside I could see it occasionally poke out its head but the slightest movement from me sent it into hiding again – and in the tubing on the other side of this set of double doors another Litoria rothii pondered the situation, ready to leap for safety if necessary.
Luckily we do have a healthy population of many different species of frogs because they seem to be a very popular food source for reptiles as well as some of the larger birds. We recently listened to a White-lipped Treefrog (Litoria infrafrenata) screaming as it tried to escape the grip of a Black Butcherbird – it did get away, briefly, before the B.B. leapt on it again and carried it off.
A policy of non-interference can be difficult to maintain at times!
Oh and the member of the family who just happens to be a keen Geelong supporter returned triumphant at his team’s success.
As we do not have a television, this occasion had necessitated a short trip to the Daintree Village general store which has a large TV screen!
Mud, mud glorious mud ……….
The last few months of dry, windy weather has been quite a contrast to last year’s seemingly endless ‘wet’. The windy periods usually ease off later in the afternoon – a delightful time to be enjoying the outside.
Some of our shallow ponds are mere puddles and there are lots of exposed bank which can make for some interesting sightings – many not captured on camera owing to hands being full with other equipment!
This Keelback or Freshwater Snake (Tropidonophis mairii), one of many that we have recently sighted, is of the typical colouration that we see in our area. I disturbed this snake as I walked along a path but as it stayed on the edge of the water I was able to get a bit closer for a photo without, I am pleased to say, sinking into the mud in my sandals! Its’ tail finishes rather abruptly, most likely due to a past attack, but otherwise a beautiful specimen.
Another creature enjoying our muddy banks is this Swamp Hen (Porphyrio porphyrio) – a solitary bird concentrating on a patch of Spikerush (Eleocharis sp.) which it is pulling up with its tremendously strong feet.
……………..and talking of strong feet – a pair of Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt) are enjoying a regular afternoon visit to the Jaboticaba tree (Myrciaria cauliflora), native to southern Brazil, which grows just outside our back door. The purple-black fruit are borne on the trunk and main branches of this small tree often less than a month after flowering. Although the skin is quite bitter, the translucent pulp of the fruit is reminiscent of grapes and pleasant to eat. They also make a delicious dark purple jam. The fruit drops off when ripe or when knocked off by bats or honeyeaters so there is always some lying on the ground or landing in the bird baths which require more cleaning than usual - but I can’t move the baths because they have been there for years, I can see them from the kitchen window and they are well used. The decorative fruit is visible in the top left-hand corner of the photo below.
These megapodes are most usually seen in pairs and we have several pairs residing on the property. This particular couple treat our house garden as part of their territory and so far I haven’t had any disputes with them. Gardening with domestic fowl can be exasperating sometimes and these ‘bush chooks’, as we fondly call them, are capable of moving a lot of earth with those immensely strong orange legs. I’m pleased that they enjoy the fallen Jaboticabas – plenty to share.
Shades of Pink
There are occasions during the year, especially the wet season, when the green shades of the tropical rainforest are broken only by occasional bursts of colourful new growth. However, in the past few months we have been enjoying many colourful flowers - I was very pleased to find such a healthy Floscopa scandens covering the newly exposed muddy bank of this little pond; I planted it here about two years ago but it has taken a while to become established. The bottom of the pond is covered in Marsilea mutica, an aquatic or terrestrial fern. Allen wrote about Floscopa here so I won’t repeat his words.
Another interesting plant discovery has been Costus potierae which is easily mistaken for the, now very common, exotic Costus speciosus from India. A botanically knowledgeable friend showed Allen where it was growing on the edge of some remnant rainforest about 1 km from our gate. This native Costus has hairs growing on the upper surface of its leaves which enables it to be distinguished from the introduced form with its shiny upper surface.
I have included a close-up of the leaf which shows the hairs, as well as a jumping spider.
And to finish up on a very bright note ………….. Syzygium wilsonii is flowering profusely. This attractive shrub occurs naturally from the Daintree region south to Hinchinbrook Island, however it is now quite widely cultivated. At a maximum height of about 2 m with colourful new foliage as well as its bright flowers it has become very popular – it can also be grown successfully in semi-shaded situations. The photo shows an upright flower but more often they hang like lanterns amongst the leaves.
Warming up
After a few months of dry and cool weather, including some nights that were actually quite cold, the air temperature is beginning to rise. Brown-backed Honeyeaters (Ramsayornis modestus) have returned to breed and some nest construction has already commenced with our stands of Paperbarks (various Melaleuca species) providing their favourite nest building material. Metallic Starlings (Aplonis metallica) are increasing in number as they also return from their northern wintering grounds with nest renovations already underway in their traditional nesting tree high on the ridge.
We frequently hear calls of Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus) as a pair usually nest in a large Paperbark in farmland opposite our driveway and they visit Wild Wings looking for a tasty meal. Today I saw a Whisting Kite chase two Egrets that were attempting to land on Rupert’s pond and then it flew in to land in the Leichardt tree (Nauclea orientalis) on Graham’s Pond and dislodged yet another Great Egret (Ardea alba). The Kite called loudly several times before flying off and circling over the ponds looking, looking ……….
In spite of this display the Magpie Geese (Anseranas semipalmata) continued to feed in the shallows and ignored the commotion apart from an occasional glance skywards
Click on images to enlarge
Barbara
Allen
