A Merry hello from sunny Coquette Point,
How lucky we are to have perfect conditions for a tropical Christmas this year. However Darwin may not be so lucky!

I received  news from friends at El Arish this week, they received a wonderful Christmas surprise on December 19. The resident male cassowary which has been managing without  official supplementary feed since cyclone ‘Yasi’ brought in three tiny chicks to show off.  The event was reported to the Cassowary sighting web-site and within two days an official food station was established for them.  I received a report today that Dad and chicks were fine and Dad was seen scratching the ground and unearthing insects and worms which the chicks were gobbling up.

Hi from the rain soaked Johnstone River,

The rain fell on Friday and overnight the Johnstone River turned from blue to brown. However, it was a welcome relief from the oppressive heat we have experienced over the last couple of weeks: in the nursery the temperature fell from 36 to 25 degrees. The wet season has well and truly started with the monsoon trough dotted in on the weather chart across the Torres Strait: it is expected to drop down over the gulf this coming week.

The fresh, sweet grass shoots brought the wallabies out of their day-time seclusion to browse in the open.

The mosquitoes are out in force and to walk anywhere you need to ‘ slip and slop’.  Coquette Point is mosquito heaven. I find light coloured clothes are less likely to attract mosquitoes. Certainly red, black and blue are attractant colours. Light cotton clothes breathe rather than synthetic fabric which induces sweating  and of course wearing a hat at all times is necessary to protect the eyes and the face from the glare of the sun.

Hi all,

A north-westerly flow has brought hot, humid winds onto the coast and the temperature in the nursery has been around 34 all week. On Monday a low on a trough formed off the coast and for a few hours we were on a severe weather warning. However, the low moved south and we were left in the doldrums. I think the monsoon will be here before Christmas with lots of cool rain.

Went for a walk around to the front beach at Coquette Point last Sunday with my son Martin and grandchildren Liam and Pearl.  A log at the mouth of Crocodile Creek became a boat for captain Liam to look out for hazards-crocodiles and things. We saw a flash of red against the green of the forest and Brahminy Kite was hunting for anything that moved in the forest. He followed us as we walked along the beach.

Here is a follow up letter from Russell Constable about  the situation at Cowley Beach......

Dear Mark, Bill, Paul and CEO (CCRC) 

Firstly l would like to thank Mark Cacicchiolo (DERM) for getting onto Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service who have installed a warning sign at the beach and I thank you as well for your response Mark. I still have received no response from CCRC.

Ho Ho Ho from the rainforest at Coquette Point,

The forest in a spurt of exuberance, no doubt brought on by the deluge it has received this week, has put out the Christmas decorations. The Leichhardt tree, Nauclea orientalis, was the first and it hung gold and white Christmas bubbles, then Brachychiton acerifolius, the flame tree dotted the Moresby Range with red.  The brash young Alphitoni petriei, the sarsaparilla tree, not to be outdone, has covered its foliage in snow-white flowers.

Each week The Tully Times features an article by Anne Wilkinson for  the Wildlife Preservation Society (Tully Branch) called WILDWATCH 

A wonderfully informative view of the Cassowary Coast Region from Mahogany Glider country.