Hello from Coquette Point,

On Thursday the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, CCRC, approved the reconfiguration of the Metricon marina development at 65 Coquette Point Road. This 89.26ha marina development abuts Ninds Creek, on the east and fronts the Johnstone River to the north. It is part of the old Ninds Creek Wetlands and as such the soils are acid sulphate. The site was cleared 100 years ago for agricultural and cattle farming purposes.

Hello from Coquette Point,

At long last Cassowary matriarch ‘Jessie’ has succumbed to the wooing of ‘Snout’.  For the last six weeks ‘Snout’ has been displaying and preening his feathers, vocalizing with low, low drumming  sounds while doing his best to approach ‘Jessie’. Until Monday his attentions had been rejected and  always ended with an aggressive chase.

Hello from Coquette Point,

A very wet, windy and cold week has at last broken into sunshine but only very late this afternoon.

This morning I accepted an invitation from Mandubarra elder Nellie Epong to be present at a turtle release at Cowley Beach. Although overcast the day was warm with a gentle wind blowing: a perfect day for a turtle release.

Hello from cold and very wet Coquette Point,

The weather systems combined to bring heavy rain to the Wet Tropics on Thursday night. Around 350 mm fell in the Innisfail, Mossman and Cairns’ hinterlands overnight and on Friday all the rivers ran red to the Coral Sea Lagoon.  A low over Victoria has pushed cold air up along the Queensland coast and it was winter woollies all day to-day with the temperature not getting over 18 - freezing for FNQ.

Hello from Coquette Point,

I was told by Jake a CCRC staffer that on Wednesday he saw a small male cassowary with three chicks near the new sewerage works alongside Ninds Creek. The chicks were about 40cm tall and their stripes were only just visible. Before Jake or the other workers could take a photograph Dad and the chicks disappeared into the rainforest: wonderful and surprising news.

It is most unusual for cassowary chicks to be born during winter. However, as no chicks were born last year in the Moresby Range/ Coquette Point area perhaps the cassowaries are catching up, after cyclone ‘Yasi’,  now that the forest is producing food again.

Hello from the fairy garden at Coquette Point,

I was walking in my garden early Wednesday morning and low and behold I found a van and beside it a tent full of French backpackers. I took a few photos and left them undisturbed to sleep. Later that morning, quite coincidentally,  my neighbour brought his big tractor through on our internal connecting track and he was astonished to see a tent with eight legs running before him.  Above the French screams John W roared with laughter.  Take a look down the bottom of your garden, you never know what you may find.

Hello from mysterious Coquette Point,

As the Super Moon rose tonight I am sure I saw ‘dark creatures’ coming out from the shadows.  An eerie eh-eh-eh- call murmured and then shrieked within the mangroves.

Hello from Coquette Point,
This morning I woke to the sound of cassowaries honking and roaring and the sound of crashing vegetation as large birds ran through the rainforest. It was a good time to stay indoors.

Today I saw Dot, sub-adult ‘Don’ and ‘Jessie’ with  ‘Little Dad’. They were here for most of the day and when their paths crossed the dominate bird displayed aggressively. For over 10 days now I had not seen ‘Little Dad’ or ‘Jessie’ and I had thought he was already sitting on eggs. However, they are still walking together with Jessie dutifully following ‘Little Dad’s’ every move.