 At 5.30am on Wednesday I walked out of my mangrove hideaway and went up the range to join a gathering crowd for the viewing. | Hello from sunny Coquette Point, The suspense leading up to the solar eclipse on the 14/11/12 could have been written by Alfred Hitchcock. Dark clouds gathered on the days before the event and the weather gurus held very little hope that we, on the far northern coast, would have clear skies to see the sun. Thousands left the coast and travelled hundreds of miles inland to find clear skies. However, that was no excuse for us to miss out on a neighbourhood get together and breakfast-party. read more |
 Hello,
Last Sunday we had a look at the Little Terns nesting at Tully Heads. Very Happy to see the council's road block, beach-nesting sign (some of those words were So familiar....) and big rocks, so people cannot drive out to the end of the spit anymore (thanks CCRC). Mind you, one cast-netting fisherman had his unleashed small dog with him. I guess the dog couldn't read either.  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.  The ongoing unresolved situation with shorebird nesting areas at Cowley Beach and Coquette Point can be compared with the solutions found to identical problems by the Mogareeka community in NSW. Check out the inspiring video Russell has found below.
Here is Russell's latest update on nesting sites at Cowley Beach  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.  It's hard to keep up with all the fires that are burning in regard to the threats to our natural environment. We live in a area recognised internationally as special and yet even with knowledge of the adverse impacts by day to day activities of the general public, there is a slow response and very little will by the governments to enact existing, or introduce relevant laws to help protect the remaining natural areas and the wildlife that rely on them. Thanks to people like Russell Constable and Yvonne Cunningham who dedicate a huge amount of their spare time observing their local environments and taking action to raise awareness in the hope of making postive changes. This often results in a negative or agressive reponse from those who feel it is their right to continue with practices even when they are made aware of damage they may be causing.
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