WILDWATCH: by ANNE WILKINSON

I was delighted when I walked into Tully library the other day to find an excellent flyer displayed near the door for anyone to pick up.

Called “Protecting the little terns of the Cassowary Coast” it has been produced jointly by CCRC, the Federal Government, the Queensland Government and Reef Guardian Council. Apart from being an interesting document in its own right, it gives a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these tiny, endangered seabirds. Reading it, one can almost smell the sea and the beach.

WILDWATCH:  by ANNE WILKINSON

This mid-spring is a season of temperature contrasts.

The wonderfully cool early mornings are replaced with baking days. Often in the afternoon the wind springs up, drying any moisture if we were lucky enough to get a shower, and sending leaves and even branches tumbling to the ground.

by ANNE WILKINSON

Adventure unlimited – this delightful aspect of life is ready and waiting for everyone here in the north.

It doesn’t have to be daring or hard to achieve. Almost anything, a gentle walk on the beach or in the forest, for example, can turn into a journey of discovery.

It is the same with wetlands. Wetlands in so many ways represent a stream of lifeblood in the wild world because so many creatures need them and congregate in them. Australia, the driest continent on earth, is privileged to have some of its best wetlands.

WILDWATCH:  by ANNE WILKINSON

The more one travels, the more in some respects the different countries of the world appear similar. This is especially so when it comes to bird species.

Take the bittern, for example.

I well remember hearing – and seeing - bitterns in Suffolk, the English county where I grew up. They were marshland birds, elusive and shy, but their booming voices could sometimes be heard over the wide marshes which divided our village from the sea. English bitterns, like their Australian counterparts, favour dense reed beds along quiet streams. Occasionally it was possible to see one fossicking along a stream bank, though mainly their hunting was nocturnal.


Bitterns are not a generally well known family of birds, partly because they are extremely good at camouflaging themselves. The black bittern is the variety most often seen here in northern Australia. The smaller, more buff-coloured little bittern also resides up here, but the third Australian bittern, the brown bittern, is a cooler climate species.

WILDWATCH by ANNE (WILKINSON) & LAWRIE MARTIN

At last green-winged pigeons are back in the Wildwatch garden.

Possibly we have simply not noticed them or were not there at the right time, but these beautiful birds, also known as emerald doves, enjoyed a fairly high profile here until Cyclone Yasi when they disappeared.

We had not seen them since.

WILDWATCH:  by  ANNE WILKINSON.

Wandering the Cassowary Coast beaches, bird watching is always a pleasure. It is a family rule always to carry a light pair of binoculars and, for me, a sketchbook.

There are so many different kinds of birds for which the beach and the sea are focuses.

WILDWATCH: by ANNE WILKINSON.

The exquisite beaches of the Cassowary Coast are often in the news, both for good and, sadly, sometimes for bad reasons.

Whatever the cause, the fact remains this region can boast some of the most beautiful beaches, even after Cyclone Yasi, in Australia.

WILDWATCH   by LAWRIE MARTIN.

“We knew very little about the mahogany glider and finding one in a fallen tree on our club grounds brought home the reality of the plight facing this little Queenslander,” John Guyatt said.

Mr Guyatt, involved in the Cardwell Reconstruction programme, was speaking at the Cardwell Country Club last week when a group of concerned citizens gathered to discuss the allocation of Federal Government funding under the Caring for Country programme to improve habitat for mahogany gliders (Petaurus gracilis).

WILDWATCH by   ANNE WILKINSON.

What an amazing region this is!  When one really looks around, how well the forest is recovering after the ravages of Cyclone Yasi.

Yes, there are still dead and dying trees, many having fallen and now lodged in others. There are still out-of-reach “hangers” waiting for either wind or natural decay to bring them down necessitating care when walking and the need to remember to look up every now and then to make sure it is safe.

From that point of view this is still heartbreak country.

WILDWATCH  by LAWRIE MARTIN

Despite many people dismissing the concept of some animals being able to predict – with some accuracy – future weather events, conversation has revealed a growing band of district residents who are starting to accept animals have an in-built barometer which rings alarm bells when dramatic meteorological changes are afoot.

Members of this expanding band claim resident insects, such as ants for example, were busily gathering and storing food with far more intensity than usual several days before Tropical Cyclone Yasi struck with all its fury on that eventful day in February last year.