Hello from the mangrove forest of Coquette Point
After a long battle of wits I caught the pig that was destroying my pandanus. Pigs are out of control at Coquette Point and are causing a great deal of damage to the rainforest of the Moresby Range National Park. Unfortunately it is not easy catching them at times. It has taken me one month to lure this fellow into the cage. I let him feed in the cage for a week before I set it. The bait I am using is coconut palm heart, the white salad meat of the palm, its blood good to eat and the pigs can’t resist it. The most important thing is that the cassowaries don’t eat it and so they are not tempted to come near the cage. Although it is a bit of an effort to cut palm heart, I have a good source and its free. A win-win situation.
After a long battle of wits I caught the pig that was destroying my pandanus. Pigs are out of control at Coquette Point and are causing a great deal of damage to the rainforest of the Moresby Range National Park. Unfortunately it is not easy catching them at times. It has taken me one month to lure this fellow into the cage. I let him feed in the cage for a week before I set it. The bait I am using is coconut palm heart, the white salad meat of the palm, its blood good to eat and the pigs can’t resist it. The most important thing is that the cassowaries don’t eat it and so they are not tempted to come near the cage. Although it is a bit of an effort to cut palm heart, I have a good source and its free. A win-win situation.
In spite of representations to and promises from Councillor Mark Nolan and the CEO of the Jubilee Bridge Construction, the dust from the fill keeps Dee and I busy cleaning house. Dee has problems with sinus and John is an asthmatic but it seems it is too difficult to organise a pump to get water from the Dam, only meters from the dump site, to dampen the fill. John has been told that the last of the Jubilee Bridge has been brought out and we now have to put up with the dust and the noise while they extract the steel from the fill.
The matriarch cassowary Jessie turned up with Dad 1 this week and it was interesting to watch the pecking order as they approached the feed station.
Dad 1 looked away while Jessie ate. He then circled the feeding station again and again.
At last Jessie had enough to eat and moved off into the forest.
At once Dad 1 moved into the feeding area while Jessie waited just visible on the right of the picture below.
When Dad 1 had finished eating, there were only a few pieces of apple left in the feeding station. Dad 1 moved off leading the way into the swamp. Jessie can be seen on the left had side of the picture above, I followed until they went into the mangroves and the water was too deep, and I was worried about crocs! It was 6.30am.
I have not seen these birds this week but every day the food in the food stations is eaten and there are footprints on the beach and I know the big ones are Jessie’s.
The Pandanus fruit is falling and this is always a sign that the cassowaries are sitting on eggs. The extensive pandanus swamps at Coquette Point will provide this high protein fruit for the cassowaries over the next month. The supplementary food from the feeding stations will ensure that the birds stay healthy.
Went for a walk on the long beach with Dee, my next door neighbour. Dee is originally from New Zealand and what a surprise it was to find a little New Zealand visitor on the front beach, three of them in fact, but I only got a photo of one, a Double-banned dotterel. This bird darted in and out of the beach debris putting on a decoy display, much to our delight. He bobbed and stretched out his wings, fell prostrate on the sand only to rise and run to a new position only to do it all over again.
There were footprints and the sign of a net dragged across the Little Terns nesting site.
There were footprints and the sign of a net dragged across the Little Terns nesting site.
The Coquette Point side of the estuary is an area of dynamic change. Crocodile Creek which drains the extensive lagoon system within the large mangrove forest changes the position of its mouth often, generally after a large storm. After Cyclone Larry the creek created a new outlet on the ocean side. Since then it has been gradually moving back to its original exit. Dee (right) is looking at the change that has occurred over the last week since the strong wind warning was in place.
Dee and John invited me over this week to watch the antics
of their new family. A pair of Ospreys are nesting in a dead tree on their property. The tree overlooks the Innisfail valley and the Johnstone River.
The female can be seen sitting on the eggs while the male has just arrive to change shifts. The birds can be heard calling every day as they circle the river mouth in search of food.
A fat female emerald dove turned up in the nursery this week. I have not seen these birds since the cyclone. The male has not appeared yet.
These birds become quite tame and often will not bother to get out of my way as I walk around the nursery. This bird let me get quite close and seemed as interested in me as I was in saying welcome back to her.
Cheers for now,
Yvonne C.
These birds become quite tame and often will not bother to get out of my way as I walk around the nursery. This bird let me get quite close and seemed as interested in me as I was in saying welcome back to her.
Cheers for now,
Yvonne C.
