Hello from the very wet Coquette Point,
After a month of sunny days the rain has returned, drizzle morphing into constant light rain for most of today. The trees need the rain and best of all it will stop the fires. The Cowley fires are well and truly out and the reply to my complaint, via DERM, was relayed thus: “The Defence Department were only burning the melaleuca forest and there were no cassowaries in this forest. However, there was a lot of debris that needed cleaning up.”
After a month of sunny days the rain has returned, drizzle morphing into constant light rain for most of today. The trees need the rain and best of all it will stop the fires. The Cowley fires are well and truly out and the reply to my complaint, via DERM, was relayed thus: “The Defence Department were only burning the melaleuca forest and there were no cassowaries in this forest. However, there was a lot of debris that needed cleaning up.”
The large melaleuca forest at Cowley is the main source of food for the spectacled flying fox colony on King Island. After the fire the trees will not flower this year!
The melaleuca forests at Coquette Point are home to sugar gliders, striped possums, and a nesting site for nutmeg pigeons sea eagles, osprey and red-necked rails. Whatever wildlife was in the Cowley Beach forest it is not there now as the fire was of very high intensity and burnt for ten days.
The melaleuca forests at Coquette Point are home to sugar gliders, striped possums, and a nesting site for nutmeg pigeons sea eagles, osprey and red-necked rails. Whatever wildlife was in the Cowley Beach forest it is not there now as the fire was of very high intensity and burnt for ten days.
The Moresby Range National Park is blooming lovely.
Syzygium forte, 'White Apple' ------ Darlingia darlingians, 'Brown Silky Oak' ------ Faradaya, 'October Tree'
Erythrina, 'Coral Tree' Drongo takes breakfast - Deplandchea, 'Golden Boquete Tree' - Grevillea flowers a feast for the Helmeted friar bird
The bloosms on my Lychee are attracting many creatures to feast on the nectar. A bright orange longciorn beetle (far left) feasts on lychee nectar. These beetles lay their eggs in decaying wood and the larvae feed on the rotting wood. Many beetles depend on decaying debris on the forest floor to complete their life cycle. The log above fell in cyclone ‘Larry’ and is now turning into humus.
Can you help identify this lizard? He was sunning himself in the last rays of sunlight at Coquette Point on Tuesday afternoon. Length about 50cm. When I took the close up photo he spooked and disappeared into the forest debris. He did not try to climb a tree but buried himself in the debris around the base of a tree.
The Osprey continue to control the territory around their nest. They chase any bird that comes within close range of the nest and will not allow any other bird of prey passage through their territory.
Brahminy kite is told in no uncertain terms where he can hunt.
Brahminy kite is told in no uncertain terms where he can hunt.
The forest is slowly providing food for the cassowaries. I have reduced by half the supply of food supplied on the cassowary food programme. Although ‘Little Runt’ and Dad 4’s chicks visit the feed bays every day they are now not totally dependent on the supplementary feeding. Scats are starting to show a variety of rainforest seed.
I have not seen Dad 4 or Jessie this week and their footprints have not been left on the beach.
I have not seen Dad 4 or Jessie this week and their footprints have not been left on the beach.
Coming back from town 3.55pm Friday I saw a cassowary cross the road in front of me. I slowed down and as I did he crossed the road again in front of the car. I stopped the car, it was Dad 1 and he went straight to a melstoma affine bush which was in fruit near the old forestry track.
He ate a few fruit and crossed the road again. I heard the bus coming and got out of the car to indicate the cassowary and to slow down. The Trans North school bus raced past me at a good 60k. The driver made no attempt to slow down even though I was standing on the road and indicating such to him. What a great example this driver is to the school children he transports. Slowing down to 50k delays the trip by two minutes. If the bus had hit a cassowary the trip would be delayed by hours. I hope this message gets to Trans North management.
As I approached the top of the range Dad 2 and his chicks were walking the side of the road. The bus must have passed them! What does it take to get the message across to these people. Don’t they care?
Martin reports this week that he, saw a flock of about 30 nutmeg pigeons at 7am on the 29 August. They were flying from the Franklin Islands towards Ella Bay. They have not appeared in the forest at Coquette Point, as yet.
Martin also saw a large pod of 20-30 Minke Whales they were just swimming around off Dunk Island. There was a big school of yellow-fin tuna massing off the Barrier Reef shelf, they were around 20kg.
Martin also saw a large pod of 20-30 Minke Whales they were just swimming around off Dunk Island. There was a big school of yellow-fin tuna massing off the Barrier Reef shelf, they were around 20kg.
The new Jubilee bridge opened today. All of us on the east side of Innisfail can now sleep-in an extra 10 minutes, wow! Dee and John said “The Council has done us proud, the bridge is beautiful.”
Dianna O’Brian has started a petition to oppose the rezoning to tourist facility of 27V. However the application has not yet been accepted by council. The petition, however, was enthusiastically, accepted by Coquette Point residents.
Cheers for now,
Yvonne C.
Cheers for now,
Yvonne C.
