Mission Beach Cassowaries
  • ABOUT CASSOWARIES
    • Cassowary ID and tracking >
      • Sightings maps
    • World Cassowary Day 2015
  • NEWS
  • Information
    • Developments
    • Thorsborne Trail NOT FOR SALE >
      • MARGARET 'T' AO 1927-2018
    • Walking tracks
    • Birding
    • Lot 66/Garrett Corridor
    • Publications
    • Mission Beach Naturally >
      • Community Identity
    • Heritage
  • Photo Gallery
    • Fauna >
      • Cassowary
      • Birds
      • Mammals
      • Reptiles
    • Flora >
      • Flowers
      • Plants and trees
      • Fungi
    • Scenic
  • Contact
    • Privacy policy
  • Mission Beach Cassowaries

News from Coquette Point

13/5/2012

 
Picture
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.

Russell C reported last week that he saw a congregation of metallic starlings in the Innisfail CBD trees. This week the same thing occurred  here, hundreds of metallic starlings, which included a large number of juveniles, crowed into the branches of a large melaleuca leucadendren.
The next morning they were almost all gone on their northern migration. Six adult starlings have stayed. It is so quite now without their noisy gatherings and the cassowaries will miss the food they knock to the ground in their exuberant feeding forays.

Matriarch cassowary ‘Jessie’ returned alone on Thursday. I had not seen her for a few days and there is no sign of her mate ‘Little Dad’.  It is over a month since I first saw them walking out together so I am hopeful he is sitting safely on eggs,  somewhere close by.
Picture
Matriarch 'Jessie'
‘Dot’ still visits ‘plastic cas’ every day and he has found an old terracotta bowl that he seems to enjoy drinking from. ‘Dot’ will drink his fill then gather beaks full of water which he pours down his front then vigorously washes and preens his feathers. It has become a daily ritual. It is surprising to see how he can move the wattles around his neck.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Cassowary ‘Snout’ has been making a regular appearance and he chased the hell out of ‘Dot’.  ‘Dot’ needs only to glimpse  and he turns and runs with his neck extended and legs beating a  fast retreat. It will be interesting to see which bird ‘Jessie’ walks with next.
Picture
‘Snout’
It was so good to see sub adult cassowary ‘Q’ turn up this week. I have not sighted him for over five months.  His sibling ‘Don’ has remained at this end of Coquette Point. The siblings chased each other and then both are chased by ‘Dot’. When ‘Jessie’ and ‘Snout’ see either of them they join in the territorial battle-chase.  All week there has been honking and crashing sounds coming from the rainforest. No wonder ‘Dot’ seeks protection near ‘plastic cas’.

I have included some old photos of ‘Little Dad’ and his chicks ‘Don’ and ‘Q’  showing how they have grown over the last two years. (Click on images to enlarge)
Picture
First sighting 6.3.11
Picture
Supplementary feeding begins 13.3.11
Picture
Chicks alone for first time 25.7.11
Picture
‘Q’ 11.5.2012
Picture
‘Don’ 8.5.2012
Lots of Bordered Rustic butterflies around the nursery this week. Also the orange/brown form of the Varied Egg-fly. Little Bush Browns are laying their eggs on grass sheaths.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Dragon flies are out competing each other for beauty and grace as they busy themselves removing mosquitoes from the nursery.
Picture
Picture
Picture
The sunbirds are selecting real estate on which to build their nest. The female finds a possible site and calls the male to check it out. Nest building does not commence until he approves.  Once the site is selected she begins building and can complete a nest within a week. The males supervise while the females exhaust herself to construct the nest to their primeval design.
Picture
I am going to the Cairns Garden Show tomorrow with ‘the book’ and checked out the water and fuel in the van tonight in preparedness. When I lifted the bonnet I found a night tiger snake comfortably coiled in the engine. A nice, sometimes warm, winter home.


Cheers for now,

Yvonne C.



Jody dewitt
15/5/2012 04:44:35 am

Such a wondrous species the cassowary. Delighted to hear they can remain in there natural habitat and get special pet names.. My current work of Mosaic is a 900 by 600 mm majestic masterpiece of the very famous coloured bird.
Regards Jody dewitt

Liz
16/5/2012 02:57:03 am

Would love to see the end result Jody. Yvonne's updates give us a wonderful insight into the ecology of these birds. You can see lots more cassowary photos and stories on facebook here http://www.facebook.com/groups/missionbeachcassowaries/


Comments are closed.
    Mission Beach Cassowaries facebook page
    Follow the lives of individual cassowaries on facebook

    Picture
    Friends of Ninney Rise
    Ninney Rise
    - the inspiring
     conservation history of Mission Beach



    Archives

    September 2023
    May 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    November 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All
    Ash
    Birds
    Boat Bay
    Bush Tucker
    Butterflies
    Cassowaries
    Cassowary Coast
    Cca
    Coquette Point
    Cowley Beach
    Crocodiles
    Cyclones
    Cyclone Yasi
    Development
    Flowers
    Flying Foxes
    Frogs
    Fungi
    Insects
    Johnstone River
    Little Terns Nesting
    Mahogany Glider
    Mangrove Dieback
    Marine
    Mission Beach
    Port Hinchinbrook
    Rainforest Fruit
    Sediment Runnoff
    Snakes
    Spiders
    Threats
    Tourism
    Tully Heads
    Turtles
    Wildwatch
    W P S Q Tully Branch


© All content on this website (except where otherwise stated) is copyright Mission Beach Cassowaries All Rights Reserved If copying or publishing  content or information from this site please credit and link to Mission Beach Cassowaries Inc. website Except where otherwise credited, all photos on this website are copyright and must have permission to reproduce