 | Hello from Coquette Point, I was told by Jake a CCRC staffer that on Wednesday he saw a small male cassowary with three chicks near the new sewerage works alongside Ninds Creek. The chicks were about 40cm tall and their stripes were only just visible. Before Jake or the other workers could take a photograph Dad and the chicks disappeared into the rainforest: wonderful and surprising news. It is most unusual for cassowary chicks to be born during winter. However, as no chicks were born last year in the Moresby Range/ Coquette Point area perhaps the cassowaries are catching up, after cyclone ‘Yasi’, now that the forest is producing food again. |
The Quandongs are in fruit and in one of my walks I found the matriarch cassowary ‘Jessie’ feeding on the fallen fruit. When she saw me she turned and plunged into the rainforest. In the gloom the blue colouring on the back of her neck appeared iridescent and when I went to follow her she bent her head to the forest and bulldozed through. She disappeared and I left her to her secret ways.
 Quandon in fruit |  |  |
Cassowary ‘Snout’ is still trying to establish his territory here. He chases the other cassowaries and this week he chased ‘Dot’ through the nursery.
 | He came to a sudden halt when he spied ‘Plastic Cas’. For 20 minutes he circled the statue, frothing up his feathers and stretching as tall as he could, he aggressively stretched his neck, drummed and honked. When ‘Plastic Cas’ didn’t move he eventually gave up and went back to the rainforest. I got most of his antics on video and will put it up when I have time to edit. |
Two new visitors arrived at Coquette Point this week. A magnificent White Faced Heron arrived on Monday and spends the day fishing along the edge of the mangroves.
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This morning a Pied Currawong arrived and flew over the nursery upsetting Kookaburra who set chase. The Currawong moved to the mangroves for an hour or so and then came back with a bright song and sat down for the afternoon in a Melaleuca tree. Pied Currawongs are normally found in dry areas and outback Australia and it is unusual to find them in the Wet Tropics.
Working in my vegetable garden this week I was intrigued with the antics of a Praying Mantis. The Mantis was busy with its ablutions oblivious to my attention.(click on photos to enlarge)
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The cooler weather doesn’t seem to have affected caterpillar activity and I found some amazing ones in the nursery this week. The second caterpillar was 15cm long.
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This week I added another three species of jumping spiders to my collection of photographs. Unfortunately the photographs are not very good. Jumping spiders are very difficult to photograph.
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I see Black Bitten every day. He spends his day hunting for fish in the melaleuca swamp or near the nursery sediment pond. When I try to sneak up, to hopefully take a photo of him fishing, he flies into a tree with remarkable agility.
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Cheers for now,
Yvonne C.
