Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park: a wonderful lowland rainforest wilderness
Tim Dolby
This report covers Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park on Cape York. Most of Cape York is an untouched wilderness that is dominated by lowland rainforest, open eucalypt woodlands and melaleuca forests with a grass cover, some wonderful heathlands, and coastlines. Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park protects the largest area of lowland rainforest in Australia. Cape York was previously connected to New Guinea, so the interchange of flora and fauna has left a rich biological legacy on the Cape York Peninsula. Essentially, a visit to the Iron Range rainforests gives you a window into the lowland rainforests of New Guinea. The rainforests are without doubt one of the most significant birdwatching sites in Australia; as a testament to this, in my book Finding Australian Birds (CSIRO), the list of key species in the Iron Range is the longest of any Australian location.
I feel very fortunate to have visited the Iron Range many times, heading up there a professional bird guide (mostly for the excellent Bellbird Birding Tours), using my knowledge to help others find the species birds of the area. So, the plan of this report is to share some of that knowledge, hopefully helping you with your own trip to this remarkable part of Australia. The Iron Range is often visited in association with visits to Artemis Station and Lakefield National Park, which I have talked about in another trip report.
Some introductory notes
Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park is around 750 km from Cairns and accessed via the Peninsula Development Rd, the road that heads up the spine of Cape York. Some of the road can be a bit tricky, so 4WD is recommended. The roads are mostly dirt, but generally OK. There are a few river crossings, crossable in most months except the summer wet months. Petrol is available at the supermarket in Lockhart River.
On my first trip, we hired an old Land Cruiser from a second-hand rental company. After driving it around, we realised it was falling apart at the hinges. Part of my door handle came off the first time I opened the door. After getting a flat tyre, the car didn’t have an appropriate wheel brace. Luckily, a passing 4WD helped us out. If we’d been in a more remote area, we would have been up sh… well, you know. So, as you do in a situation like this, we affectionately named her Bessie. This was a lesson learned. The following trips I have hired a newish Prado’s, which are very impressive cars (basically, driving dirt roads feels as though you are driving bitumen). So, I recommend, if you need to hire a car, hire from newish 4WD rental companies. Alternatively, you can fly into the Iron Range. During the wet season, this is the only way to get there. Flights into Lockhart River are with SkyTrans Airlines from Cairns, and there is limited car hire in Lockhart River.
Food is available in Lockhart River, although you may want to stock up in Cairns before you go, and it is worth taking plenty of water. Portland Road has an excellent café called Out of the Blue. I found the food sensational—certainly the best seafood on Cape York. So, you might factor in a visit. Contact them before going.
It is worth noting that there are strict alcohol restrictions in Lockhart River and surrounding communities (with fines as much as $75,000). This includes the cabins at Lockhart River Airport, but not Greenhoose and the campgrounds. You can also not buy alcohol anywhere in the Iron Range. So, if you want a drink, make sure you buy it in Cairns before you leave.
On my first trip, I camped at Gordon Creek, and there is also good camping at the Rainforest Campsite, Cooks Hut, and Chilli Beach. While guiding, I tend to stay at either the airport cabins or Greenhoose (pronounce as though you’re Scottish). All options are excellent.
To give you an indication of what the weather is like, on my first trip I packed a sleeping bag and jumper; I didn’t use either for the entire trip. Most of my stays there have been between July and early November, when there is little rain and the mean temperature is around 30 degrees Celsius. On my last trip, however, the rain arrived early, and we had to make a quick dash to get out. If traveling to the Iron Range in the wet season (Nov to Mar), it is wet, hot, and humid. Very wet, very hot, and very humid!
The Kuuku Ya’u (Kanthanampu and Kungkay) people are the First Nation traditional owners of this park. Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park is named after the Southern Cassowary. Kutini being the Kuuku Ya’u peoples’ word for Southern Cassowary, while Payamu means rainbow serpent.
Brief overview of the birds
There are many parallels between the tropical rainforests of the Iron Range and those of New Guinea, most prominently highlighted by the similarities in bird species. The main birding highlights fo the Iron Range are Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Papuan Pitta (summer), Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Black-eared Catbird (recently elevated to full species), Northern Scrub-robin, Trumpet Manucode, Magnificent Riflebird, Green-backed, White-streaked, Tawny-breasted, and Graceful Honeyeater (a recent split from Cryptic Honeyeater), White-faced Robin, Frilled-necked Monarch, Black-winged Monarch (summer), Yellow-legged Flycatcher, and Tropical Scrubwren! That’s a lot of endemic highlights! If you add the golden-shouldered Parrot, and Black-backed Butcherbird, which can be seen around Musgrave, that is 22 species who Australian distribution is limited to Cape York! There is nowhere else in Australia quite like it!
Papuan Pitta and Black-winged Monarch are only present in the Iron Range in the summer wet season, arriving mid-November and leaving early April. Unfortunately the roads into the Iron Range are closed at that time of year, so if you wish to see Papuan Pitta and Black-winged Monarch you will need to fly into Lockhart River and hire a car. The same applies for Buff-breasted mmm, but these are relatively common around Cairns at that time of year. The wet season is also the best time to Black-eared Catbird, which are quiet other times of the year, and very difficult to track down.
There is a whole bunch of other stuff. For instance, you might see Southern Cassowary, Spotted Whistling-duck, Red Goshawk, or Swinhoe’s Snipe, a vagrant, but possible. You will. Also, most of the special birds you get around Cairns are also found in the Iron Range! I am thinking of birds such as Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Noisy Pitta, and White-eared, Spectacled, and Black-faced Monarch, and some of these are easier to see at the Iron Range than Cairns, i.e., White-eared Monarch. There are also the local subspecies, such as Double-eyed Fig-Parrot (Cape York ssp. marshalli Marshall’s Fig-parrot) and Marbled Frogmouth (Cape York ssp. marmoratus). So, the list of highlights for Kutini-Payamu is insanely good!
Brief overview of the plant
Kutini-Payamu lowland rainforest is dominated by some spectacular trees. The giant Green Fig Tree (Ficus albipila) grows to 35 metres (why it got its alternative name, Abbey Tree) and is the favoured breeding tree for Eclectus Parrot. While Cape Fig (F. nodosa), Sandpaper Fig (F. opposita), and Opposite Leaf Fig (F. hispida) are all the favoured foods for the Double-eyed Fig-Parrot. Blue Quandong (Elaeocarpus augustifolius), a favorite food of Southern Cassowary. The lowland rainforests of Kutini-Payamu are an important habitat for Southern Cassowary, with many of the larger fruiting plants relying on them for seed distribution. It is also nice to see some flowering Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) scattered through the rainforest. The Leichhardt Tree (Nauclea orientalis) grows to around 30 metres. They bear clusters of fragrant flowers that develop into golf-ball-sized fruits. These fruits are edible and a food source for First Nations people. They are also eaten by flying-foxes and the Southern Cassowary.
Look also for the magnificent Black Bean (Castanospermum australe), a large tree prized for its colourful bicoloured (red and yellow) flowers. Black Bean trees have large, albeit toxic, chestnut-like fruit. However, if treated, they can be edible. For instance, First Nations people prepared them by roasting pods, then leaching them with running water for several days, before pounding it into some flour for damper. The importance of Black Bean as a food meant that the larger trees were seasonal gathering points for First Nations people and featured in their songlines.
The Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) is a striking-looking palm as is theCostate Palm (Hydriastele costata). The local bamboo is Black Bamboo (Neololeba atra), which is particularly attractive, as is the Corncob Pandana (Pandanus zea). Far less appealing is the Wait-a-While Vine (Calamus australis), which has caught me off guard many times!
One of the most intriguing plants of the Iron Range is the epiphytic Ant-house Plant. It has a close relationship with an ant, a butterfly, and a bird! The prickly, swollen stems develop natural hollows that act as nesting sites for ant species, mostly the Golden Ant (Iridomyrmex cordatus). In a symbiotic arrangement, ants patrol the plant, removing any leaf-eaters, while at the same time the plant absorbs their excreta for nutrition. The Apollo Jewel Butterfly (Hypochrysops apollo apollo) lays its eggs on the Ant-house Plant. These smell like ant’s eggs, so they carry the eggs inside the plant. The larvae then hatch from the eggs and feed on food begged from the ants, or eat the ant larvae, or both. Finally emerging as a beautiful butterfly. The fruit of the Ant-house Plant is white and translucent and contains a single seed. The fruit and seed are then eaten by the Mistletoebird, who transport them to other trees.
For me, a real highlight of Kutini-Payamu is its wonderful heathlands—an area I would love to spend much more time investigating. Over 200 different plants occur in the heathlands, and they can be covered in wildflowers—reminiscent of the heathlands in southern Australia. Some of the more prominent heathland plants are the Black She-oak (Allocasuarina littoralis). There is a nice selection of grevilleas, with one of my absolute favourites being the Golden Parrot Tree(Grevillea pteridifolia), with wonderful orange flowers that really stand out as you move through the heath. With nectar-rich flowers, they are a good food source for birds such as the White-streaked Honeyeater. First Nations people also soaked the nectar-rich flowers in water to make a sweet drink. While, in some places, First Nation people used it as a herb when cooking Emu. Yum.
The banksia in the Iron Range is the Tropical Banksia(Banksia dentata), which was the first banksia collected by Joseph Banks on the Endeavor in 1770. Another heathland shrub is Broombush (Jacksonia thesioides), with has delightful pink flowers. Broom Bogrush (Schoenus sparteus) is a sedge that grows about a metre high.
Look closely for terrestrial orchids, such as the Cinnamon Orchid (Corymborkis veratrifolia). Look also for epiphytic orchids such as the Fragrant Tea Tree Orchid (Dendrobium trilamellatum), Cape York Vanda (Vanda hindsii), and beautiful purple Cooktown Orchid (Dendrobium bigibbum), the floral emblem of Queensland.
For me, an absolute star of the heath is the Tropical Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes mirabalis). (I discuss where to see them below in the section on White-streaked Honeyeater). Found in the wetter areas of heath, they are simply amazing to see! Its species Latin name mirabalis means ‘wonderful’, and they surely are. Seeing them for the first time was a truly impressive sight. Some were quite large, about the size of drinking glasses, and they are also quite variable in colour, with some red and others green. Many were being protected by Green Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina), which I thought a bit ironic. Pitcher plants are, of course, carnivorous, with a modified leaves known as a pitfall trap. If you investigate their digestive liquid in the trap of the one in the Iron Range, their predominant prey seems to be Green Ants!
The Green Ants, of themselves are quite fascinating. They will be familiar to anyone who has either lived or travelled in northern tropical Australia. They build a colonial leaf nest in trees. They are aggressive towards any perceived threat to their nests. Swarming, and then biting, anything or anyone, to ensure an intruder knows exactly who’s the boss. I have known many people have been covered with Green Ants when brushing up against a bushy tree. The resulting hopping and slapping is know as the ‘Green Ant Dance’, a sight to see. In some cases, you are forced to take all your cloths off, because they have gotten under your trousers. Indeed I have had to do this myself! Luckily there was no one around to see me do it!
WHERE TO SEE THE BIRDS
So, now to the birding sites!
Claudie River Bridge and adjacent grassland
When bird guiding in the Iron Range, the Claudie River Bridge is one of the first places I visit i.e. on the first morning. It located on Portland Roads Rd (such a great name for a road and, these days usually abbreviated to Portland Rd), it is just west on the intersection with Lockhart River Rd. This intersection is known as Three Ways.
My aim for the morning is to start birding at the bridge, then continue to birdwatch locations as I move east. Doing this, until I have reached somewhere like the Gordon Creek Bridge. The idea behind this is, after the first morning you know what rainforest birds you have seen, and what you have missed. After that you can specifically target the bird species you still need to get.
I find the Claudie River Bridge a good spot to just hang around and birdwatch, perhaps for half an hour or so (longer if you are in no hurry). You can stand on the bridge itself, looking up and down this wonderful river (of course, watching out for cars as they cross the bridge) and walk up and down the road a bit. There is usually quite a lot of activity; for instance, I found it a particularly good spot for Frilled-necked Monarch and Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, there is usually a pair of the monarchs on the east side of the bridge. Here, I have also seen Tropical Scrubwren, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Spectacled Monarch, Lovely Fairy-wren, White-browed Robin, Yellow-spotted, Graceful, and Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, while Fairy, and Large-billed Gerygone can be seen flittering around the southern side of the bridge, and the rainforest to the east can be good for Magnificent Riflebird and Trumpet Manucode. In the wet, this spot is good for Black-winged Monarch and Papuan and Noisy Pitta.
A walk into the rainforest just north of the bridge produced nesting Green-backed Honeyeater, as well as White-eared Monarch and Yellow-legged Flycatcher. It is in this area that I once disturbed a nest of Paper Wasp. Anyone who has done this before will know exactly what I am about to say. I sustained several extremely painful stings, including one on the ear, sending me into a mild state of panic! I rushed up a nearby ridge, straight into some Wait-a-while, a plant also known as the Lawyer Vine (because once it gets hold of you, it won’t let go). Under the circumstances, this seemed like a mild distraction when compared to stings of the Paper Wasp! Fortunately for me, I managed to break free, and the pain from the bites disappeared after about half an hour or so.
Just west of the bridge there is a large open grassy area. This is a good spot for Golden-headed Cisticola, and, although I have seen them there, I am sure it would be good for Zitting Cisticola (a bird not yet officially recorded in the Iron Range). Because the grassland is a big open space bordered by rainforest, it is a good space to see birds flying over the field; for instance, I have found it good for Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, and small parties of Red-cheeked Parrot. Other birds I have seen flying over the grassland were Australian Swiftlet, Tree Martin, Tree Martin, Pacifica Baza, and Grey Goshawk (both white and grey morphs seem to be evenly present in the Iron Range), and it is the only place I have seen Red Goshawk in the Iron Range, again flying over the grassland, heading north. It is also a spot I have seen Southern Cassowary. Always a tremendous sight, it walked away into the rainforest fringe on the west side of the grassland.
Three Ways (The Triangle)
Three Ways is the name of the intersection between Portland Rd and Lockhart River Rd (from there you can either head east to Portland Road, south to Lockhart River, or west out of the Iron Range, hence Three Ways). Another name for it is the Triangle, because the road here is triangular. After stopping off at the bridge, I usually stop and birdwatch just east of this intersection, where Portland Rod runs close to the West Claudie River. It is a good spot for Tropical Scrubwren, and I have also seen Superb and Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Tawny-breasted and Green-backed Honeyeater, Rufous Shrike-thrush, Magnificent Riflebird, White-faced Robin, and Yellow-legged Flyrobin.
It is interesting to note that the grasslands here are apparently the spot where ‘Operation Blowdown’ was conducted in 1963. It was a large explosive test to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon on tropical rainforests, hence the grassy areas. I remember Les Hiddens, a retired soldier known for his knowledge of plants, visiting the site in an episode of The Bush Tucker Man. Like the grasslands near the bridge, you occasionally get flyovers of Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, and Red-checked Parrot over this area.
Rainforest, Cooks Hut and Gordon Creek camping areas
For rainforest species, the main areas for birding are along Portland Rd., from the
Rainforest campground in the west, past Cooks Hut campground, to Gordon Creek
campground in the east. One of the more productive approaches to locating rainforest
bird species is to birdwatch along the rainforest edges, i.e., birdwatch along Portland Rd. itself.
I have found birdwatching immediately east of Cooks Hut particularly good, particularly for Trumpet Manucode, Yellow-billed Kingfisher (a ‘go to’ spot for this kingfisher), and Green-backed Honeyeater, while you and also see Eclectus and Red-cheeked Parrot, Double-eyed (Marshall’s) Fig-Parrot, Wompoo, Rose-crowned, and Superb Fruit-Dove, Chestnut-breasted and Spangled Drongo, Magnificent Riflebird, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Spectacled, Frill-necked, and White-eared Monarch, Tropical Scrubwren, Rufous Shrike-thrush, Rufous Fantail, Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, Grey Whistler, and White-faced Robin, Black-winged Monarch and Oriental Cuckoo.
While birding the rain forest edge can be productive, some species are best seen by entering the gallery rainforest; one such area is immediately beside the Cooks Hut camping area. This can be a reliable site for Northern Scrub-robin. In summer, this area is also good for Papuan Pitta, feeding in the leaf litter. I have camped at both Gordan Creek and Cooks Hut campsites and, on both occasions, there were several Spotted Cuscus in the trees bordering the campsite. They seem particularly numerous at Cooks Hunt, and you can occasionally see them in the larger trees in the campsite itself.
The Gordon Creek campsites are bordered by riverine rainforest. White-faced Robin can be a campground bird, frequently clinging sideways on tree trunks, as robins tend to do. In the afternoon, this campsite proved to be a good place for Green-backed Honeyeater and Yellow-legged Flycatcher, the latter often located by their distinctive calls, a short five-second trill (which I think sounds somewhat like the trilling call of the Yellow-billed Kingfisher). Around here you should see a few Australian Brush-turkeys as they hassle each other and any Orange-footed (Megapod) Scrubfowl that gets in their way. The Australian Brush-turkey here is the violet-wattled subspecies, purpureicollis. The nominate subspecies lathami further south has a bright-yellow wattle.
There is a nice little walk at the campground that leads down to the creek, a good spot for Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Trumpet Manucode, White-faced Robin, Frilled-necked Monarch, and Tropical Scrubwren. Double-eyed Fig-Parrot is sometimes seen feeding in fig trees that overhang the west side of the campground, and they sometimes feed in the trees further down Portland Rd, just after the Gordan Creek Bridge. This bridge, like the West Claudie River Bridge, is a good place to just hang out and birdwatch. For example, here I have seen Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Red-cheeked and Eclectus Parrot, Black-eared Catbird, Magnificent Riflebird, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Green-backed Honeyeater (a good spot for them), and Yellow-legged Flycatcher.
At night, spotlighting the road between Rainforest, Cooks Hut, and Gordon Creek campgrounds is probably the best way site for Marbled Frogmouth, Large-billed Nightjar, and Rufous Owl, and there is a chance of Red-necked Crake, with one calling while I was spotlighting the last trip I made there.
When spotlighting, look in the trees along Portland Rd for nocturnal rainforest mammals such as Striped Possum, Spotted and Southern Common Cuscus, while you might see Cape York Melomys and Long-nosed Echymipera (previously known as the Rufous Spiny Bandicoot) scurrying and rustling around the rainforest floor. Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) also occur in the Iron Range, so keep them in mind.
Cinnamon Antechinus also occur another endemic mammal of the mesophyll rainforest of the Iron Range. They breed in September, when the males become active. Looking for a mate, they extend their activities into the day – which is when you might see them scurrying across a road. After continually trying to mate for over a month, the males become exhausted. By mid-October, all the males are dead! So, after that, only female Antechinus exist, until they give birth to their first litters in late October and November. That is an such an interesting life history!
The Bare-backed Fruit-Bat and the much smaller Fawn Leaf-nosed Bat are among the common bat you will see. You can distinguish the Bare-backed Fruit-Bat because it makes a distinctive flapping noise as they hover in mid-air. The are also three flying foxes’ species to look out for: Black, Spectacled and Little Red Flying-Fox.
There is also a chance of some good reptiles, such as Green (Tree) Python, a spectacular-looking python whose Australian distribution is essentially limited to the rainforests of the Iron Range, and the Amethystine Python, or Scrub Python, a snake that reaches 5 metres in length. Another special reptile of the Iron Range is called the Canopy Goanna, found nowhere else in the world. Living in the rainforest, it uses its tail like a Spider Monkey, curling it around a branch of a tree like a fifth limb. There seems to be little information on this small species of monitor, so could possibly do with a bit more research. Listen also for the distinctive quacking call of the Australian Wood Frog.
Another good area of edge habitat is along the track going down to the Claudie River at the Rainforest Campground. This is the eastern end of the Old Coen Track. White-faced Robin occurs along this track, as do Pacific Emerald Dove, and the river is to be a good place to see Frilled-necked Monarch, Red-cheeked Parrot, and Eclectus Parrot. It is also a good spot for Black-eared Catbird. They are notoriously difficult to see outside of the summer period, remaining silent and often feeding high in the rainforest canopy.
Here’s a bit of an aside. Once I camped at the Cooks Hut with two clients. They were a couple; she was an American doctor from New York and great fun, while he was a Costa Rican bird guide. They had specifically asked to camp a few days in the Iron Range, so I packed a couple of two-man tents, some sleeping bags, etc. Once we arrived at Cooks Hut, I got the tents out of the car and said, “Here’s your tent; if you need any help, please let me know.” He, the Costa Rican bird guide, looked down at the tent, looked up at me, and then kicked the tent, saying, “What the F#@k is this!?” I was a bit surprised by this; I assumed a Costa Rican bird guide would know what camping is. Apparently, his idea of camping was what we call ‘glamping’ (quite common in Costa Rica). He assumed there would be a cabin-like tent, accompanied by a cook providing our food and a cold bottle of champagne on ice! I’ve slightly exaggerated the champagne bit, but you get the picture. Eventually he settled down and set up his tent. Need I say, we did not camp again. He was quite a nice guy and good birder but had a habit of losing his temper (something his wife warned me about before the beginning of the trip). Indeed, she said they couldn’t do group birding trips because he would always get in a fight with the other clients. At the end of the trip, he gave me a large bag of coffee, Costa Rican coffee that came from his local region. His was his favourite coffee. Upon talking to his wife, she said she was amazed at that kind gesture, “He never done that before!” So, I must have done something right.
Old Coen Track (western entrance) and along Portland Rd here.
Another good area of edge habitat is along the western end of the Old Coen Track. A walk west along the Old Coen Track is also worth doing, with most of the rainforest species possible along here. As mentioned, the habitat is a nice mix of open woodlands and lowland rainforest. It is 5 kilometres one way. I have found it good for the Black-eared Catbird, the fruit-doves, Wompoo, Superb and Rose-crowed, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Tropical Scrubwren, White-eared and Frilled-necked Monarch, and White-faced Robin. A focal point of walking this track used to be the old Smuggler’s Tree, an important breeding tree for Eclectus Parrot. Its name is derived from the fact it used to be raided by bird traders for nestlings in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the Smuggler’s Tree has since fallen, the result of Cyclone Trevor in 2019. This was a powerful cyclone that decimated much of the Iron Ranges rainforest, with numerous large trees being flattened, including the Smuggler’s Tree.
Also, at the western end of the Old Coen Track, some of the best birding is along Portland Rd. itself, with the south side of Portland Rd particularly good for Northern Scrub-robin. Extremely shy, you may have to walk in the rainforest to see it. Northern Scrub-robin have always intrigued me. Its closest cousin, the Southern Scrub-robin, occurs 3 thousand kilometres. That’s a long way away! They also have extremely different habit preferences; you see Northern Scrub-robin in rainforests, while Southern Scrub-robin prefers mallee and dry woodlands. So how are they linked? Looking into the rainforest from the road I have also seen Trumpet Manucode, Magnificent Rifle, Graceful, Tawny-breasted, and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, Eclectus and Red-cheeked Parrot make regular flyovers, as do Double-eyed Fig-Parrot and Palm Cockatoo.
West Claudie River Rainforest
If you head west along Portland Rd, there is a tremendous area of rainforest beside the West Claudie River—it is around 6 km from Three Ways—and it is the first section of rainforest you come to when entering the Iron Range from the Peninsula Development Rd. Along this section of road was the very first place that I birdwatched in the Iron Range. I have great memories of this spot, as it was my first introduction to the rainforest birds of the Iron Ranges. It was like being a kid in a candy store and not knowing which candy to eat first. There were so many fantastic new birds to see; there was a dilemma about which way to look! I remember our conversation going something like this:
“Look, there’s a Trumpet Manucode and another (skowp!). Hear that, one just called in that tree! There, a Magnificent Riflebird (wee-ee-OOP), it also just called. Eclectus Parrot overhead, wow! Look there, Three Red-cheeked Parrots overhead! White-eared Monarch in that large fig tree, there! Hey, that’s a Palm Cockatoo calling!”
And, so, it went on! Wompoo, Superb Fruit-Dove, Frilled-necked, and Spectacled Monarch, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Graceful, and Tawny-breasted Honeyeater! A pretty special spot of rainforest.
Where to see White-streaked Honeyeater
This species gets its own section in this report. This is because it can be a very tricky bird to find, especially if you don’t know the right place to look. Unless you specifically target it, it is often one of the last endemic Iron Range birds that birders see (or not). Fortunately, I can recommend two spots to see them.
East of Three Ways
On the way to Portland Road, you pass through some excellent areas of heathlands. This habitat is perfect for White-streaked Honeyeater. I usually stop near an old abandoned truck on Portland Rd. around 9 km west of Three Ways (3.5 km west of the Gordon Creek campsite). Here you look and listen for White-streaked Honeyeater either side of the road—you can easily walk into the heath here if you need to. Other birds here are Leaden Flycatcher, Helmeted Friarbird, Dusky Honeyeater, and Grey Shrike-thrush.
West of Three Ways
The second is a creek around ~15 kilometres west of Three Ways (~4 km west of the Mt Tozer Lookout). Here there is a roadside pull-in on the north-west side of the creek (just after the culvert) and is essentially the only place you can pull-in along this section of the road. This spot is outside the national park. White-streaked Honeyeater occur here in the heathy scrublands, particularly on the south side of Portland Rd.
The other special thing about this site is the presence of carnivorous Tropical Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes mirabilis). Large numbers of them are scattered across the ground on the south side of Portland Rd., particularly in the slightly damp areas.
White-streaked Honeyeaters are also occasionally seen the Mt Tozer Lookout, which is a particularly good spot for heathland wildflowers.
Portland Road township
The township of Portland Road is a tiny (much smaller than I would have thought) but welcoming and an excellent birding spot. The inlet in front of the town can be productive, particularly at low tide and the mudflats are visible. Look for Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Eastern Reef Egret, Striated Heron, and Torresian Kingfisher. Rose-crowed Fruit-dove and Pied Imperial Pigeon regularly fly across the inlet to roost in the mangroves on the left side of town. In the town’s gardens, you can see Large-billed Gerygone, Sahul Sunbird, Tropical Scrubwren, and Graceful, Tawny-breasted and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, and there are usually a few Double-eyed Fig-Parrot in the street trees.
Standing on the small breakwater (a former Jetty) in the town’s north, you can usually add a few seabirds to your list. Here I have seen Lesser and Greater Frigatebird, Brown Booby, Common Noddy, Lesser Crested, and Bridled Tern feeding out at sea. While, at night, if you shine your spotlight into the water, you can see the eye-shine of the Saltwater Crocodile around 20 metres from the beach. And there can be plenty of eyes, which explains why swimming is not a good idea at Portland Road.
Portland Road is a particularly good place for seeing Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, with a good spot to look being behind the mangrove on the north side of town. Start your search from a little picnic area around 300 metres west of the township. It is worth listening out for their distinctively harsh churring.
Birding in the mangroves here can also be rewarding, although be wary of the midges. Mangrove species here include Mangrove Robin, Torresian Kingfisher, and Shinning Flycatcher, and you can also see Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Varied, Graceful and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, Helmeted Friarbird, Spangled Drongo, Large-billed and Fairy Gerygone and Yellow Oriole. I have also had tremendous views of Palm Cockatoo in an area of open woodlands about 1 km north of the mangrove, so keep you eyes open.
Here’s a recommendation. Whether staying or visiting Portland Road it’s worth eating at the Portland Road café the Out of the Blue (mentioned above). On my first visit we regularly ate lunch and dinner at the café, enjoying fish and chips, prawn tempura, calamari, and for lunch prawn roles! While eating dinner a bonus was listening to Large-tailed Nightjar, a distinctive donk, donk, donk. We also saw what looked like Bare-backed Fruit-Bat, feeding in the gardens in the front of the café.
Lockhart River Treatment Plant
One of the best birding sites at Lockhart River is the treatment plant. To get there, from Lockhart River, head down Piiramo Rd. towards Quintell Beach, and after about 500 metres turn down Kuttini Street for around 300 metres, with the treatment plant on your right.
This treatment plant is an excellent series of ponds. In terms of waterfowl, there are usually a few Magpie Geese, Radjah Shelduck, Green Pygmy-Geese, Black Duck, and Grey Teal, and, in recent times, it is a go-to place to see Spotted Whistling-Duck, with occasional groups of over 20. A creek runs north of the pond; they are occasionally there. On or around the water there are usually a few Pied Heron, Cattle Egret, Australasian Grebe, Comb-crested Jacana, Masked Lapwing, and the causeways can be good for summer waders such as Pacific Golden Plover, Sharp-tailed and Common Sandpiper. In spring and summer there are usually a few Latham’s Snipe around, while in September 2009 my group saw a Swinhoe’s Snipe—so always be vigilant and have your camera ready.
The grassy areas next to the fence line are usually good for Golden-headed Cisticola as well as Red-browed Finch. The treatment plant is also a good spot for another grassland specialist, Tawny Grassbird. They have a particular preference for grassy around the northern-most out the back of the plant. The trees at the back of the ponds usually have a few Brown-backed Honeyeater, and you might see White-breasted Woodswallow, Leaden Flycatcher, Australian Swiftlet, and Red-backed Fairy-wren there also.
Finally, the plant is an excellent spot to look for Fawn-breasted Bowerbird. They often hang around the trees outside the south side of the plant, flying from there across the road to the forest on the other side of Kuttini St. I also usually see, or at least hear (south towards Piiramo Rd.), Palm Cockatoo. Another bonus bird I have had at the treatment plant was seeing a King Quail, an uncommon bird on Cape York. There have been a few recent sightings there, so it is one to think about.
Quintell Beach (Lockhart River Beach)
Located 2 kilometre or so east of Lockhart River, Quintell Beach is a beautiful beach and a good birding spot. On the right side of the jetty, there are several large rocks in the water. These are good for roosting terns; I have seen Black-naped, Lesser Crested, Greater Crested, Little, and Australian Tern. From the jetty here you can scan out to the Coral Sea, with a good chance of seeing the terns mentioned above as well as Great and Lesser Frigatebird and Brown Booby.
A walk down the beach to the right of the jetty is worthwhile. Once, a Lesser Frigatebird patrolled up and down the beach, continually flying just overhead. Perhaps surprisingly, Palm Cockatoos are regularly recorded at Quintell Beach.
You can drive north along the beach; the access road is north of the toilet block. Driving on the sand, you can drive north for a kilometre or so, until you reach an estuary. There is a good chance of seeing Beach Stone-Curlew up near the estuary, as well as Siberian and Greater Sand Plover, Pacific Golden and Red-capped Plover, Whimbrel and Eastern Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stint, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, and Eastern Reef Egret, and look out for Osprey, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and Brahminy Kite.
Chilli Beach
Chilli Beach has the look of a wonderful tropical beach, with palm trees bordering the beach. It is an excellent place for terns; for instance, I have seen Black-naped, Bridled, Little, Australian, Lesser and Greater Crested Tern, and Common Noddy. That’s not a bad list! Out to sea, you can also usually find a frigatebird, with a chance of both Lesser and Great Frigatebird as well as Brown Booby and Wedge-tailed Shearwater. Aside from the beach, it is worth looking across to Ma’alpiku (Restoration) Island and Old Mans Rocks, ~700 m off the coast, for circling terns and seabirds. Ma’alpiku (Restoration) Island is also famous for its Metallic Starling. During the warmer months at dusk, large numbers of Metallic Starling flock off Chilli Beach, forming murmuration around the beach and the island. Ma’alpiku (Restoration) Island is also where William Bligh landed after being set adrift from the Bounty in 1789.
Just up the beach to the north, look for shorebirds around the pools near the rocky areas. This spot of good for Lesser and Greater Sand Plover, Pacific Golden and Red-capped Plover, Common Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stint and there is a chance of Beach Stone-curlew. On the beach you will also usually Australian Pied Oystercatcher and Eastern Reef Egret, as well as the odd Little and Great Egret, while White-breasted Sea-Eagle, Osprey and Brahminy Kite patrol the waters just off the beach.
BTW, if driving Portland Rd at night (perhaps on your way back from the Portland Road township), look for Large-tailed Nightjar as they flush from the road, particularly near the intersection to Chilli Beach. On one night, I saw at least 10 Large-tailed Nightjar. It was also hard to avoid Cane Toads.
Lockhart River Road and the Airport
I have found one of the best ways to find Palm Cockatoo is to drive up and down Lockhart River Road, listening for their distinctive and very loud whistles. A particularly good spot for them is around the culvert 500 metres east of the Lockhart River Airport turnoff. This is also a good place to see Eclectus Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Blue-winged Kookaburra, and Magnificent Riflebird.
Another surprise about driving along Lockhart River Road is the presence of wild horses; they are usually a rich brown colour and regularly feed on the grassy areas beside the road and around the access road to the airport and are an impressive sight!
If you are staying in the cabins at the Lochart River Airport, there is a good chance you will see Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, who regularly visit the trees at the airport. Palm Cockatoo and Eclectus Parrot sometimes fly over the airfield, so keep your eyes open.
Out of interest, the Lockhart River Airport was originally set up as an American airbase during World War 11. At the peak of activity, 7,000 servicemen camped along the road between Portland Roads and the Iron Range Airfield.
Greenhoose
If you are staying at Greenhoose, you can access the rainforest walk behind the accommodation. It can be good for Northern Scrub-robin, Azure, and Little Kingfisher (along the creek at the end of the walk), as well as Magnificent Riflebird, Noisy Pitta, Tropical Scrubwren, Frilled-necked and Spectacled Monarch, White-faced Robin, and there is a chance of Black-eared Catbird.
A good way to birdwatch at Greenhoose is to birdwatch on Lockhart River Rd. immediately in front of the accommodation. Birdwatching here is particularly good for pigeons, such as Pacific Emerald and Bar-shouldered Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Dove, Wompoo and Superb Fruit-Dove, and Torresian Imperial-Pigeon. Not bad. It is also good for kingfishers; you might see Yellow-billed (listen for their call), Forest, Scared Kingfisher, Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher in summer, and Blue-winged Kookaburra. Other birds to look for include Eclectus and Red-cheeked Parrot, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Noisy Pitta (listen to them calling next to Greenhoose), Fairy Gerygone, Varied Triller, Rufous Shrike-thrush, Lemon-bellied Flyrobin, Black Butcherbird, Spangled Drongo, Grey Whistler, and Yellow-bellied Boatbill.
Greenhoose is a great place to see butterflies, who feed on the flowers in the garden—with an amazing 60% of Australian butterflies recorded in the Iron Range. Indeed, the accommodation is regularly used as a base butterfly researcher; there has been some staying there nearly every time I have visited. Some of the butterflies to look out for include the majestic Ulysses butterfly; it presents a wonderful series of bright blue flashes as it flies by. Then there is the equally majestic New Guinea Birdwing, which looks very similar to the Cairns Birdwing. Other swallowtails include Red-bodied Swallowtail, Orchard Swallowtail, and Chequered Swallowtail, and you should see Red-banded Jezebel, Common Crow, Cruiser, Orange Plane, Palmfly, Blue Triangle, Lesser Wanderer, Green-banded Jewel, Purple Moonbeam, Blue-banded Eggfly, and Leafwing, and many more.
The White-lipped Tree Frog is also resident at Greenhoose, often hiding behind a picture or in a crevice. Australia’s largest frog, they reach up to 13.5 cm in body length. They are usually very green and, as the name suggests, have a white lip. After dusk, listen for their loud, harsh barking sound that I think resembles the quacking of a duck.
Ranger Station
Nearby, birding at the Ranger Station can be rewarding, particularly along the wall of rainforest north of the station—it is an area that is part of Greenhoose property. Look and listen here for Black-eared Catbird, Magnificent Riflebird, Noisy Pitta, and, in summer, Papuan Pitta, who occasionally move out from the rainforest in the grassy area. There is also a chance of Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, and you might have flyovers of Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus, Red-cheeked Parrot, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. In the Iron Range, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo are usually seen as individuals or pairs, not flocks. In southern Australia, you would be hard-pressed to see Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in a flock under ten, and sometimes in the hundreds.
As a side note, it is worth noting that the rangers at Kutini-Payamu can be a little testy at times (particularly towards bird guides), so I recommend you treat them with great respect.
Coen
Just quickly, to finish off, before heading into the Iron Range, you pass through Coen. On my first trip to Coen, we stopped to fix a flat tyre. I was surprised to find that the common town birds was Pied Currawong, This is the large-billed subspecies magnirostris; its distribution is limited to Cape York. Nice. Blue-faced Honeyeater was also common—again, another Cape York subspecies called griseigularis. It issomewhat smaller than other races. The common corvid for the area was the Torresian Crow. Coen had a nice feel to it, and it had some good shops. One shop in town had a pet Palm Cockatoo. Hearing for the first time made me jump! Palm Cockatoo! I rushed around to the back of the shop to look for it, only to find it was in a cage.
Preparation for my very first visit to Kutini-Payamu.
