Cairns

Very busy couple of days here in Cairns. Went birding round Cairns, including the local Cemetery, Centenary Lakes and the Esplanade yesterday with Tony (a UK birder who moved to Cairns 2 years ago) and today we went to Lake Barrine and Picnic Crossing Road (near Yungaburra), courtesy of local birder and guide John, which meant the list grew quite nicely.

Cairns:

Yellow Oriole
Brown Honeyeater
Bush Stone-curlew
Rainbow Bee-eater
Figbird
Brush Cuckoo
Fig Parrot
Scrub Fowl
Dusky Honeyeater
Yellow Honeyeater
Spangled Drongo
Large-billed Gerygone
Straw-necked Ibis
White-breasted Woodswallow
White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike
Black Butcherbird
Little Kingfisher
Wandering Whistling-duck
Osprey
Intermediate Egret
Australian Goshawk
White-rumped Swiftlet
Great White Egret
Black-fronted Dotterel
Red-capped Plover
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Bar-tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Varied Honeyeater
Masked Lapwing
Red-necked Stint
Royal Spoonbill
Spice Finch (also known as Nutmeg Mannikin)
Metallic Starling (or Shining Starling)
Rainbow Lorikeet
Yellow-bellied Sunbird (aka Olive-backed Sunbird)

 Other animals: Mudskipper; Spectacled Flying Foxes (very pretty)

Lake Barrine and Picnic Crossing Road (birding was a bit quiet today):
White-bellied Sea-eagle
Large-billed Scrub-wren
Brown Gerygone
Lewin's Honeyeater
Eastern Spinebill
Eastern Whipbird (great views, normally hard to see)
Little Shrike-thrush
White-throated Treecreeper
Pied Currawong
Grey-headed Robin
Spectacled Monarch
Pale-yellow Robin
Forest Kingfisher
Sacred Kingfisher
Brush Turkey
Pied Monarch
Red-browed Firetail
Leaden Flycatcher
Black Kite
Spotted Harrier
Other animals: Agile Wallaby and Duck-billed Platypus.

I am off to Cassowary House tomorrow for three nights before coming back to Cairns for a week - I want more photos of those gorgeous Bee-eaters! - then I am flying (no more bloody coaches!) to Sydney. I am planning to go to the Warrumbungles, Wollongong and Sydney before flying home via Asia.

Can I get another 362 species to get to 1000 birds on my life list?