Thursday 19 November 2009

Events of November 18 - 2009 - Changing of the Guard ?




At 0600 hours on the 18th November I made the gruesome discovery of this dead Rufous Owl chick under an adjacent Melaleuca to the nest tree at Saltwater Creek, Centenary Lakes. I immediately informed EPA and also Council (through Martin Cohen) and collected the specimen in case the Qld. Museum wanted it. The shell of this egg did seem to be paper thin.
A group of volunteers watched the nest hollow tree until 21.30 that evening with no sign of the owls. Could this be the end of this years breeding ?
A Great-billed Heron apparently thought so as it took up roost in the owl nest tree as this photo of Jun Matsui   shows.
The Great-billed Heron has recently begun to show on our (Cairnsbirds) species list for the Centenary Lakes a function I believe of the improving habitat with the mangroves developing into a mature forest. This species could prove a good litmus test for the rehabilitation of the mangrove forest currently being destroyed by Cairns Regional Council.



                                          Photos by Jun Matsui.
Brian Venables Edge Hill.

1 comment:

  1. Hmm, what a tragic turn! Interesting to see the Great-billed Heron around.

    ReplyDelete

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