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Visited: late summer
Recommendation: This is a local beauty spot and tourist attraction. Get in there early before the swimmers to see Azure Kingfishers and Musky Rat-Kangaroo.
What a find Babinda was! I was originally staying at the free campsite at Rotary Park in Babinda itself but it was busy, noisy and I didn't like it. I always try to have a reserve site for such eventualities and so found myself driving through Babinda towards Babinda Boulders campsite. The difference was incredible. Both were free sites but at the Boulders, it was so peaceful and beautiful. Surrounded by rainforest and a stone's throw from the creek, it was perfect.
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Tricholglossus chlorolepidotus)
Straight away there was activity above me. The palm trees were blooming and a mass of birds were feeding on the red, sticky fruit. I was really excited to see the Scaly-breasted Lorikeet. It's not that I don't love their Rainbow cousins but it was high on my list to see other lorikeet varieties. Although mostly green, this Lorikeet is stunning with yellow scales on its breast and a bright red bill. I followed them around quite a lot that first afternoon.
The Double-eyed Fig Parrot was also feeding at times. They are only as long as your average cell phone and so watching them high up in palm trees is not so easy. This is a female (blue cheeks are the diagnostic) of the Macleay's subspecies.
Double-eyed Fig-Parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma)
Also feeding in the palms were the Dusky Myzomela. How such a small bird can make so much noise is beyond me! It seemed to be always squabbling with family members or other birds but always making a racket.
Dusky Myzomela (Myzomela obscura)
Macleay's Honeyeater (Xanthotis macleayanus)
The Macleay's and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater were also here. The Macleay's is obvious with it's unique colouring but the Yellow-spotted has to be distinguished from the Lewin's and Cryptic by it's call.
Yellow-spotted Honeyeater (Meliphaga notata)
The most unusual honeyeater (well I think so anyway) are the Friarbirds. From the strange variations in neck and head gear to their unique, if painful sounding, calls, you always know when a Friarbird is about. This time it was the Helmeted, the largest of them all sporting a knob on it's bill and a grey ruff.
The Helmeted Friarbird gets its name from a combination of two key features:
Helmet-like structure: This bird has a large, bony casque on its forehead. This bony plate looks somewhat like a helmet, especially from a distance.
Friar-like resemblance: The plumage of the helmeted friarbird is mostly black, with a white patch on its throat. This black and white coloration can be reminiscent of the traditional robes worn by friars, particularly Dominican friars.
Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides)
The Green Oriole was one of the reasons I might have stayed at Rotary Park as there seemed to be hundreds there, all calling. The oriole is known as the sound of the tropics and their lolloping (I might have made that word up) warble cuts through every other noise in the rainforest. And so, I was pleased to see (and hear) one close to my camp site.
Green Oriole (Oriolus flavocinctus)
Lastly, I could hear the Varied Triller (aptly named) calling in the afternoons and it took me a couple of days to track it down and it was great to catch it in the act (so to speak). The lack of barring on the breasts indicates this is a male bird.
The Varied Triller is a cuckooshrike. It belongs to the family Campephagidae, which also includes shrikes, minivets, and cicadabirds.
Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela)
Musky Rat-Kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus)
A real bonus one morning was catching a Musk Kangaroo in the creek car park. It didn't hang around when it saw me and I was sad that it left breakfast behind.
This unusual marsupial is a fascinating little critter that holds a special place in the Australian ecosystem. It's the smallest kangaroo species, weighing in at a mere 620 grams – no bigger than a large guinea pig! They live exclusively in the rainforests of north-eastern Australia.
Nicknamed the "living fossil," the Musky Rat-Kangaroo is considered the most primitive member of the kangaroo family. It retains features from its ancient ancestors, like an opposable thumb on its hind foot for climbing. True to its name, it has a musky odour and a short, scaly tail, unlike the hairy tails of most kangaroos.
Babinda Boulders is not only an iconic beauty spot but also a fantastic place to see wildlife AND it is free!
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