Cape Hillsborough

Visited: winter

Recommendation: Don't go for the kangaroos feeding on the beach but do go for the birds and animals you can find around the campsite and along the shore.

Smalleys Beach is on the northern side of Cape Hillsborough which is famous for the beach where kangaroos feed at dawn. I did go to see that and was immensely disappointed as it consisted of rangers feeding the kangaroos and wallabies out of a bucket. Not the spiritual experience as advertised.

Lace Monitor or Tree Goanna (Varanus varius)

Anyway, I was thrilled with the Smalleys Beach Campground. Set back slightly from the beach in a bushy area, there was lots of shade, animals and birds. The beach itself was long and wide and I couldn't help but feel that it is a real benefit to the environment that people can't go in the water and so don't build huge resorts along along coastlines like this. It was unspoilt and peaceful.

As soon as I arrive at a new place, I grab my camera and walk around and I nearly tripped over an enormous Lace Monitor. It seemed quite at home and I followed it as it walked around the campsite and surrounding bush. It is incredible to me coming originally from the UK and then New Zealand that animals like this can be found so easily. I was glad I got some photos then as I only got glimpses during the rest of my stay.

I spent most of my time at Smalleys on the beach itself, wandering up and down but staying a safe distance from the water's edge. I saw a good number of birds but photography was tricky in the harsh sunlight that always seemed to be in the wrong spot. I saw several egrets and was really keen to get the Reef Egret but managed to spook it. The Striated and White-faced herons were a little more co-operative but I still got muddy trying to get closer to them.

Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

Male Sahul Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis)

Late in the afternoon when the sun was a little kinder I was scouring the edge of the scrub for sunbirds that I could hear a lot and sometimes see as they zipped by. They are kind of the Australian flowerpecker as they are so small. After an hour of frustration a male finally sat up for me.

Sunbirds belong to the family Nectariniidae, while flowerpeckers belong to their own distinct family, Dicaeidae. While both are small, insectivorous birds found in tropical regions of the Old World, they share a fondness for nectar and often have brightly coloured plumage. In the past, flowerpeckers were even classified under the sunbird family.

Flowerpeckers are typically smaller than sunbirds and have shorter, stubbier bills. Their diet also includes a higher proportion of fruit compared to sunbirds.

Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius)

Fresh from this triumph I just about tripped over a family of stone curlew/thick-knee resting by my campervan. These birds are so cryptic even though they are so distinctive when out in the open.