Cattana Wetlands

Visited: all year round

Recommendation: Close to Cairns, this wonderful wetlands is a family orientated park but is stuffed full of wildlife. If you make it to Cairns, this should be your next stop.

Cattana Wetlands are a little north of Cairns and easy to access. I have always loved coming here and have never been disappointed regardless of the time of year. It was ghastly hot during March 2022 and subsequently it was quite quiet. That was ok as I couldn't have done much rushing around if I had tried!

I visited several times and one visit coincided with a Cairns Birders trip. I met Jan Lile and she immediately helped me identify the Little Bronze Cuckoo which I had heard calling a lot. She also pointed me to the Crake Pond where some of the other participants were watching a pair of Black Bittern. I didn't need telling twice and shuffled off to have a look.

The park is free to enter and is open from dawn to dusk every day. There are toilets, BBQ and picnic tables available.

The trails comprise of paved walkways with lots of shade. They give different views of the pools and in the north western corner there are rougher paths that lead to a small bridge over water which often attracts different birds.

There is also a raptor tower which is in open fields and attracts anything from White-bellied Sea Eagle to Black Kites.

Female and male Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (Cyclopsitta diopthalma)

Bittern are so rarely seen that it is always incredible when you do. I watched the very dark male and chocolatey brown female as they worked the edges of the pond. I was just willing them to come closer and out in the sunlight but really, I was just happy to see them going about their business. Any photos were a bonus. They are a bit gloomy but I was happy enough.

In the same area as the bittern I found some Double-eyed Fig Parrot and as I stood very still, they came closer and closer. This is the male (red stripe) of the Macleay's subspecies and I love that he is balanced on the figs.

Chestnut-breasted Munia (Lonchura castaneothorax)

Normally I don't go any further than this set of ponds as they are full of heron, egret, jacana, pygmy-geese etc, but as it was quiet it gave me a chance to (slowly) explore further afield. At the back of the wetlands is a path out into the surrounding paddocks. There is a small creek and I saw kingfisher and flycatchers there. In the fields, the grass was long and plentiful with seeds. It was a great place to pick up the Chestnut-breasted and Nutmeg Mannikin.

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)

Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton)

Crimson Finches are considered resident and sedentary in Far North Queensland, meaning they are likely present year-round. However, there may be some local movements within their range depending on factors like food availability and breeding. In previous years, in the cooler months, I have also seen many Crimson Finch and despite not getting a cracker shot as yet, I am always pleased to see such vivid birds.