Kuranda

Visited: all year round

Recommendation: Kuranda is one of my favourite places in the world. Don't go to the tourist village. Instead, explore the surrounding patches of rainforest and if you can, stay at an AirB&B here. The private gardens are stuffed full of wildlife.

Kuranda is a very pleasant drive north west of the centre of Cairns. There are lots of beaches and small settlements on the east of the highway and then you turn to drive over the Great Dividing Range. There are very few ways to get over the range and this is heavily used. It is, however, still a very nice drive up and through the rainforest to Kuranda. The village itself is totally geared towards tourists but you can also easily access the very pleasant rainforest areas. eBird reports almost 200 species in the Kuranda area.

I would always recommend staying in Kuranda. There are many quality houses, B&Bs and a caravan park to choose from. The rainforest birds tend to be calling from first light and that is the best time to see birds like the Chowchilla, Eastern Whipbird, Victoria's Riflebird and Spotted Catbird. The river walk and Jumrum Conservation Park are great places for a short visit.

I have stayed at a house sit several times in the rainforest of Kuranda. It has a long garden that is a haven for wildlife. A slice of sloping lawn cut through the middle of dense forest and enabled me to sit on the deck and look down onto fruiting trees. It really has been one of the most productive and easy birding experiences I've ever had.

Each morning, I sit on the deck as it gets light. In the early part of my stay, the Spotted Catbird would pop out to feed on the wild raspberries and figs. They are extraordinary birds with a yowling call that sounds like a cat being tortured!

Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus maculosus)

There were a good number of species that were always present in the garden and it was great getting to know them as they came and went. The Australian Figbirds always numbered between 10 and 20 and would either sit in the trees cackling away at each other or in the tree with the most fruits. A large range of other birds would visit the garden during the day and these represent the best of what the rainforest in this area.

Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti)

Black Butcherbird (Cracticus quoyi)

Yellow-breasted Boatbill (Machaerirhynchus flaviventer)

White-eared Monarch (Monarcha leucotis)

Macleay's Honeyeater (Xanthotis macleayana)

Cryptic Honeyeater (Meliphaga imitatrix)

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater (Meliphaga notata)

Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)

Forest Kingfisher (Todiramphus macleayii)

Cicadabird (Edolisoma tenuirostris)

Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)

Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela)

Towards the end of my stay I heard the distinctive buzz of fairywren. I chased them up and down the garden and eventually could watch them from the deck. The homeowner hasn't seen them here in the 10 years she has lived here. We are hoping they are looking for a nesting site. The male was very territorial, hammering away at his own reflection in the car window!

Lovely Fairy-wren (Malurus amabilis)

Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum)

Pale-yellow Robin (Tregellasia capito)

Also resident in the garden were a pair of Sahul Sunbird. These tiny creatures were the most active of all species. Even during heavy rain, they were still buzzing around and if the kookaburra appeared they would go nuts. I just loved watching them.

Sahul Sunbird (Cinnyris frenatus)

There were several species of dove that I would hear all day. They are all shy and tend to stick to the depths of the trees. I would have to track them from the deck or sneak around the garden for them.

Brown Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia amboinensis)

Wompoo Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus)

Topknot Pigeon (Lopholaimus antarcticus)

I heard some great rainforest birds here - the Chowchilla, Eastern Whipbird, Victoria's Riflebird. While I never saw the first 2, I frequently got glimpses of the latter. It took several visits and a change of season to get them out in the open. First success was a young male bir (right) moulting into adult plumage.

Next were the females (far bottom right) and eventually I saw the male (below left). Several, in fact. Not only that but they sat up and displayed.

Victoria's Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae)

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