Australian Good Birding Guide: Northern Queensland. Ted Wnorowski

November-April) and the Dry (winter: May-October). In the coastal regions, it is hot and humid in summer and hot and dry in winter. Arid, harsh climatic conditions prevail in the interior where in summer temperatures soar to 40^oC and above during the day, dropping to perhaps 30^oC at night, while in winter day temperatures are still high but at night the gauge easily drops to single digits and even frost. It rains in the wet season in the Outback except for the desert areas.

      Travel must be planned carefully. Timing is important – you should not venture there in the wet season as widespread flooding occurs every year and roads may be flooded for weeks at a time, leaving you stranded. Even in the highly-populated coastal areas, which generally have high bridges over the rivers, travelling in summer is not that pleasant, as you may get rain nearly every day and gloomy light conditions. In summary, plan to travel between May and October. Another thing, in the Outback, due to vast distances and sparse population, you have to be self-sufficient for food, water and fuel (a long-range fuel tank is well advised).

      For the National Park alerts, park and road closures as well as the fire hazards, check the webpage http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/park-alerts/index.php and the individual Parks’ websites. If you enter a closed road and consecutively get bogged up and require towing, you’ll pay a hefty fine for that on top of your towing fees. If you lit a fire (even in a portable butane gas stove) when a total fire ban is imposed, you’ll risk causing a bushfire and face significant fines. The fire ban warnings are NOT displayed in the National Parks, you do need to check the Park’s website.

      The Northern Queensland guide has been divided in our book into separate chapters. The approximate geographical locations of these areas are indicated on the State map below, with hyperlinks to the detailed birding information available in the ebook edition.

      Northern Queensland chapters

      1 Mackay Coast

      2 Bowen-Ayr Coast

      3 Townsville

      4 North of Townsville

      5 West of Townsville

      6 Ingham and Surrounds

      7 Cassowary Coast

      8 Cairns and Surrounds

      9 Atherton Tablelands

      10 Daintree Coast

      11 Cooktown and Surrounds

      12 Cape York

      13 Central North Qld

      14 Mount Isa Region

      15 Gulf of Carpentaria

Mackay Coast

      This chapter cover the sites from Carmila Beach on the south side to Bowen on the north, plus the corresponding hinterland area.

      1 Carmila Beach

      2 Hay Point

      3 Macs Truck Stop Wetland

      4 Mcewens Beach

      5 Mackay

      6 Padaminka Wildlife Refuge

      7 Kinchant Dam

      8 Eungella Plateau

      9 Cape Hillsborough National Park

      10 Seaforth

      11 St Helens Beach

      12 Travellers Rest Caravan Park

      13 Cathu State Forest

      14 Conway National Park

      15 Proserpine

      16 Lake Proserpine

Carmila Beach

      This unspoilt coastal paradise is located about 100km south of Mackay. Habitats here include an estuary, pristine wide beaches, an excellent patch of coastal scrub and the vine rainforest hugging the coastline, surrounded by the sea of sugar cane on the other side. This is a good wader spot; they favour a roost at the creek mouth.

      To get there, from Bruce Hwy (A1) turn east at the service station in Carmila and drive 6km along Carmila Beach Rd to the coast. When you get to the T-junction, turn left to go to the estuary with a boat ramp and a small park. Facilities here include a carpark, toilets and picnic tables. Turning right at the T-junction gets you to the popular beachside camping grounds. In terms if facilities, only the toilets are provided. Individual campsites are relatively private, and each has its own beach access. The first site along the beach can be accessed by a conventional vehicle but then the track turns into deep, loose sand and a 4WD is required.

      Over 130 bird species are on the Carmila Beach birdlist. Key species are Orange-footed Scrubfowl, White-browed Robin, Yellow Honeyeater, Helmeted Friarbird, Torresian Imperial-Pigeon, Black Butcherbird and Large-tailed Nightjar. Other birds of interest include waders, Brown-capped Emerald-Dove, Spectacled Monarch, Eastern Reef Egret, Little Tern, Little Bronze-cuckoo, Fairy Gerygone, Olive-backed Sunbird and Tawny Frogmouth. Rarities include Wandering Tattler, Grey Plover, Black-naped Tern, Black Bittern, White-eared Monarch and Barred Cuckoo-shrike.

      Before turning into Carmila Beach Rd from the highway, check the riverbed near Carmila. Brolgas are often seen standing in the riverbed or foraging on the adjacent pasture. Screen the powerlines along Carmila Beach Rd for the presence of White-breasted Woodswallow, Sacred Kingfisher, Australasian Figbird and Nankeen Kestrel. Chestnut-breasted Mannikins and Pheasant Coucals may be moving across the road from one field of sugar cane to the next.

      Waders are the main attraction of Carmila Beach. Take your scope and walk to the creek mouth to observe them on the sandbars. The best time is on the incoming tide when they are being pushed closer to the shore. At high tide they fly away to the other side of the creek, too far to see properly.

      Our most successful visit to this site was at the end of March 2017. We found many waders already in breeding plumage. There were decent numbers of Far Eastern Curlews, Whimbrels, Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-tailed Godwits, Great Knots, Red-necked Stints, Grey-tailed Tattlers, Greater Sand Plovers and Lesser Sand Plovers. In smaller numbers were Terek Sandpipers, Curlew Sandpipers, Red Knots, Grey Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones and Sooty Oystercatchers. On the beach near the creek mouth,