Hunting cassowaries

Dave surveys our cassowary hotspot

Probably our main target up north was the cassowary. They're pretty rare at the best of times but a cyclone hit the coast of north Queensland last year which destroyed many of the fruiting trees which the cassowary likes and many were killed by cars or dogs as they came out of the forest looking for food. We knew the most likely area of forest for them though and after a reconnaissance mission the night before, where we found fresh droppings and footprints, we picked our spot on a forest track and early next morning sat quietly and staked the place out. After about 90 minutes of sitting in silence being pestered by flesh-chewing flies, a single bird emerged briefly onto the forest track and disappeared again. That was enough though and Mr Cassowary is now on the list.

The evidence says that cassowaries are around

If only all birds were as easy to track down as the Australian bustard which likes a particular field up on the Tablelands and you just turn up and find a dozen of them. Or on Michaelmas Cay where thousands of terns and boobies breed and just sit there waiting for you to tick them off!

Australian bustard

Michaelmas Cay and a pair of common noddies