Searching and finding

 Saturday October 1:

Today was all about trying to find a Cassowary. These solitary creatures are constantly on the move, so where they were seen on one day is a poor predictor of where they will be seen on the next day. And because they prefer deep rainforest undergrowth, they are surprisingly hard to spot for a large creature. Often the easiest place to see them is when they cross a road, so we spent quite a lot of time just driving through likely areas today. We also took several short strolls and one serious hike in search of them. In the end, no Cassowary was found (although our local guide had seen one on the road after dropping us at our lodge on Thursday).  The presence of dogs was an issue.  Cassowary hate dogs and stay far away whenever they pick up the scent of dogs.  Although dogs are prohibited in the park, we saw several, including in a secluded spot where our guide frequently saw the elusive bird.

We had seen Spectacled Flying Foxes roosting on Thursday evening and flying this morning, and then got a really good view of them on our way to lunch. After lunch we went on a long hike deep into the rainforest.  It was fascinating to see and be surrounded by the ancient forest.  During our trek we finally saw a Victoria’s Riflebird (so named because his call sounds like the crack of a rifle), which is a kind of Bird-of-Paradise. We had heard his call in several locations but had not seen him before. 

One of the most elusive creatures in the Daintree is Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo.  We knew that a group of three had been seen at Jindalgo on Thursday and that they do not move a lot, being nocturnal arboreal leaf eaters. Our longer hike was focused on looking for them as well as cassowaries.  Near the end of the hike, we noticed an isolated shower of rain hitting the epiphyte ferns on the side of a very large tree... a shower of urine from the Bennett’s at the very top of it!  Our local guide had never seen a Bennett’s before and was overjoyed.

We are staying tonight back in Cairns due to changes in our flight schedule, at a very posh hotel — quite a shock after a treehouse in the rainforest!

Pictured: Spectacled Flying Fox and baby, Victoria’s Riflebird, Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo