Ingham wasn't a planned stop on the road from Townsville to Cairns. The Tyto Wetlands lured us in, the waterfalls kept us around. There is so much to see around the area we decided to spend a couple of days visiting. And birding. Truth be told, we just couldn't pass up the chance to see grass owls at Tyto and the possibility of glimpsing the rare (only 1500 or so left) southern cassowary in Girringun National Park. That we failed to see either is beside the point!
The trail to Jourama Falls is only about a mile long, a nice, cool stroll through the forest. The view at the end alone would make it worth while, but the variety of new bird species was a bonus. The red-browed finch or firetail is one of my new favorites.
The road to Wallaman Falls in Girringun National Park is a narrow, climbing, winding bit of asphalt followed by 15 km of dirt track. Signs warn of cassowaries, huge birds that reinforce their dinosaur ancestry. But nary a cassowary was seen. Wallaman Falls boasts the highest drop in Australia, 568 meters.
All in all we added 19 new birds to our list, got some great photos, and enjoyed ourselves. But we saw no grass owls and nary a cassowary.
