The Atherton Tablelands have been shrouded in fog for two days. This is a land of waterfalls and rainforests, rolling hills and dairy farms. Sometimes it seems more like Wisconsin or Vermont than Australia. Ravenshoe, Queensland's highest town at 3250 feet, receives nearly 10 feet of rain each year.
Nearly half of the bird species in the country live on the Tablelands. We have seen more than one hundred species, including ten of the twelve "endemics" and have improved our photos of many more, despite the dismal weather.
The biggest, and most photogenic of the lot, is the southern cassowary. If you need proof that todays birds are descended from the dinosaurs of old, the cassowary is it. From the horny crest on its head to the red and blue skin of its face, the southern cassowary would fit right in with the raptors of Jurassic Park. It is a shy bird of the rainforest. We have heard its call, which in birding circles counts as a "sighting," but it continued to elude us. One would think a bird that stands as tall as a man would have an orchestral call; like a bassoon, maybe, or a double-bass. At least the steam-whistle shriek of the great argus. But no, it is just a cough, a single dry cough.
Innisfail lies at sea level on the coast, not at 1000 meters on the Tableland. But it does have its share of rainforest and a fair number of cassowaries. At least one, for sure, and we saw it this afternoon. I got some good photos, too, keeping safely near the van, memories of an encounter with a breeding male ostrich flashing in my brain.
