The Southern Cassowary is a bird we have
never seen in the wild before, so we were keen to see one on this trip, as we
would be travelling through their range in northern coastal Queensland. An
inhabitant of dense tropical rainforests, and being a rare and wary bird, they
are not easy to find. It does come out into forest clearings and cleared areas
along the edge of forests and roadsides, especially in the early morning and
late afternoon so these are the best places and times to look for them.
The Cassowary is an ancient avian species
along with the Australian Emu, African Ostrich, the South American Rheas to
which it is most closely related and the extinct New Zealand Moa. I have seen
Rheas in the Bolivian Andres at 4,000+ metres and the general shape and jizz of
the two species is very similar. They both live in very different environments
however.
Most Australian bird species lists are now
arranged along taxonomic lines in order of when birds evolved starting with the
earliest birds and ending with the most recently evolved species. Hence the Australian
lists usually start with Ostrich (an introduced species with some free living
birds in SA, hence their inclusion in the list) then Southern Cassowary, the
first native Australian species on the list followed by Emu.
The ancient Cassowary has co-evolved with
tropical rainforest where there is now a co-dependency. Some fruiting trees
rely exclusively on Cassowary to spread their seeds and the cassowary needs the
trees for food. So the complex species webs within northern Australian tropical
rainforests can be upset if key species such as cassowary are lost from the
system.
For more information about the fascinating
biology of the Southern Cassowary and other details see the following web
sites:
They are large and impressive birds and
potentially dangerous, especially when the males, who incubate the eggs and
raise the young (as with emus), feel their chicks are threatened. The Cassowary
has very powerful legs and each foot is equipped with a dagger like inner toe,
which can be lethal to dogs and humans.
The Cassowary is an endangered species in
Australia so it is good to see conservation efforts to protect their habitat
and also to reduce the chance of them being run over by vehicles on roads. We
have seen a lot of signage warning motorists to slow down and watch for these
birds. Also signage asking people not to feed them and explaining why feeding
them is a problem.
Our first sighting of a cassowary was in a
small zoo at the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens. Captive birds however do not
count for a life bird list and I do not photograph captive birds as a matter of
principle. The first real opportunity to find wild-living cassowary was in the
Paluma Range National Park inland from Townsville. Road signage indicated they
were about however, no show for us here. The next opportunity was in the Girringun
NP inland from Ingham, again, road signage but no cassowary.
While in Ingham we received a report from a
family member that a cassowary with chick was spotted by the side of the road near
Mission Beach. As we were heading there next, this would be our third chance to
find one. The wet tropics rainforest stretches right down to the sea at Mission
Beach and once arriving it became apparent that Mission beach might well be the
Australian Cassowary capital. There were many signs advising of cassowary
conservation areas and a lot of road signage warning motorists of their
presence. Also a large number of local businesses have included the cassowary
in their name or other features of their business promotion.
On our first afternoon at Mission Beach we
decided to do one of the many short walks in Djiru NP, the Licuala (Fan Palms)
walk. We found a number of fairly fresh cassowary droppings and they were very
impressive being both large and full of large seeds. One could see immediately
how this bird spreads the seeds of rainforest giants.
The droppings were a good sign that there were
plenty of cassowary in this area.
No birds showed. However, we decided on a whim to make a short
side trip to South Mission Beach on our way back to the caravan park at Mission
Beach and as we drove I spotted a cassowary on a mown grass easement adjacent
to our road.
There are warnings not to pull up to see these
birds, I guess sudden stops could cause a road accident and persistent
attention focused on birds by eager tourist could interrupt their daily
activities. However as there were no other vehicles in sight we pulled off the
road and I took a couple of long shots for the record. As the bird seemed to be
quietly walking along the forest edge I decided to cross the road and take a
couple of closer shots. The bird did move slowly away and after a few shots it
disappeared into the thick vegetation.
Here are a series of three shots based on
one photo with progressive enlargement to show more details of this magnificent
bird and a shot from the beach at South Mission Beach the destination that took
us by the Cassowary.
The Southern Cassowary seen near road on way to South Mission Beach. Note the two long feathers which seem to emerge from what is left of the wing of this flightless bird. |
Although this sighting on the
roadside was clearly exciting and very successful in terms of good photos,
grabbed quickly in the “heat of the moment”, this gem of an opportunity was
eclipsed the next day by Ms Avithera.
This is her account of her own
special Cassowary experience.
We were out on the Dreaming Trail
in Djiru National Park, enjoying the rainforest but hearing birds rather than
seeing birds. Having decided that the mozzies were too annoying to hang around
while Avithera captured a Spectacled Monarch or some such elusive bird flitting
about in the dark foliage, I started back to the car to get some repellant.
Looking ahead on a straight stretch of the path I realized there was a
Cassowary about 50 metres away, coming my way. I stopped, well, froze would be
more accurate, and soon realized that there were also two chicks. Trying to
move my hands slowly I reached for the camera and, hoping to goodness the
settings were all Ok, started snapping.
I remembered all the warning
signage I had read about not “approaching” males with chicks and maybe started
to hold my breath and wonder what to do. My main thought was to not startle it
and miss seeing it at closer range. I felt it knew I was there but was not at
all concerned as it just kept bringing its chicks forward. Then my rational
brain told me this male is calmly approaching me and so were his chicks, so I
just couldn’t help but stand there to see what he would do.
I clicked a few shots and that
did not seem to deter them, so I just waited till they were really close and in
a sunny spot and clicked again. Mozzies were biting me but (for once) I was
prepared to put up with them, not daring to swot or slap, or even shoo them
away.
Then I just stood and watched
while the male came and stopped within a metre of me, then moved to my right. Even
though one of the chicks went past me on the right he seemed reluctant to pass
through the one meter space between me and the rainforest. So here I am,
probably not breathing, with his amazing head no more than a meter from mine,
while he looks around deciding what to do, and looks me right in the eye. He
calmly abandoned the possibility of going to my right and maneuvers around me
to check out the other side. This side there was also only about a meter to the
dense vegetation and he was not comfortable with “squeezing past” me. I was in
a dilemma about whether to move and let him through – knowing this would really
give him a fright and cause too much disturbance with the chicks – or just stay
frozen and leave it up to him to resolve. I did not feel at all threatened, probably
because his behavior suggested to me that he was not threated by me.
So he began making a noise to
summon the chick which had passed through the gap on my right and then he slowly
turned and started heading back up the track looking for a spot to enter the
rainforest and proceed in a different direction. With a bit more vocal
interaction between the male and the chicks, he assembled himself and them and
pushed his way quietly into the rainforest.
Dad and two chicks coming down the Dreaming Trail towards me. |
Rather than pass me on the narrow trail dad summoned the chicks to him with a couple of grunts and proceeded to make a detour into the dense forest. |
It took some time for my
breathing and heart rate to settle down while it slowly sunk in that I had had
a “once in a lifetime” close encounter of a special kind. This magnificent bird
and the two chicks had allowed me to experience their beauty in the wild, up
close and personal with no fear or confrontation on either side.
Unbelievable you two - just stunning. What an experience? And, if you'll excuse the cliche, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy 'JH folder' is beginning to bulge.)
Regards,
Gouldiae.
What a great experience to have.
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