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Birds and Words
Among the Feather Palms: Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, Far North Queensland
The magic of tropical wetlands
After missing the morning tides at Cairns Esplanade, my birding buddy Jen and I decided to kill time at Cattana Wetlands, a 15 minute drive north of Cairns. Although the wetlands had been on my Must See list for a long time, this was my first opportunity to visit them.
Not used to the heat on the coastal plain, I left the camera with its stupidly heavy telephoto lens in the car and carried only binoculars and phone.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a birder no longer in possession of their camera never wants for good birds.
Did we get good birds?
We were only a few steps from the car park, when a trio of Yellow (a.k.a. Green) Orioles started calling from trees beside of the track and flew down to perch on branches almost at eye level in front of us. They were light olive green with black and white wings, coral red beaks and eyes the colour of garnets. Compared to Olive-backed Orioles, which hide in foliage and throw their voices, these were brazen exhibitionists. One hung upside down on a slender branch overhanging the path. Would that have made a good photo? Why, yes. Yes, it would.
