I started the day before dawn, at a small pond frequented by finches drinking early in the morning. I didn't see any, but it is always nice to be out when the sun rises!
This morning I was booked onto a boat trip on Corroborree Billabong. It was a great experience and we saw many birds and a few crocodiles as well. I had a few minutes to wander around before we boarded, and saw Agile Wallaby and also a Whistling Kite perched on a water tank.
On the cruise we saw Intermediate Egret, Darter and White-bellied Sea Eagle before we saw our first croc, a small Freshwater Crocodile.
Then more Pied Herons and Black-necked Storks before our first Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile. On the way back we got close to a Radjah Shelduck.
Final spot for the day was Nourlangie Rock, a wonderful site with many aboriginal rock paintings. In the car park was a very vocal Helmeted Friarbird.
Our second stop was Daintree village, in the Daintree World Heritage Area. We arrived mid afternoon, and took a drive along the Upper Daintree Road that runs alongside the Daintree River. There were hundreds of Cattle Egrets in the fields including this one taking advantage of a raised viewpoint.
Further along we found a small group of Rainbow Bee-eaters.
Back in the village we decided to take a river trip looking for Crocodiles. As I parked the car, a raptor flew across and up into a tree. Instinctively, I knew it was a Pacific Baza, and my first new bird of the trip.
As we pulled away from the boat ramp, I noticed a lot of flowers floating down the river. The guide explained that they are from the native Hibiscus, and all of the flowers drop off each evening, and are replaced by fresh blooms the next morning.
We saw two crocs loafing on the sandy river edges, this 3m (10ft) female, and a 5m (16ft) male known locally as "Fat Albert".
Next morning we were booked on Chris Dahlberg's boat trip. This is my second trip with Chris, and I cannot recommend him highly enough. He is a terrific guide, very knowledgeable and keen to help experienced birders and novice nature watchers alike. Please take a look at his website, and if you are ever in the Daintree area, don't miss out on this great experience. My target birds were Little Kingfisher and Great-billed Heron. We saw both, but the light was pretty poor so I had to crank up the ISO and the images are very grainy.
We saw four species of kingfisher, Little, Azure, Forest and Sacred. This is the gorgeous Azure variety.
A pair of Shining Flycatchers gave us the run around, but we eventually got a really good look at both. This is the female.
Chris's "piéce de resistance" were a pair of Papuan Frogmouths happily roosting on a branch over the river.
