Atherton: a tiny, despoiled but still special tropical tableland

Eight hundred metres above steamy Cairns, in tropical north Queensland, is a small volcanic plateau, not much more than 35km from north to south, and 25km west to east. Over the last four million years, until just 10,000 years ago, the area was subject to often vigorous volcanic activity. For most of that time the main impact of the repeated basalt flows across the countryside was that valleys were filled, producing a relatively flat surface, dotted with low rounded hills formed from the cones. More recently the surfacing lava met groundwater, producing violent explosions that generated the crater lakes Barrine and Eacham. 

Perhaps the most profound impact however was the gradual erosion of the layers of basalt which produced deep fertile soils. Until recently it supported tropical rainforest and now rare Mabi forest, a complex vine forest including deciduous and semi-evergreen trees. Those same soils however inevitably attracted farmers and graziers, though not until the late 19th century. Now crops and grazing land have almost entirely replaced the rich upland rainforest and the Mabi forest has nearly gone. Nonetheless there are still remnant protected areas, incorporated into the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area (which comprises the rainforests of the northern Queensland tropics, from Townsville to Cooktown, and which I'll just refer to as the Wet Tropics hereafter). 

This really is a special part of the world. In the Wet Tropics area there are 11 species each of mammals and birds which are found nowhere else (ie are endemic), 13 species of reptiles and 22 of frogs, plus of course numerous endemic plants and invertebrates. See here for more detail. Quite a few of these species survive in the rainforest pockets of the Atherton Tablelandd.

Approximate location of the Atherton Tableland, at the end of the red arrow.

You will probably need to click on this map to see the detail. The yellow stars indicate
places on the tablelands mentioned in this post. The pale green area (ie most of it) is
cleared land. The dark areas are the only remaining forest, and even these remaining forest areas 
are mainly state forest and plantations, subject to logging. The largest reserved area 
is Crater Lakes NP, around Lakes Barrine and Eacham; this reserve is less than 1000ha, 
around half which is water (and is the subject of a follow-up post). 
Mt Hypipamee NP protects some 360ha, while Curtain Fig NP is less than 200ha. 
Hasties Swamp NP is 57ha, comprising an ephemeral wetland plus fringing remnant woodland.

This post is not however intended to dwell on what was lost - though we should never forget that - but to celebrate what is left. As mentioned above, the stunning Crater Lakes NP will get its own post soon; this one introduces the other sites I've mentioned. In our opinion the most pleasant town on the tableland is Yungaburra, small, nice old buildings (especially the pub) and leafy parklands (but I'm afraid I rarely think to take photos of towns!). The best-known natural attraction in town (or at least on the very edge of it) is a long pool on Peterson Creek on the road out to Atherton town, with a well-signposted Platypus viewing platform. We've been lucky there on a few occasions.

Platypus, late morning, Yungaburra.

On a recent visit there we found something quite unexpected on the nature strip of an intersection in the middle of town. 

Bush Stone-curlews Burhinus grallarius, central Yungaburra. They are mostly nocturnal
and tend to loaf about during the day.

They're one of my favourite birds, and the wailing calls at night (the 'curlew' of
Australian folklore) are my favourite Australian bird call, just after Pied Butcherbirds.
(The white fluffy bits on the legs, which I've just noticed, seem to be down feathers.)

One night, 20 years ago, I did something I rarely do in Australia, which was to engage a local to take us out looking for tree kangaroos, which I'd failed to find previously. On this occasion we did see a pair (hopeless photos, but see later!) but an equal highlight was this superb big owl. We started in Yungaburra and didn't drive far, but I'm not sure exactly where it was.  

Rufous Owl Ninox rufa, near Yungaburra - sorry about the head! It is only just smaller
than Australia's biggest owl, the Powerful Owl. They are found across the northern
tropics, especially in rainforest and vine forest, and take a range of prey including fruit
bats, possums, bandicoots and scrubfowl. 

Yungaburra is only a few minutes drive from the Crater Lakes, and even closer to the Curtain Fig National Park, the 200ha scrap of forest that exists mostly because of the tourist-attracting Curtain Fig Tree Ficus virens, one of the strangler figs. A bird or fruit bat drops seeds onto another tree, the germinating seedling sends roots down to the ground. When it is established thus it grows up and out, eventually shading the host tree out and killing by starving it of sunshine. As an independent tree, the strangler fig can be huge; the Curtain Fig is said to be one of the most massive trees known in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

The Curtain Fig. It began life, perhaps 500 years ago, on a now-vanished host tree,
which toppled sideways, probably after dying, and leaned against a neighbouring tree.
After sending down the 'curtain' of roots from its 45 degree angle, the fig took over 
this tree too, and from its leaning position grew upwards again. 
I fine it very hard to get it all in one photograph. The 'curtain' doubtless provides
habitat for very many animals.

Volcanic rocks are scattered on the forest floor around the fig. This pocket of
forest contains one of the very few remnants of the Mabi vine forest. Since 2001
the fig has been accessed by a raised circular boardwalk, which both provides
access to those who might not otherwise be able to see it, and protects
the forest floor from compaction.

A very large ephiphytic Elkhorn (or Staghorn) Fern Platycerium sp.
A feature of rainforests is the wealth of epiphytes, which take advantage of a tree's 
huge energy investment in a massive woody trunk, by alighting (as a seed, or spore in this case)
onto that trunk to develop up in the sunlight. They are not parasitic and take nothing from the tree.

On one visit this delightful Green Ringtail Possum Pseudochirops archeri was roosting in a low tree
by the Curtain Fig carpark. This possum is only found in the Queensland Wet Tropics,
in a small area of upland rainforest. Its greenish fur is a trick of light, as it reflects from the 
yellow, black and white banding on each hair. This posture, resting curled up by day on 
a branch among foliage, is typical of the species. (The four other members of the 
genus are found in New Guinea and associated islands.)

More recently we did find our own tree kangaroo, in a large tree in a tea plantation near Malanda in the centre of the tablelands.

Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo Dendrolagus lumholtzi, Malanda. These animals fascinate me.
Their distant ancestors were small ground-living mammals, some of which went up into
the trees and evolved into the modern possums. Later some of them came down
again and diversified into kangaroos and wallabies. Later still it seems that some rock 
wallabies again took to the trees, giving rise to the tree kangaroos. There are two species in tropical
Queensland - this one is confined to the Atherton Tableland - and another 15 in New Guinea.
This is one of the real treasures of the tableland!

This very large wasp nest has no connection with the tree kangaroo, except that
it was nearby. I didn't get close enough to attempt an identification.

Another popular tablelands destination is Mount Hypipamee National Park on the south-western edge of the tableland. The park, of just 360ha and centred on the Mount Hypipamee volcanic crater (often just called The Crater), is a lovely little rainforest remnant with walking tracks to the crater and along the creek below, past busy cascades. Bizarrely I seem never to have taken a photo of the spectacular tubular crater, 60m across and 80m deep, with a lake at the bottom. There are plenty of birds here but the cascades make it hard to hear them.

Cascades near The Crater, above and below.

Another very handsome Elkhorn Fern in the canopy.

Colourful mossy tree base by the walking track.

White-throated Treecreeper Cormobates leucophaea at The Crater. This is a widespread and
common species in near-coastal south-eastern Australia, but this is an isolated
population from the montane forests of the Wet Tropics. It is smaller and darker than
the more familiar southern birds.

Grey-headed Robin Heteromyias cinereifrons, a wet tropics endemic, by The Crater 
walking track. This rainforest robin is quiet and often unconcerned by us; I'm very fond of them.

And another Hypipamee rainforest robin, this time more distant and through misty rain - 
a soft little Pale Yellow Robin Eopsaltria capito. This one has a curious distribution, with two
widely separate populations - this one in the Wet Tropics, and another in north-east NSW
and adjacent south-east Queensland.

However this is without doubt our most memorable encounter at Mount Hypipamee.
This Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius was standing quietly in a little patch
of trees by the toilet block when I last took a tour there in 2015. She (I'm pretty sure,
due to her bright colours) was very aware of us, but not apparently concerned.
This species has declined in Australia and is listed as an Endangered Species, but there is 
some reason for optimism with increased protection measures and apparent population 
stabilisation. It is a truly magnificent animal.

Another Wet Tropics endemic found widely in the tablelands forests is the spectacular Spotted Catbird Ailuroedus maculosus. (There has been confusion in the past about the identity of Australian catbirds, but it is now generally agreed that there are three; this one, the Green Catbird A. crassirostris of more southern rainforests, and on Cape York the Black-eared Catbird A. melanotis which is primarily a New Guinea bird.)

Spotted Catbird in the carpark at Millaa Millaa Fals in the south of the tablelands.
Catbirds are a perhaps more primitive group of bowerbirds, which never discovered
bower building. Their weird yowling calls are disturbingly catlike - and even
more disturbingly can sound like a crying baby.

On the western edge of the tableland, just south of Atherton (the town) is Hasties Swamp NP, a place we always visit when in the area. It comprises a fairly substantial seasonal lagoon where we are served by a splendid two storey bird hide. The lagoon is nearly a kilometre long and at the hide is about 200m wide. I am shocked at how few photos I've taken there - perhaps things are usually too far away? On our most recent visit there was atypically not much bird diversity evident, though large numbers of Magpie Geese and Plumed Whistling Ducks were roosting along the edges.

Here are  a couple of photos taken there over the years. 

Wandering Whistling Ducks Dendrocygna arcuata and Plumed Whistling Ducks D. eytoni
at Hasties Swamp. Two very attractive long-legged ducks, belonging to a world-wide genus.
The Plumeds are confined to Australia, though widespread, and the Wanderings
(which in Australia actually don't wander as much as their cousin!) extend through New Guinea
to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Part of a huge assemblage of Plumed Whistling Ducks that stretched along the far shore.

Plumed Egret Ardea plumifera resting near the hide. 

Bleeding Heart Tree Homalanthus sp. in remnant woodland by the hide.

And of course we never know what we might see on any drive across the (largely uninspiring) cleared land of the tableland.

Spotted Harrier Circus assimilis perched by the roadside. I think this is one of the most
attractive of the birds of prey. This one has lost its tail - possibly moulting though 
August seems an odd time for that, but I don't really know the details of moulting in the tropics. 

Which brings us to the end of this introduction to the beguiling Atherton Tablelands. I hope you're curious enough to think about seeing it (or revisiting) for yourself one day. Next time (when summer will already be over, sigh) I'll be back with the concentrated delights of the Crater Lakes NP, where we spent a few days recently, though not for the first time. Thanks for reading.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY

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