August is always my favourite month. Rather than being hot and humid, it’s always the coolest month. One morning it was 12°C, although it has been cooler in years gone by. Not only do I enjoy the cool conditions, but the water temperature drops to about 22°C, which brings the crocs out more, which means the tourists are happy and life couldn’t get better!

August is also an exciting time as we search for the migratory birds from as close by as Papua New Guinea to faraway places like Siberia, adjacent to the North Pole. The most obvious bird species you’ll notice firstly is the metallic starling which we’ve talked about before. A fairly small bird, with a dazzling black shining coat that glistens in the sunlight. They fly around very quickly in flocks of dozens, making a whirring sound collectively as they flash by. Regrettably, some are killed as they crash into things that they would not normally hit if it was not for manmade obstacles, like chicken wire and windows. They set up nesting communities almost immediately (usually in the same tree from previous years). The nests are placed side by side, each being the size of a football with a side entrance, made with strips of bark and bound with spiders’ web. Once the young have become established they will eventually return north in April.

Another favourite of mine is the beautiful T.I. pigeon, a medium sized white bird with steel – grey feathers in its wings. It is widely thought that this bird migrates from T.I. (Thursday Island) but in fact the T.I. stands for Torresian Imperial pigeon and it too comes from New Guinea. It sets up large communal nests also, mainly on the islands well off shore. They travel to the mainland during the forenoon, into the rainforests and gorge themselves on the fruits of the forests. So, of course they are a vital dispersant agent of the seeds. On our river cruises, we search for them more specifically in a tree called the Ylang Ylang (pronounced E – lung E – lung). I believe that this tree depends on pigeons to carry the seed in the stomach allowing the harder shell to be softened by stomach acids, allowing the seed to germinate after passing through the bird. Incidentally, this same tree is found in the Asian jungles and the seed contains a highly fragrant essential oil used in the making of perfumes. This perfume was traded by Marco Polo to Europe hundreds of years ago from Asia. This bird also returns to New Guinea in April.

See you next month!

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