Lake Eacham, part of the Crater Lakes National Park, was once a volcanic crater formed around 9,100 years ago, by magma rising to the surface of the earth’s crust and super-heating the water table, causing massive explosions and craters. It is now isolated from other waterways and is filled only with rainwater, and has an average depth of 65 metres.
Getting to Lake Eacham is straightforward, you just need to find your way to Lakes Rd, which is off (confusingly?) Lake Barrine Rd, which in turn is off Gillies Range Rd, the main road that then passes on to Yungaburra (about 7km) and Atherton (19km). The last few kilometres of the drive in pass through some very nice rainforest.
Terns are seabirds in the familyLaridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of eleven genera. They are slender, lightly built birds with long, forked tails, narrow wings, long bills, and relatively short legs. Most species are pale grey above and white below, with a contrasting black cap to the head
The eyes of terns cannot accommodate under water, so they rely on accurate sighting from the air before they plunge-dive. Like other seabirds that feed at the surface or dive for food, terns have red oil droplets in the cones of their retinas; birds that have to look through an air/water interface have more deeply coloured carotenoidpigments in the oil drops than other species. The pigment also improves visual contrast and sharpens distance vision, especially in hazy conditions, and helps terns to locate shoals of fish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tern
Terns and their eggs have long been eaten by humans and island colonies were raided by sailors on long voyages since the eggs or large chicks were an easily obtained source of protein. Tern skins and feathers have long been used for making items of clothing such as capes and hats, and this became a large-scale activity in the second half of the nineteenth century when it became fashionable to use feathers in hatmaking.
The welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena) is a small passerinebird in the swallow family. It is a species native to Australia and nearby islands. Eastern populations are largely migratory, wintering in northern Australia. Both its species name and common name refer to people welcoming its return as a herald of spring in southern parts of Australia.
The welcome swallow is a small size bird and is fast-flying. Their flying style is circular in pattern with swift darting motions. They have graceful shape and flight, moreover they often fly singly, in couples or in clusters.[7] The welcome swallow is metallic blue-black above, light grey below on the breast and belly, and rusty on the forehead, throat and upper breast. It has a long forked tail, with a row of white spots on the individual feathers.
Once the welcome swallow reaches maturity it has a long breeding period. They have a monogamous social structure and a breeding period that lasts from August until March. The nest is an open cup of mud and grass, made by both sexes, and is attached to a structure, such as a vertical rock wall or building. It is lined with feathers and fur, and three to five eggs are laid. Two broods are often raised in a season. These birds are extremely agile fliers, which feed on insects while in flight. Welcome swallows do show a habit of drinking water while flying, they do this by scooping water within their bills from lake and pond surfaces. This is because welcome swallows need to drink water frequently, which allows them to catch insects in the water as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_swallow
At Cudgera River, behind the caravan Park, there is a waking track through the mangrove and here there are many waterbirds, including the pelican. The fishermen clean their catch and throw bits of fish to the pelican who collects the fish in his soft and pouchy beak..
The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae. It is a predominantly white bird with black wings and a pink bill. It has been recorded as having the longest bill of any living bird. It mainly eats fish, but will also consume birds and scavenge for scraps if the opportunity arises. Australian pelicans occur primarily in large expanses of open water without dense aquatic vegetation. The habitats that can support them include large lakes, reservoirs, billabongs and rivers, as well as estuaries, swamps and coastal lagoons.
Australian pelicans feed by plunge-diving while swimming on the surface of the water. They will sometimes also forage solitarily. Their predominant prey is fish. This pelican also takes other birds with some frequency, such as silver gulls, Australian white ibis and grey teal, including eggs, nestlings, fledglings and adults, which they may kill by pinning them underwater and drowning them.[9][10]Reptiles and amphibians are also taken when available
Medium sized white heron found near water. Snowy egrets, wading birds, are medium-sized egrets with a delicate build. They are in the family of herons and storks and are often referred to as medium-sized herons. Like most herons they have long necks, aids in probing in shallow waters for food.
Adults are typically 61 cm long and weigh 375 g. They have a slim black bill and long black legs with yellow feet. The area of the upper bill, in front of the eyes, is yellow but turns red during the breeding season, when the adults also gain recurved plumes on the back, making for a “shaggy” effect. The birds eat fish, crustaceans, and insects. They stalk prey in shallow water, often running or shuffling their feet, flushing prey into view, as well “dip-fishing” by flying with their feet just over the water. Snowy Egrets may also stand still and wait to ambush prey, https://www.surfbirds.com/namericanbirds/heron-egret.html
I heard a scrabble in the discarded tree branches and saw a movement. Thinking it could be a snake, I moved closer, and a coucal flew out of a hollow in the trees and sat on a branch. Silently, I went inside and got my camera and took the first shots through the verandah posts. As the coucal stayed there, I slowly moved to get a better view and took some photos. He watched me warily, and deciding he had had enough, flapped his wing and flew away
You might recognise the Pheasant Coucal by its distinctive ‘oop-oop-oop-opp’ call. A coucal is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Many coucals have a long claw on their hind toe (hallux). The genus name from Greek kentron, a spike and pous for foot describe this hallux claw. The feet have minute spurs and this is responsible for the German term for coucals Sporenkuckucke. The common name is perhaps derived from the French coucou and alouette (for the long lark like claw)
Many are opportunistic predators, Centropus phasianus is known to attack birds caught in mist nets while white-browed coucals Centropus superciliosus are attracted to smoke from grass fires where they forage for insects and small mammals escaping from the fire. Coucals generally make nests inside dense vegetation and they usually have the top covered but some species have the top open.
Ready to take off
The Pheasant Coucal feeds on the ground on large insects, frogs, lizards, eggs and young of birds and, sometimes, small mammals. Weak fliers, they feed chiefly on large insects but can run down small rodents and reptiles.
The Pheasant Coucal builds its own nest, a shallow platform of sticks and grass, into which it lays between two and five white eggs. The young coucals are fed by both sexes, but the male parent does most of the feeding, providing the nestlings with small vertebrates, such as frogs, and grasshoppers and other insects.
Pheasant Coucals form lasting pairs and, unlike other Australian cuckoos, build their own nests and raise their young themselves. The nest is usually hidden in thick grass or sugar cane or in weedy thickets and is a platform of sticks, grass or rushes, lined with leaves and grasses. The male usually incubates the eggs and feeds the young, with the female helping with feeding. More than one clutch can be laid in one season.
Egrets are herons which have white or buff plumage, and develop fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from the herons and have the same build. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egret
Egret sleeping or resting on a tree on the water edge
The great egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret[2] or great white heron[3][4][5] is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_egret
His head goes up when a ferry comes by…
The species breeds in colonies in trees close to large lakes with reed beds or other extensive wetlands, preferably at height of 10–40 feet (3.0–12.2 m).[11] It begins to breed at 2–3 years of age by forming monogamous pairs each season. If the pairing carries over to the next season is not known. The male selects the nest area, starts a nest, and then attracts a female. The nest, made of sticks and lined with plant material, could be up to 3 feet across. Up to six bluish green eggs are laid at one time. Both sexes incubate the eggs and the incubation period is 23–26 days. The young are fed by regurgitation by both parents and they are able to fly within 6–7 weeks
The great egret feeds in shallow water or drier habitats, feeding mainly on fish, frogs, small mammals, and occasionally small reptiles and insects, spearing them with its long, sharp bill most of the time by standing still and allowing the prey to come within its striking distance of its bill, which it uses as a spear. It often waits motionless for prey, or slowly stalks its victim.
Birds Australia 
