Our efforts the previous day where not in vain, as we made camp beside a beautiful mountain stream winding through tall and stately upland rainforest. The endemic Eungela Day Frog Taudactylus Eungellensis could be heard calling from the stream sides, and Russet-Tailed Thrush from the surrounding forest. This camp put us wthin a 45 minute walk of the site I had selected to represent the highest altitude forests and bird communities in the Eungella region, at 1200 metres altitude on the summit of Mt William. Reaching the site for the dawn chorus required an even earlier start than normal, with a seriously steep climb immediately from the valley floor we were in at 970m up to nearly 1100m within only about 400 hundred metres horizontal distance… always sure to get the blood flowing at 5:15 am..
The forest here is tall, with many large trees, hung with epiphytic ferns and orchids, and interspersed with palms that seem popular when in flower and in fruit with the Eungella Honeyeaters. In general though the bird life is less abundant and diverse than at lower altitudes, perhaps a result of the cooler temperatures and constant cloud reducing the productvity of the forest. That said, several species prefer these conditions, like the Eungella Honeyeater, Eastern Spinebill (above), and Russet-Tailed Thrush, all of which are found at higer numbers here than further down-slope. It is finding and describing these types of subtle climate-driven patterns which motivates my research.
