Karumba 12 July - Ladymaggic - Picasa Web Albums

Karumba 12 July - Ladymaggic - Picasa Web Albums

Located at the mouth of the Norman River in the south-east corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Port of
Karumba has serviced remote Gulf communities since the late 1800s. The Zinifex Century Mine started
exporting zinc concentrate through the port in December 1999.
Zinc concentrates are thickened before being pumped 304km by pipeline to the port from the mine,
dewatered and stored at a facility on the Norman River in Karumba. Concentrate is loaded on to ships
via a purpose-built self-unloading vessel that can transfer up to 5,000 tonnes of concentrate at a time to
the ships that are moored in deep water in the Gulf of Carpentaria, about 24 nautical miles off the coast.
Other facilities in the port provide for general cargo, fuel and fisheries products. Historically, Karumba
has also handled regular exports of live cattle.
PCQ provides maintenance dredging to maintain the necessary channel depth, usually about every two
years. Maritime Safety Queensland provides pilotage services, but no tugs are required at the port.
In 2004–05, the Port of Karumba handled 46 ships carrying 871,125 tonnes of zinc, 77,030 tonnes of
lead, 13,327 head of livestock and 24,086 tonnes of general cargo. Compared to the previous year, zinc
was down by 7.24%, lead by 48.57%, general cargo by 14.17%, but live cattle was up by 17.2%.
Karumba is also a transhipment port for the Port of Weipa, Mornington Island and other Gulf
communities, with refrigerated semi-trailers bringing goods north to Karumba for transhipment.

White Corellas Normanton

White Corellas Normanton, originally uploaded by Ladymaggic.

White Corellas come in huge flocks.

Scientific name: Cacatua sanguinea
Family: Cacatuidae
Order: Psittaciformes


Little Corellas are mostly white, with a fleshy blue eye-ring and a pale rose-pink patch between the eye and bill. In flight, a bright sulphur-yellow wash can be seen on the underwing and under tail. The sexes are similar in plumage, and young birds look like the adults, but are slightly smaller.
Similar species

In Australia there are two other species of corella. Both are similar in plumage to the Little Corella, but are larger. The Long-billed Corella, C. tenuirostris, measures 38 cm - 41 cm. It also differs by having an orange-scarlet band across the throat, and the upper part of the bill being longer than the lower part. The Western Corella, C. pastinator, measures 38 cm - 42 cm. It too has a longer upper bill (slightly smaller than that of the Long-billed Corella), but also has a larger white crest. One other large white species of cockatoo in Australia is the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, C. galerita. This species is larger than the Corellas, measuring 45 cm - 50 cm and it has a sulphur-yellow crest.
Where does it live?

Little Corellas are widespread throughout Australia, although large gaps separate some populations. The Little Corella is the most widely distributed of the three corella species found in Australia. The Western Corella is confined the extreme south-west of Western Australia, and the Long-billed Corella is found in the south-east.

Little Corellas often form large flocks, especially along watercourses and where seeding grasses are found.
What does it do?

Little Corellas feed in large noisy flocks. The birds feed mainly on the ground, and have to drink on a daily basis. The most common foods are grains and grass seeds. Some bulbs and fruits may also be eaten.
Breeding

Little Corellas are thought to pair for life and will start breeding at the start of a long period of rain. The nest site is a suitable tree hollow, lined with shavings of wood. This is normally used for several years in row. Both sexes incubate the eggs and both care for the young chicks. The chicks hatch naked and totally dependent on their parents.

Breeding pairs nest in large colonies, and several nests may be found in the same tree. Where their ranges overlap, different corella species may nest together, but they are not thought to breed with each other.

http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Cacatua-sanguinea