WILDWATCH,  by ANNE WILKINSON.

It never rains but it pours.

How true that old saying was in the Cassowary Coast this last week, then the rain left us and moved south with disastrous results.  

Such heavy rain always seems to come as a shock, but in reality it happens quite regularly. It is a wonderful boost for the water table and makes everything, including the grass, grow fast. It also leaches nutrient from the ground and causes untold problems for human mobility.

Yet wildlife seems to take it in its stride. In the silence following the drumming of the rain when it finally eased, it was really good to hear the birds begin to celebrate what must have seemed a release as they set out to catch up on their feeding and, for those with young families, hunting for food for them.

WILDWATCH by ANNE WILKINSON

Rain at last, and what a wonderful Christmas gift it was to parched gardens, countryside and bush. Hopefully, it is also a good omen for 2013. From WPSQ, we wish everyone a very happy New Year.

The rain has brought plenty of good news to the wild world with struggling plants recovering from the dry, blossoms opening on trees and cassowary fruit such as the white apple dropping to the ground for the big birds to feast on.

Everything happens so quickly and abundantly. And quick seems to be an operative word, especially for birds like the rainbow lorikeet, at the moment.

FEASTING: Yvonne Cunningham took this picture (left) of a rainbow lorikeet tucking into the honey-rich flowers of native Melicope elleryana in her nursery garden at Coquette Point.