Regent Bowerbird is arguably the most stunning passerine in Australia - we always see it at O’Reilly Guest House where it also appears on their logo. Photo: David Fisher
Queensland is a vast state including more than half the length of Australia’s east coast. It is fringed by the Great Barrier Reef and bordered to the south by coastal New South Wales. The tropical rainforests around Cairns and on the Atherton Tablelands harbor a wealth of birds and mammals, and our days will be fully occupied with encounters with wonderful creatures. Flying to southern Queensland we’ll visit the renowned O’Reilly’s Rainforest Guesthouse, where megapodes and bowerbirds come to the feeders and an array of kangaroos, pigeons and parrots covers the lawns. And finally, three nights in Sydney will allow us to explore the best birding sites in the surrounding area and to take a pelagic trip rich in albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters. This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour Central Australia: South Australia and Northern Territory.
Day 1: The tour begins this morning in Cairns, where we’ll familiarize ourselves with many of the town’s tropical species. We’ll visit parks near the Botanical Gardens in search of Bush Thick-knee, Rainbow Bee-eater, Australian (White-rumped) Swiftlet, and a variety of honeyeaters including Yellow and Brown-backed. Depending on the state of the tide, we may visit the world-famous Cairns Esplanade, where extensive mudflats host hordes of migrant shorebirds, including Greater and Lesser Sand-Plovers, Terek Sandpiper, Gray-tailed Tattler, Eastern Curlew and Great Knot. The mangroves at the northern end of the esplanade are our only site for Varied Honeyeater, and the nearby Centenary Lakes are always worth a visit for a selection of freshwater species including Magpie Goose, Straw-necked Ibis, and Azure Kingfisher. After lunch in town, we’ll drive inland to Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, arriving in time to do some local birding and watch the lodge’s feeders, which attract Blue-faced, Yellow-spotted, and Graceful Honeyeaters, as well as delightful little Red-browed Finches. We’ll offer a spotlighting trip after an early dinner, and with luck we might find a Lesser Sooty or a Masked Owl, but both are very scarce. Night at Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge.
Day 2: Before breakfast we’ll do more birdwatching around the lodge, where Black-faced and Spectacled Monarchs should be easy to find and hopefully a Noisy Pitta might show itself. After breakfast, we’ll check out and drive into the dry eucalyptus country to the northwest in search of Australian Bustards at one of their few strongholds in this area. We’ll then drive south to the Mareeba Wetlands, a superb man-made reserve in the center of a large area of dry bush. The wetlands should hold a good cross-section of the area’s waterbirds, including both Green and Cotton Pygmy-Geese and Brolgas. In the surrounding woodland, we’ll search for Squatter Pigeon, Apostlebird, Great Bowerbird, Black-throated Finch, and the very distinctive local race of Brown Treecreeper, a good candidate for a split. In the late afternoon we’ll drive south to Yungaburra on the Atherton Tablelands. Night in Yungaburra.
Day 3: The rainforests of the Atherton Tablelands are extremely rich in birds. Our day will be broken up into sections, providing all-day birding for those who wish or a chance to opt out occasionally to relax and perhaps explore the picturesque town of Yungaburra. Before breakfast we’ll visit one of the local patches of rainforest, itself a fully designated national park, where the fruiting trees around the parking lot attract a wealth of forest species that are likely to include our first bird-of-paradise, Victoria’s Riflebird; our first bowerbird, Tooth-billed; the elusive Double-eyed Fig-Parrot; and highly localized Queensland endemics such as Gray-headed Robin and Bower’s Shrike-Thrush. After breakfast we’ll travel to a higher-elevation national park to search for species that don’t occur around Yungaburra, including Australian Fernwren, Bridled Honeyeater and Mountain Thornbird, and we’ll visit a bower of perhaps the most beautiful of Australia’s bowerbirds, the magnificent Golden.
In the afternoon we’ll visit yet another national park and walk a loop trail in search of the snazzy Yellow-breasted Boatbill (recently elevated to its own family!), whose distinctive song gives it away high in the rainforest canopy. We’ll walk quietly along the trail listening for the distinctive leaf-kicking and digging noises that reveal the presence of the terrestrial Chowchilla, and we may spot the world’s smallest kangaroo, the Musky Rat-Kangaroo, as it thumps away from us through the undergrowth. Two or even three Tooth-billed Bowerbirds have bowers along the trail, and we’ll have a good chance of seeing one singing as it sits just a few feet above its carefully arranged patch of leaves, all turned pale side up.
In the evening we’ll look for the shy Platypus at a quiet waterhole on the edge of town, and after dinner a local spotlighting trip should reveal several species of possum and, if we are very lucky, Lumholtz’s Tree-Kangaroo. Night in Yungaburra.
David and Judy were both excellent with amazing energy. Excellent identification of everything, and they made a special effort to show those of us who had joined just this tour the birds that others had already seen.
- Jonathan Seabrook
Day 4: Our pre-breakfast excursion will be to a local reservoir, and if there has been rain or heavy dew over night, we’ll watch the roadside verges for Buff-banded Rail and Brown Quail en route. The jaunty song of White-throated Gerygone may give away its presence in one of the well-wooded gardens, and large numbers of Eastern Sarus Cranes may well be trumpeting around the reservoir edges. Tawny Grassbirds and Golden-headed Cisticolas should be singing in the rank vegetation along the water’s edge, and with luck they may perch high enough for scope views.
Our second morning at Yungaburra will be left flexible to search for whatever species are still eluding us - traditionally this is likely to be Atherton Scrubwren or Australian Fernwren, and if that is the case, we’ll visit the Red Cedar Tree National Park, a good spot for both. In the afternoon we’ll return to Cairns, and will almost certainly schedule a second session on the Esplanade studying the shorebirds and searching for local rarities such as Asiatic Dowitcher and Broad-billed Sandpiper. We’ll also visit a bustling colony of Metallic Starlings, which build large communal nests reminiscent of weaver colonies in Africa. Their blood red eyes have to be seen to be believed. Night in Cairns.
Day 5: We’ll leave Cairns early and drive up into the nearby hills, escaping the humidity once again and spending much of the day at Cassowary House and in the surrounding rainforest. Our main target is the much-hoped-for Southern Cassowary, one or two of which usually visit Cassowary House at some point most days - “most” being the operative word, as they don’t come in every day. Fortunately, there are many other birds to keep us entertained while we wait, including a number that we’re unlikely to see elsewhere. Red-necked Crakes occasionally appear out of the rainforest in search of cheese, while the feeders on the veranda attract heaps of honeyeaters including Noisy Friarbirds and Macleay’s Honeyeater, not to mention Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Emerald Dove, Spotted Catbird, Victoria’s Riflebird, and Black Butcherbird. If the cassowaries are kind to us and come in during the morning, we’ll then wander slightly farther afield in search of such delights as Fairy Gerygone, Lovely Fairy-Wren, and Superb Fruit-Dove. Night in Cairns.
Day 6: Today will be in total contrast to the previous five, which will have been dominated by rainforest birding (albeit fairly easy stuff with lots of showy birds), as we join one of the tourist boats on a cruise out of Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef, allegedly the only living structure visible from space. After a comparatively late start, we’ll spend a relaxing day on board a comfortable catamaran visiting Michaelmas Cay, a low coral island where thousands of Sooty Terns and Common Noddies nest. We’ll also look for Brown Booby, Bridled and Black-naped Terns, and both Great and Lesser Frigatebirds. If we keep a sharp eye out it is possible to see up to 12 species of tern on this trip! For those who wish, there will be opportunities to inspect the corals and fishes from a “glass-bottomed” boat, go snorkeling from the beach, swim in the azure-colored waters, and for anyone already suitably qualified, even go diving. Night in Cairns.
Day 7: We’ll catch an early morning flight to Brisbane. Remarkably, despite spending two hours in the air flying south, when we land we will still be in Queensland: such is the size of this vast state. Our first stop will be in coastal mangroves, where we’ll search for Mangrove Honeyeater, and we’ll also visit a small wetland reserve to look at shorebirds. We should see Tawny Grassbird in the surrounding scrub. We’ll then drive inland to Lamington National Park, another area of montane rainforest with a delightful climate. We’ll pass through open farmland and eucalyptus woods, broken occasionally by marshes and streams, and should see Gray Butcherbird, Striped Honeyeater, Little Friarbird, and perhaps Glossy Black Cockatoo or Whiptail Wallaby. By mid-afternoon we’ll enter the subtropical rainforest of the Lamington Plateau, a change of environment marked by flocks of Crimson Rosellas. We’ll arrive at O’Reilly’s Guesthouse in time for tea and some late afternoon birding. If we’re lucky we may be able to watch a Satin Bowerbird decorating his bower. In the evening Red-necked Pademelons graze on the lawns, and during dinner Mountain Brushtail Possums come to the dining room feeders. Night at O’Reilly’s Guesthouse.
Day 8: O’Reilly’s is world-famous among birdwatchers for its amazing shows of multicolored tropical species, many of which are hand-tamed and present outstanding photographic opportunities. Species that frequent the guesthouse feeders include bizarre Australian Brush-Turkeys; stunning Regent Bowerbirds (the guesthouse emblem), the male being the most beautiful Australian bird; more subtle but equally beautiful Satin Bowerbirds; chunky Wonga Pigeons; cheeky Lewin’s Honeyeaters; and scratchy flocks of Crimson Rosellas and Australian King Parrots. But the feeding frenzies around the guesthouse are by no means the only ornithological attractions at O’Reilly’s, which is set in the heart of the Lamington National Park. Lengthy trails take off in various directions through superb montane rainforest that contains a wealth of specialties including Paradise Riflebird (our second bird-of-paradise), curious Green Catbirds, entertaining Logrunners, both Bassian and Russet-tailed Thrushes, remarkably confiding Eastern Whipbirds, three species of scrubwrens all so tame they will feed within feet of us, and many, many more. Perhaps the ultimate prize is Albert’s Lyrebird, a species with a tiny world range. It’s very shy, usually heard singing but not always seen, and even then is often just a large dark shape bounding away through the undergrowth. After dinner we’ll make a serious attempt to find Marbled Frogmouth, a seldom-seen denizen of the high rainforest canopy. Night at O’Reilly’s Guesthouse.
Day 9: After an early morning at O’Reilly’s searching for any species we’re still missing, more than likely Albert’s Lyrebird, we’ll drive to Coolangatta and catch an afternoon flight to Sydney. Night in Sydney.
Day 10: Today will be left flexible so we can make use of the up-to-date information provided by our local leader, who lives in Sydney, but we are sure to spend time searching for Superb Lyrebird, one of the world’s most fantastic mimics. We’ll also look for a wide cross-section of more southerly Australian species whose ranges we have only just entered, such as Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Little and Red Wattlebirds, and New Holland Honeyeater. Night in Sydney.
Day 11: Today we’ll take a pelagic trip into deep water beyond the continental shelf. We’ll cruise out through Sydney Harbor and have a view of the famous bridge with a glimpse of the Opera House beyond. During our day-long trip we should see many Southern Hemisphere seabirds, which, depending on sea temperatures, may include Little Penguin, Australasian Gannet, Wandering, Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses, Great-winged and other Pterodroma petrels, up to six species of shearwater, and several storm-petrels. We’ll feed the birds behind the boat and can usually draw in a fabulous selection to watch at arm’s length: tossing bits of fish to Wandering Albatrosses bobbing about behind the boat is a mesmerizing experience. Photographic opportunities are fantastic and binoculars hardly needed. Cetaceans may also be a feature of the trip, and though none is guaranteed, in previous years we’ve seen Humpback and Sperm Whales and Common and Bottlenose Dolphins. Night in Sydney.
Day 12: On our last morning, participants may go sightseeing in Sydney on their own or do some final birding at Sydney Royal National Park, where we might see New South Wales’s only endemic bird, the Rock Warbler, and heath-land specialties such as Southern Emu-wren, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, and Tawny-crowned Honeyeater. We’ll also have another chance here for Superb Lyrebird. The tour ends at our Sydney hotel at midday.
Updated: 09 May 2008
Prices
- 2008 price about $4,840
- Single Occupancy Supplement $460
Notes
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader, 14 with two leaders. If a second WINGS leader is needed, it will be Judy Davis.
Although the 2008 tour begins formally on the morning of October 14 with the arrival of the flight from Darwin bearing the group and leaders from the South Australia and Northern Territory section, participants taking just the Queensland and New South Wales section will almost certainly need to arrive in Cairns the previous day, October 13.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.