We plan to travel round Australia for 3 months from June this year with a group of friends... one of whom is a birding companion. I would appreciate any tips on where to look for birds in any of the following: June in Cairns or Cooktown; early July in Katherine, Darwin or Kakadu; mid July in Kununurra or Broome; early August in Perth; mid August in Adelaide or Busselton; late August in Queenscliff or Cowes. Obviously we are at numerous other places but these areas seem likely spots for birds and we have some time.
In Kakadu, Mamukala Bird Hide on the South Aligator wetlands has been recommended as well as the Yellow Waters early morning or evening cruise. Fogg Dam in Darwin seems to be a place to go and of course the Broome Bird Observatory. Are these areas easy to access? Are there any safety issues to be aware of apart from snakes and crocs perhaps? My daughter is just recovering from a snake bite so it is now on my list of concerns and crocs are an unknown. Perhaps we should be looking out for some special bird such as the Purple-Crowned Fairy-Wren or a Sunbird. Time is limited as we are with a larger group so any comments welcomed.
Just look for the silly people in the open-top sports cars with no boot and the sensible ones bringing up the rear in another car.
Sue (& fellow birder Judy)
Wow, lucky you - I am so jealous that I will not help.
But seriously,
1) you should buy 2 books - Where to find Birds in Australia by John Bransbury and The Complete Guide to Finding the Birds of Australia by Richard Thomas, Sara Thomas et al. Try bookseller andrewisles.com
2) phone the Tourist Info Centre at your listed cities/towns and ask if they have a brochure called Bird Tracks, Trails or Routes of their area and get them posted to you.
3) google 'bird trails of ......' and you may be surprised at the info available
I will leave Wendy and Alan to comment on WA and NT respectively. They helped me when I visited those states recently.
ps we expect regular updates
Peter
sounds great , where is your starting point Sue.
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
Thanks for the tips Peter, I will check them out. I have found the bird trail brochures useful in the past.
We start from Sydney early June with overnights in Port Macquarie and Yamba as we amble along the coast to Cooktown then across to Atherton and Karumba before heading towards Darwin. I envisage some very early mornings as the 2 ladies steal time for birding wherever possible while taking in the other sights and driving long distances. I am hoping that the birds around our stops will be new to us and readily photographed. Over the past year, our observation skills have improved and we make a good team.
Will try to give updates and hopefully get some interesting shots. I'll pack the Pizzey & Knight and already have Morcombe on the phone. Now I just need to decide which lenses to take and to find room for all the camera gear.
Find out about bird watcher groups in those regions too, I'm sure they'd be delighted to give you suggestions.
Looking forward to seeing pics of your trip!
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
Mid August in Adelaide. Hmmmm. Try Cleland Conservation Park, Morialta CP, Belair National Park, Horsnell Gully CP. These are all close to Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills. If you're travelling south from Adelaide try Goolwa Barrage on the River Murray for water birds. You might see southern emu wrens if you drop in at the Mt Compass Wetlands.
I have John Bransbury's Where to Find Birds in Australia & it is good.
hi Sue
I live in Port Macquarie and I would be happy to show you around, name a few spots or even lend you a couple of canoes so you could paddle around in the wet lands in my backyard. Are there any birds you are after in the mid north coast.?
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
What a generous offer, thank you. We are only overnight in Port but hope to get there early afternoon and with Yamba the next stop there may be time late afternoon or early morning. Being in a lerger group does pose a few issues and limit our time. Suggestions of where and when to find some interesting locals would be great. My only photo of a Spangled Drongo is a poor shot from your local boardwalk. Our aim has been to find a new bird, get a photo and gradually improve on the picture.
Port Macquarie - the Brolga should be back but then you should get them up north, I got good pics of Double-banded Plover and Red-capped Plover at Lake Cathie in June
Yamba - there is a small population of the Coastal Emu race that are between Evans Head and Red Rock http://www.wooli-minniewater.com.au/2012/10/endangered-coastal-emu-sightings-in-yuraygir-national-park/ . I suggest that you divert south of Grafton on the Wooli Road and you then rejoin #1 at Tyndale. Then when you head north if you take the Evans Head Road at Woodburn you can then rejoin #1 at Broadwater. But you can't tell me if you get a sighting as I have dipped on this bird.
If you have other overnight stops already planned others might be able to make similar suggestions.
Peter
Thanks to everybody for the very helpful suggestions. We will try to post some interesting birds on the way.
Peter, I have purchased a copy of Thomas & Thomas et al as Bransbury is not too easy to acquire. Contacting Tourist Centres and Googling Bird trails has been fruitful. Suggestions of a visit to Lake Cathie on the way to Port Macquarie went down well but not sure that the Morgan driver wants to do a detour on the way to Yamba. Perhaps I'll send him on ahead.
If Daringnightowl has any interesting sightings around Port in 2 weeks please let me know as the ladies are early risers.
Will be sure to check out Woko's and Kathiemt's suggestions. We have even lined up an outing with some birders in Ulladulla on the last day before heading home.
Trying to decide how much camera gear to pack is proving a challenge.. so I am thinking of purchasing a 1.4 teleconvertor.
Sue
Hi Sue
A good way to enter Port Macquarie is to take the Kew turn off which is about 15 km before Port Macquarie . Stop off at the information centre which has a list of all the birding spots on the Mid-North coast . A must stop off is North Brother Mountain, lookout. Could be the best lookout on the east coast. On the way to Port is Lake Cathie, a small village with two bridges. Here you will find lots of water birds. If you cross the smaller of the two bridges which is on the western side of the lake and turn right into Lakeside Way and follow it to the end and park the car, there are a couple of tracks. One is on the water which follows a creek to the lake . Here you should see many birds of prey , tree creepers, variegated wrens and the Azure kingfisher. The other track takes you through littoral Rainforest. You should see the catbird, regent and satin bower birds. Where you have parked the car there is a wood plie on the dirt track and there is bower with all the blue bits , if you are lucky the rose robin which is winter visitor, might show up, plus the spangled drongo which frequents in the early morning or late afternoon, 2pm is the best time. As you leave Lake Cathie and pass the football field the next dirt track on the left also takes you down to the water. Here you might see southern ewu wren. Back on the black top you will come to a golf course and in the Norfolk island pines there is a Brahminy kite's nest. I think the third tree down from the club house. Once you set up camp in Port Macquarie thousands of lorrikeets roost in the pines. Here you might see a peregrine falcon catching dinner. It has a nest in the large metal tower which overlooks town. In the morning check out the river for ospreys which will be flying around catching fish.
Enjoy your trip around this great country. Sorry I am off chasing wildlife myself so will not be in town when your passing through. Would have loved to have shown you around .
Darin
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW