The Australia Wildlife and Habitats Tour

Day 1: Arrival in Cairns 

We start the tour after lunch at 1pm in Cairns and depending on the tides, we will head straight to the Esplanade with its Australasian Mudflats (Au12G) to watch a swathe of local shorebirds along the scenic seafront like Great Knots and Far Eastern Curlews. The importance of this location to migrating shorebirds is hard the exaggerate and will remind American birders of the Bolivar Flats in Texas or Delaware Bay in New Jersey. We will then visit the first of our Australasian Tropical Freshwater Wetlands (Au11A) and pick up some regular wetland species such as Comb-crested Jacana and Magpie Goose. Then, although the time of day is not optimal, we will take a quick visit to some Australasian Swamp Forest (Au4I), which looks like rainforest but with a flooded floor and heavily dominated by massive Melaleuca (Paperbark) trees. We will search for Torresian Imperial-Pigeons, Rainbow Bee-eaters, Rainbow Lorikeets, and Shining Flycatcher. For family listers, the Orange-footed Scrubfowl will be many peoples first Megapode; birds that make massive mounds, fill it with rotting vegetation and let the heat from the decay incubate their eggs.

We will then visit the Australasian Mangrove Forest (Au12A), one of the very best places in the world to experience mangroves because in comparison with the 1 species in the USA, and 1 species in Europe, there are 39 species in Queensland, but only 6 in far n. New South Wales, and 1 in s. New South Wales–South Australia. Here we can walk along an elevated boardwalk and look at the many representations of this forest from cathedral trees, though groves with spider roots and parts with spindly, dense mangroves.  Bird that we will search for in this habitat include the Mangrove Robin, Black Butcherbird, Torresian Kingfisher, Helmeted Friarbird and the Yellow Oriole. Time permitting, we could visit some Australasian Monsoon Vineforest (Au5B) for an attempt at Lovely Fairywren, Rose-crowned Fuit-dove and the normally nocturnal Bush Stone-Curlew. We should find our first macropod, the small Agile Wallaby in the Monsoon Vineforest.

Day 2: Cairns to Yungaburra

We start the morning in Australasian Lowland Rainforest (Au4A) along the narrow coastal plain of ne QLD. This rainforest is the dominant vegetation type in low-lying, wet tropical environments of New Guinea and ne. Australia. It occurs from sea level to about 2000 ft. (600 m) in areas with high annual rainfall. It is characterised by a mega-diverse plant community comprising a large variety of evergreen trees that form a thick canopy (70%+ canopy cover), which blocks out the sun, resulting in a relatively open understorey. The forest canopy here is high, at around 130 ft. (40 m). The “Daintree Rainforest” is world famous, and while the forest is spectacular, we believe that there is part of the Lowland Rainforest south of Cairns that beats the Daintree, and we will start there.

We will spend much of the morning there searching for  Yellow-breasted Boatbill (a family endemic to Australia and New Guinea), Wompoo and Superb Fruit-Doves, Emerald Dove Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Cryptic, Macleay’s and Yellow-spotted Honeyeaters, Dusky Myzomela, Gray Whistler, Spectacled Monarch, Helmeted Friarbird and Barred Cuckooshrike. Depending on migration time, we stand a very good chance of seeing the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, with tis long, brilliant white tail streamers

We will drive up a steep fault-controlled escarpment to the Atherton Tableland, an uplifted, gently undulating plateau that rises 700–900 m above the coastal plain west of Cairns. The underlying rocks are Permian Granites, but most of the rocks we see are basalt flows that range from from 3.1 Million years old to around 20,000 years old. Most are lava flows, but there are, also scoria (basaltic version of pumice) cones, lava tubes and even crater lakes.  The deep tropical weathering of these basalts under high rainfall has produced the deep red nutrient rich soils, that promote rainforest formation.  We will stop at our first chance for the Platypus, the first of the Monotreme (egg-laying) mammals. We visit a Tropical Freshwater Wetland for species like Plumed Whistling-Duck, Cotton Pygmy-Goose (some years only), Magpie-Goose, Black-necked Stork, and White-cheeked Honeyeater. We will investigate some of the plains around Lake Mitchell, visiting Melaleuca Savanna (Au6G). This stunted savanna of paperpark trees is generally less productive for wildlife than most habitats in northern Australia, but when there is a mass blooming, honeyeaters such as Brown-backed Honeyeaters can be found.

We will also visit some more open habitats such as Shrubby Eucalypt Savanna (Au6) to pick up mammals like Mareeba Rock Wallaby, and the enormous Eastern Gray Kangaroo. This is a very messy-looking habitat that has canopy of eucalypts, and a grass understory and many shrubs of grevilleas, melaleucas and rainforest shrubs. It is a fascinating habitat that forms the successional boundary between Monsoon Vineforest and open savannas.  When there is a fire, it looks like open eucalypt savanna, but with decades without fire, the rainforest plants start to invade creating a woodland with a very open canopy, but thick understory.

We then visit Australasian Montane Rainforest (Au4). These upland forests have slightly lower tree diversity, more epiphytes, and a much more extensive understorey than lowland rainforests. We will try to see a bird-of-paradise, Victoria’s Riflebird, as well as Macleay’s Honeyeater (a local species), and the noisy Spotted Catbird, which is actually a bowerbird that makes no effort to build a bower. Other species we search for include the Golden Bowerbird, Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Chowchilla and the giant Southern Cassowary, which is like a rainforest version of and ostrich, but with a worse temper. We stay at a place where we spend the evening looking for wildlife like Northern Brown Bandicoot, Green Ringtail Possum, Herbert’s River Possum, and an outside chance of a Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo. The tree kangaroo is not a joke- it is a kangaroo that has adapted (not so well) to living in the rainforest canopy.

Day 3: Yungaburra to Georgetown

On this morning, we will visit the Montane Rainforest again, and head to the southern area of the Atherton Tableland, making a special stop on in some Grassy Dry Sclerophyll Forest (Au9D) which is formed on nutrient poor sediments. This location is the northernmost extent of a habitat that wraps right around to Adelaide in south Australia. What makes this fascinating is that it is very close to the Shrubby Eucalypt Savanna and Tetradonta Woodland Savanna (Au6C) that botanists regard as the same habitat but has a very different bird assemblage. Here we will be looking for birds such as Little Lorikeet, Fuscous Honeyeater, and Eastern Shrike-tit at their northern limit.

We drop off the south of the Atherton tableland, driving through Open Eucalypt Savanna (Au6A), but don’t stop, as we are heading towards a Australian Dry Vineforest (Au5A) where you see rainforest-like trees eking out an existence in a sea of savanna landscapes. After the short visit, we enter the vast Carpentaria Gulf Plain, the very flat lands which drains into the Gulf of Carpentaria. This massive waterway between Australia and New Guinea is incredibly shallow, and as recently as 18,000 years ago was a vast Melaleuca Savanna dominated plain between the two. We concentrate on Open Eucalypt Savanna and start seeing some birds more typical of the Queensland Outback, like Great Bowerbird, Black-faced Woodswallow, Red-winged Parrot, Pale-headed Rosella, and Apostlebird, as well as a chance at Gould’s Monitor or the Yellow-tailed Monitor, species related to the Komodo Dragon. We end in Georgetown.

Day 4: Georgetown to Winton

This morning we have dawn at Cumberland Dam, a Tropical Wetland surrounded by Open Eucalypt Savanna in the heart of Black-throated Finch country. Besides the mass of waterbirds on the dam, we will spend time at a nearby creek waiting for Open Eucalypt Savanna birds to come and drink. Typical species here include Masked and Zebra finches Banded, Rufous-throated, and Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters. We then drive towards Winton. On the way we pass the mesas (small plateaus) of silcrete and laterite; these are resistant caps formed through infused iron or silica to a surface which is then far more resistant to physical weathering than the surrounding terrain. On the drive we will almost certainly see the world’s biggest Kangaroo, the Red Kangaroo. Night in Winton

Day 5: Winton

This area is the Channel Country, a region at the eastern edge of the central Australian deserts, with braided rivers, huge plains and rocky ridges; famous for cattle and sheep farms and its considerable dinosaur fossil finds rather than birds, it is the centre of some fascinating habitats. To get to the main area of interest, we drive for an hour and a half in the dark- we could do the trip in an hour, but we have to pay close attention to the numerous kamikaze macropods such as Western Gret Kangaroo, Euro, and Red Kangaroo, while also searching for Spotted Nightjar. One of the most localized bird species in play is Opalton Grasswren, an extremely local endemic found within the clumps of spinifex grass in the Spinifex Eucalypt Savanna (Au6B). It is a strange habitat that it is widespread from ne Western Australia to Winton, but with different small centres of endemism for grasswrens within this vast expanse. In the mid-morning after the sun has started to bite, we have an optional visit to the Dinosaur Stampede, a preserved mudflat of around 95 million years ago (Cretaceous period). Here you can see footprints of different dinosaur species that some experts suggest tell a story of hunting.

We will visit some Spinifex Mulga (Au9R) along the ridgelines and in the swales; this is an acacia woodland about 15 ft (5) tall dominated by the one tree species, Mulga, but with other acacias such as Gidgee and Lancewood as well.  The habitat is named after the spinifex grass understory. The word ‘spinifex’ usually refers to a genus of grasses (Spinifex) found in coastal areas around the world, but in Australia the ‘spinifex’ is a hummock “Triodia” grass. There are plenty of other birds to search for in the Spinifex Mulga, including the local Hall’s Babbler, Chestnut-breasted Quail-Thrush, Red-capped and Hooded Robins. Most of the birds here move between the Spinifex Eucalypt Savanna and Spinifex Mulga, so we will alternate between the two habitats. Other birds that we might see include a good mix of woodswallows, with Masked, White-browed and Little all occurring. We will be on the lookout for any ephemeral blooming shrubs and trees that attract nectar-thirsty honeyeaters, like Grey-headed, and sometimes the nomadic Black and Painted honeyeaters too. In this season we might find active groups of Crimson Chats working the low shrubs, and Orange Chats can be around in some years too. A distinctive sound of this landscape is the numerous Crested Bellbirds. Other possible finds could be Bourke’s Parrot, or flocks of Budgerigars or Cockatiels, Spotted Bowerbird, delightful Purple-backed and White-winged fairywrens, and the dry-country-loving Red-browed Pardalote and Red-backed Kingfisher.

The open ridges and plains are dominated by Rocky Spinifex Desert (Au2C),  In contrast with the tussock grasses of Australia and almost all other grasses in the world, spinifex is extremely spiky, and some plants have leaves infused with silica at the tips, making them very rigid and dagger-like- Not fun to walk through, but utterly unique. Occasionally the reclusive Rufous-crowned Emuwren pops out from the tops of the spinifex and we are almost certain to get looks at the spectacular Spinifex Pigeon, with its ridiculous crest and earth tones of fawns and browns.

Day 6: Winton to Roma

Today we make a long 8 drive From Winton to Roma but done over a full day with many stops along the way. On the way we pass through a huge area of Tropical Tussock Grassland (Au7A), which is the analogous to Desert Grassland from Africa or Indian Steppe Desert from Asia. On the way we look for Australian Bustard, Brolga, possible thousands of Australian Pratincoles and even a Flock Bronzewing if we are lucky. We will stop at some very productive Grassy Mulga (Au9Q), which has the same canopy trees as Spinifex Mulga, but the soils are much more fertile, so the ground cover is tussock grasses and chenopods shrubs. This habitat can be fantastic for birding with many parrots such as Eastern Rosella and finches such as Plum-headed Finch.

Day 7: Roma to Brisbane; fly to Sydney

We start the day in the Brigalow (Au5C) of south-central QLD. This forest could be classified as a woodland, dry forest or a Savanna, as it contains elements of all three biomes.  We treat this forest as part of the DRY FOREST Biome, in the same group as the Sal Forest of India, the Floodplain Chaco Forest of Paraguay. The eponomys Brigalow tree – an acacia – is the main tree of the forest, the Brigalow, which is an acacia. This forest has been decimated be relatively recent clearing. What were vast expanses of woodland in the 1960’s are now cattle ranches, but we will visit remnants and get a feel for how cool interesting this forest is. We drive through to Brisbane and catch an evening flight to Sydney, where we spend the night.

Day 8: Sydney to Robertson

We will start the day in the Wallum and Ausbos (Au8A) heathlands south of Sydney that is very reminiscent of the Fynbos of South Africa or the Garrigue of the Mediterranean, Chaparral of North America. The Ausbos we visit here lives in a harsh environment with frequent fire, highly saline winds, and shallow, heavily leached, sand-dominated Podzol soils formed over the nutrient poor quarzitic Sydney Sandstone. Sounds horrible, but when this heathland is in flower, as it should be during our visit, it is one of the world’s most beautiful environments. Here we will search for species such as Beautiful Firetail, Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters, and we will search for Short-billed Echidna, the second of Australian monotremes (egg laying mammals). We will visit the Heathy Dry Sclerophyll (Au9E), which is a Eucalypt woodland with a heathy understory. This habitat is a great place to search for Rockwarbler.  We head south to a Australian Sandy Beach (Au12D) and Temperate Rocky Coastline (Au12H) peninsula that juts out into the Pacific Ocean, which depending on the weather conditions can be a good location to pick up a few Temperate Pelagic (Au12J) seabirds for our list, with Wedge-tailed and Short-tailed Shearwaters most likely. In the mid-day we will drive south to some Australian Temperate Rainforest (Au4G) formed on nutrient rich sediments at the base of the Budderoo Plateau. Here amongst the understory of tree ferns and palms we will look for the Superb Lyrebird and Pilotbird in the undergrowth, and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo flying above the forest. We drive to Robertson for the night

Day 9: Robertson to Griffith

The next morning is based in Montane Heathland (Au8F) at 1800 – 2100 ft (600–700 m) elevation on the Budderoo Plateau. This area is part of a sandstone dominated mountain chain that includes the Blue Mountains to the north. The cliff line here was produced by uplift of the Southern Highlands around 70 Million years ago, and subsequent scarp retreat (cliff erosion) of the coastal plain. We search for the many elusive species there, Southern Emuwren and Eastern Bristlebird. The most productive heathland here tends to be around knee to hip height, and as the heath gets thicker and taller, the plant species diversity drops and the bird assemblages changes. Most of the heathland is dominated by plant groups such as Banksias, but there are eucalypts here that take on mallee form, which is the dominant shape of eucalypts in western NSW. There are patches of Heathy Dry Sclerophyll on the ridge top, and the forest is almost an ecotone with Subalpine Eucalypt Woodland with some of the higher habitat bird species such as Gang Gang Cockatoo.

We cross Australia’s Great Dividing Range, which at 2500 ft (820 m), is not that great. The name great is given for the length of the range which is about 2100 miles (3400 km) range and it formed at the end of the Cretaceous due to warping associated with the opening of the Tasman Sea. Most people think of mountain rages being formed due to collision of plates, so maybe North American or Europeans should think of it as the Great Australian Buckle? We will make our way over to the plains of the Murry- Darling Basin, a vast drainage area that drains most of se Australia. We head to Leeton in central NSW where the main attraction is one of the best Australian Temperate Wetlands (Au11B), Five Bough Swamp. We will check the swamp for Red-necked Avocets and Red-kneed Dotterels working the muddy edges, Australian Shovelers, Hardheads, and Musk Ducks swimming in the open waters, and Swamp Harriers quartering the reedbeds.  We continue the drive to Griffith for three nights.

Day 10: Griffith area

In the morning we will visit a patch of Mixed Sandplain Woodland (Au9L) which is a fascinating mix of the arid Australian conifer group, Callitris pines (called Cypress), along with Casuarinas (called Sheoaks), Acacias and Eucalypts. This habitat forms over Pleistocene alluvial outwash fans built by the ancestral Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray river systems, and has been much reduced because it grows on nutrient sandy to clay-loam soils that are desirable for farming. These woodlands hold some great birds like Splendid Fairywren, Speckled Warbler and sometimes even the rare Painted Honeyeater, along with White-winged Chough and Apostlebird.  In the afternoon we visit the north-south ridgelines that cut through the Western Plains to the north the Riverina plain. This is a rugged terrain of highly inclined Upper Devonian (360–345 Million years old) terrestrial siltstones, sandstones, pebbly sandstones forming hogback ridges — steep, asymmetric quartzite-capped escarpments dipping moderately westward on their gentle limb and falling as broken escarpments on their eastern face. On these ridgelines we can find Inland Rocky Scrub (Au9K), dominated by short eucalypts and Callitris; the bird assemblage here is depauperate compared with the Mixed Sandplain Woodland, but it is a prime area for Turquoise Parrot and can be a good spot for Hooded Robin.

Day 11: Day Trip into the Mallee

This day starts with a ridiculously early (3:30am) drive to the mallee for the morning- Yes, I know it is early, but you can sleep, and the drive is better than the local hotel there, which has been rated as the worst hotel in Australia. Spinifex Mallee (Au9O) is one of the most quintessentially Australian habitats and foreign to anyone who has not visited Australia. The mallee has multiple narrow trunks growing from a gnarled lignotuber (root ball) at or just beneath ground level. The canopy can reach 24 ft. (8 m) and varies from open to interlocking canopy coverage. However, because the eucalypt leaves are so small and sparse, significant light penetrates the canopy even when it is completely interlocking. The day will be spent working patches of both Spinifex Mallee, and Shrubby and Chenopod Mallee (Au9N). Thes two habitats often occur together, but the Spinifex Mallee grows where there is mainly loose sandy soils, which the Chenopod Mallee occurs where the soil is more clayey or loamy.  The canopy of the two habitats remains the same with just the understory changing from spikey grass to thick-leaded sages. Birds that we will target here include Chestnut Quail-Thrush, Southern Scrub-Robin, Shy Heathwren, and Gilbert’s Whistler. In some periods, when there are abundant nectar sources available, there can be an influx of nomadic honeyeater species like Black, Pied, White-fronted, and White-eared Honeyeaters. Other birds that occur include the spectacular Splendid Fairywren, Mulga Parrot, Western Gerygone, Inland and Chestnut-rumped Thornbills, and Yellow-plumed Honeyeater. One of the reptiles we will chase today is the Shingleback (also called Land Mullet), a skink with large, armoured scales on the back.

On the way back from the Mallee woodlands, we will pass though some patches of Chenopod Shrubland (Au2D), which will be very reminiscent of Sagebrush Prairies of North America or the Succulent Karoo of South Africa. Here we look for Rufous Songlark, Crimson Chat, and in some years, even Orange Chat.

Day 12: Griffith to Chiltern

The drive today takes us through three new habitats, but to get to them we have to pass through large tracks for farming land, because this is one of the great breadbaskets of Australia. First, we visit the Murrumbidgee River for Inland Riverine Woodland (Au9H) where the thick River Red Gums form substantial forests with a canopy reaching 100 ft. (33 m), and with a lush grass layer. The main targets here are the Superb Parrot and the Yellow Rosella, which are both found as solitary species or small flocks.  We pass through remnant patches of Temperate Tussock Grassland (Au7B), but almost all the habitat is heavily grazed, so the distinction between native grassland and sheep pasture is often difficult to discern.  We then visit remnants of the Ironbark-Box Woodland (Au9G). This very open Eucalypt woodland with a grassy understory, which could be described as a temperate savanna woodland, grows on very productive soils making it prime agricultural land. We will spend the afternoon in this habitat around Chiltern where there are many bird targets for the afternoon such as Turquoise Parrot, Little Lorikeet, White-throated and Brown Treecreepers, Yellow-tufted, White-plumed, Brown-headed, Black-chinned, and Fuscous Honeyeaters, Eastern Shrike-Tit, Scarlet, Rose and Flame Robins, Rufous Songlark, Mistletoebird, and Diamond Firetail. We will also look for Koala and Common Wombat, as well as spotlihting tonight for species such as Common Brushtail Possum and potentially Greater Glider.

Day 13: Chiltern area

We take an hour and a half drive to a mountain area formed from an isolated granite massif rising abruptly out of the plains to form undulating summit plateau between 1,300 and 1,500 m. This area is one of the oldest rock types we visit in Eastern Australia forming in the Late Devonian (around 370–400 Ma), though the mountain where we are standing are part of a much younger Cenozoic formation of the Victorian Alps. Glaciers did not make it here during the last ice age, but the region has long had periglacial (freeze thaw conditions) that promote some of Australia’s few alpine habitats. Here we spend time in Subalpine Eucalypt Woodland (Au9J), Australian Alpine Tundra (Au10A), and Montane Grassland (Au7C). The Montane grassland is one of Australia’s least interesting habitats with few endemics or obligate species, but the is more than made up for by the other adjacent habitats. The Subalpine Eucalypt Woodland varies from open grassy forest to open grassy woodland, generally with, gnarled and twisted trucks, and an open crown cover less and 15ft (5m) tall. We will visit in spring, which is pleasant, but in winter, it is spectacular with the red, brown, grey and green of the Snow and Snappy Gums contrasting with the snow on the ground. Target birds here include the Flame Robin, Scarlet Robin, Gang Gang Cockatoo and the Striated Fieldwren.

Day 14: Chiltern to Melbourne

On the last field day of the tour we will visit the true temperate forests of Australia, with the towering ash forests of the Rainforest Wet Sclerophyll (Au9B). These forests are the second tallest forests in the world, and in my mind, what makes them more impressive is that the size of the trunk hardly changes from the base to near the top of the canopy, and branching only occurs towards the top of the tree, giving the whole forest a cathedral like  columnar feel. The name sounds counterintuitive. But this forest with its tall open Eucalypt canopy, has an understory dominated by rainforest plants- so much so that if you were to selectively remove the canopy of the tall eucalypts you would be left with a stunted temperate rainforest. There will be a handful of key target species here, most notably the vociferous Superb Lyrebird, one of Australia’s most iconic birds, following its camera shutter impersonations featured in the famous BBC wildlife series ‘Life of Birds’ with David Attenborough. Other key species we will seek in the forests are Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Gang-gang Cockatoo, Red-browed Treecreeper, Red Wattlebird, Gray Currawong, and Crescent Honeyeater. Other species we may encounter, include Rufous Fantail, Satin Flycatcher and Golden Whistler.  The final habitat that we visit will be the Nothofagus Forest (Au4F), a Gondwanan angiosperm forest, and Australia’s counterpart of the New Zealand Beech Forest and the Magellanic Rainforest of South America. Birds are limited in this forest, but we will target species such as Olive Whistler, Pilotbird, and Bassian Thrush. We will then drive to Melbourne airport hotel for the last night.

Day 15: Departure

Departure from Melbourne Airport

Trip Considerations

PACE: Moderate to intense. Typical starts are between 5:00am and 5:30am; there is one earlier 3:30am start. There are some late finishes (between 10-11pm); two of these are required due to flight schedules, and the others are for spotlighting birds and mammals, one of which can be considered optional if you would prefer to relax in the hotel. There are some long drives on the main tour, and on many of the days they exceed 4 hours- a few of these are likely to be 6-7 hours. However, all of these drives are not done direct, as they are literally within the habitats we will be exploring, so the drives involve a lot of stopping for wildlife or to explain some aspects of the environment. Many breakfasts and a few lunches will be taken in the field.

PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY: Easy. Most of the time we will be roads and mostly flat, well-maintained trails. One of the days wespend walking through Spinifex, which while  tricky (spiky plants!), is not difficult. You can expect to walk around 2-3 miles per day on average. There are no high altitude sites; the highest point is about 6000 ft (1600 m) on a few days

CLIMATE: Highly variable. In the Cairns area it is tropical and humid, with highs of around 86°F/30°C. Around Winton it could crack 35°C, but we will be in the car for the hot part of the day. In Victoria, temperatures between 57°F/14°C and 75°F/34°C are expected.

ACCOMMODATION: Good throughout, but remote Austra;lia, does not do luxury; most of these hotels are designed for travelling business people. All accommodations have private bathrooms, full-time hot water, and 24-hour electricity. Most lodges/hotels have Wifi either in your room or at reception.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Australia is an excellent destination for bird and nature photography. The birding and photography is generally easy, with plenty of open country situations, where the light is not challenging, and with a healthy populations of birds endemic to Australasia. Mallas likjely to be photographed include Mareeba Rock Wallaby, Agile Wallaby, Red Kangaroo, Easstern Grey Kangaroo, Western Grey Kangaroo, Euro, and Echidna; Koala and Platypus are a little tougher, but if we kind a Koala, you should get good shots. Birds that are often (though not always) photographed on this itinerary include Southern Cassowary, Emu, Australian Bustard, bowerbirds, Australian Brush-Turkey, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Black Swan, Magpie-Goose, Australian White Ibis, Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, Australian Pelican, Silver Gull, Bush Thick-knee, Laughing Kookaburra, Tawny Frogmouth, Squatter Pigeon, Wonga Pigeon, Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Variegated Fairywrens, Lewin’s, Blue-faced and Macleay’s Honeyeaters, Noisy Miner, Magpie-lark, Willie-Wagtail, Eastern Yellow Robin, and Pied Currawong.  For wildlife photography, people will do best with an SLR with a 100-400mm or 500mm fixed lens, or if they are using a micro 4/3s system a 300mm prime lens is optimal. For habitats and macro, a 50-100m, is optimal

Other Information

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

A valid passport is required for entry into Australia. It should be valid for at least six months past the time of your scheduled return.  An Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is required for citizens of the USA, Canada, the UK, South Africa, and most Western European countries.

In order to get the ETA, please download the official app from the Apple App Store https://apps.apple.com/au/app/australianeta/id1527982364 or Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.homeaffairs.eta&hl=en_AU&gl=US

For further information on this process, please see this government website: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/electronic-travel-authority-601

PLEASE NOTE: The Australian Government has changed the entry requirements in recent years and has undergone further very recent changes to their system, and so we advise doing this well in advance of the tour in case they request any additional requirements.

As of July 2022, some older tour participants (over 75 years old) may need to undergo a health examination in order to enter Australia. Whether you need an examination of this kind is only revealed during the application process. Therefore, it is extremely important that all participants apply for entry long before the start of the tour, to ensure there is time to schedule a health examination if one is needed.

Please note that if you are traveling FROM an area where Yellow Fever is found the Australian government requires you to have a valid certificate for this, which must be presented to the authorities on arrival at immigration. This does not apply generally to most people; it is just something that you should be aware of if for some reason you are coming in from an area that this applies.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?: Tips to local guides; accommodation from night of day 1 though to night of day 13 meals from dinner on day 1 to dinner on day 13 (if you have an early flight on this day, you may miss the included breakfast); reasonable non-alcoholic drinks during restaurant meals; safe drinking water between meals; most hotels in Australia provide a kettle and tea and coffee; two Tropical Birding tour leaders with scope and audio gear from the afternoon of day 1 to the night of day 13; ground transport for the group to all sites in the itinerary in a suitable vehicle driven by the tour leader; a printed and bound checklist to keep track of your sightings (given to you at the start of the tour – only electronic copies can be provided in advance).

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?: Optional tips to the Tropical Birding tour leaders (who also drive on this tour); international flights; domestic flights (these can be booked by our staff and added to your invoice); excess baggage fees; snacks; additional drinks apart from those included; alcoholic beverages; travel insurance; excursions not included in the tour itinerary such as the Dinosaur Stampede; extras in hotels such as laundry service, internet, minibar, room service, telephone calls, and personal items; medical fees; other items or services not specifically mentioned as being included.