Bird Watching

Bird Watching Tours in Cairns and Kuranda – Atherton and Evelyn Tablelands – Daintree Rainforest, Daintree River and Mossman – Mt. Lewis, Julatten and the Mt: Carbine Tablelands – Misty Mountains and Ravenshoe – Cooktown – Iron Range – Lakefield National Park – Cape York – Great Barrier Reef and Islands – Karumba, Normanton, Georgetown and the Gulf Savannah……………..and most other notable birding and wildlife destinations around Australia.

Tour Suggestions  To Birding Cape York/Iron Range  To Daintree Birding

The Tropical North Queensland region is internationally recognized as a major destination for birdwatchers from around the world.

Over half of Australia’s bird species are found here, including 12 species that are locally endemic to the rainforests of the Cairns and Tablelands region.

Species include:

Golden and Tooth-billed Bowerbirds, Victoria’s Riflebird, Bridled and Macleay’s Honeyeaters, Bower’s Shrike-thrush, Chowchilla, Pied Monarch, Mountain Thornbill, Fernwren, Atherton Scrubwren and Lesser Sooty Owl.

Within a 150 kilometer radius of Cairns there are eleven different habitats that we regularly visit on our multi-day tours. These include the tall, wet sclerophyll forests restricted to the western edge of the ranges that provide habitat for species such as Little Lorikeet, ‘Herberton’, White-cheeked and Banded Honeyeaters, Crested Shrike-tit, Lovely Wren, Grey Butcherbird and button quails.

In the dry sclerophyll woodland to the west and north of Cairns we find species such as Squatter Pigeon, Black-throated Finch, Pale-headed Rosella, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Red-backed Wren, Great Bowerbird, Grey-crowned Babbler, Apostlebird , Buff-breasted and Painted Button-quail and Barking Owl. Nearby in the savannah Bustard, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Spotted and Swamp Harriers and other raptors can be found.

The tropical rainforests ( lowlands, foothills, uplands and highlands) are home to the local endemic bird species. In addition, Cassowary, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Blue-faced Finch, Red-necked Crake, White-eared Monarch, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Wompoo, Topknot and White-headed Pigeons, Noisy Pitta, Grey-headed and Pale Yellow Robins are found here.

The region also has a number of permanent and ephemeral wetlands which provide habitat for species such as Cotton and Green Pygmy-goose, Radjah Shelduck, Wandering and Plumed Whistling-ducks, Glossy Ibis, Comb-crested Jacana, White-browed, Baillon’s and Spotless Crakes, Black and Little Bittern and Black-necked Stork. During the cooler months mixed flocks of Brolgas and Sarus Cranes can be seen feeding in fields across the Tablelands.

The mudflats, mangroves and inter-tidal zone of Cairns Esplanade and Trinity Inlet region have become a focal point for birdwatchers from around the world. Waders are present in numbers from about September to early March. Some of the species found here include Terek, Sharp-tailed, Curlew and Broad-billed Sandpipers, Asiatic Dowitcher, Red-necked Stint, Mongolian and Greater Sand Plovers, Great and Red Knots, Black and Bar-tailed Godwits and last but not least often a pair of Beach Stone-curlew.

White-bellied Sea-eagle, Brahminy Kite, Osprey and Peregrine Falcon are also frequently seen quartering the inlet and mudflats. Mangrove Robin and Varied Honeyeater are often observed in the nearby mangroves with an occasional sighting of a Great-billed Heron. Furthermore the Great Barrier Reef, sand cays and islands are a must for the serious birdwatcher. Species we most often see include Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds, Common and Black Noddies, Sooty, Bridled, Black-naped, Crested, Lesser Crested and Caspian Terns, Brown Boobies and occasionally Sooty Oystercatcher, Roseate Tern, Masked Booby and White-tailed Tropicbird.

A 4-day tour around the Cairns, Tablelands and Daintree region usually averages about 200+/- bird species; a single day 100+/- species (full species list available). Wild Watch also offers bird watching excursions to Cape York/Iron Range, Kakadu, Tasmania and other locations around Australia.

To Birding Cape York  To Daintree Birding