Wild Watch Australia
Bird Watching, Wildlife & Photography Tours
Bird Watching Tour Options
Private tours with tailor-made itineraries.
Wild Watch Australia offers a wide range of bird watching tours as well as wildlife, rainforest and photography tours, either scheduled or tailor-made to suit your interests. Tours are usually fully accommodated and all-inclusive but can also be with guiding only, either in vehicles approved for commercial tours or in the clients own vehicle. These can be from one day to several days or even several weeks in duration either in the tropical north Queensland region or inter-state. Other destinations include the Northern Territory, Darwin, Kakadu/Litchfield NPs, Lamington NP, Tasmania, Victoria, the Grampians, Little Desert, Hattah-Kulkyne, Wyperfeld and South Australia etc.
All tours are led by experienced professional naturalist, Jonathan Munro.
The tropical North Queensland/Cape York regions. A wide range of destinations and habitats are offered in this area including Cairns, Daintree, Southern Tablelands; Atherton and Evelyn Tablelands/Cairns Highlands, Ravenshoe and the Misty Mountains, Kuranda, Yungaburra, Ingham, Lucinda, Halifax, Moresby Range/Etty Bay, Cooktown, Cape York/Lakefield/IronRange NPs, Valley of Lagoons, the Gulf Savannah, Georgetown, Normanton/Kurumba and Lawn Hill.
Tour Suggestions
Queensland Wet Tropics Diversity Tour
Tour Details
Western Gulf Savannah; Georgetown, Normanton, Karumba and Lawn Hill
Tour Details
10-day/9-nights Fully-accommodated/all-inclusive.
Iron Range/Lakefield/Musgrave
Tour Details
Fly/Drive. 8-days/7-nights. Full-accommodated/all-inclusive.
Outback Gulf Savannah and Wetlands Bird Watching & Wildlife Tour
Tour Details
5-days/4-nights. Fully-accommodated/all-inclusive.
Tour Suggestions
Some suggestions, which make the most economical and productive use of time in the tropical North Queensland and Cape York regions include the following:
Bird Watching and/or Bird Photography Tours in the Tropical North Queensland region
Tour Details
Fully accommodated 4-days/3-nights
Regions included:
Cairns, Atherton Tablelands, Warrigal Highland Rainforest Preserve, Misty Mountains and Daintree regions. Includes 2 hour early morning Daintree River Birding cruise. Accommodation at two locations.
Species included:
- Golden Bowerbird
- Tooth-billed Bowerbird
- Victoria’s Riflebird
- Chowchilla
- Bower’s Shrike-thrush
- Pied Monarch
- Atherton Scrubwren
- Fernwren
- Macleay’s
- Bridled Honeyeater etc.
Tropical North Queensland Endemics Tour
Tour Details
Fully accommodated 7-days/6-nights. Accommodation in 4 locations.
Areas Covered included:
Cairns, Ingham, Atherton Tablelands/Cairns Highlands, Warrigal Highland Rainforest Preserve, Ravenshoe, Misty Mountains, Julatten, Carbine Tablelands and Daintree regions. Includes 2 hour early morning Daintree River Birding cruise. Add a day for Great Barrier Reef trip to Michaelmas Cay, the seabird island refuge and marine park. We would expect 225-240 species in peak season on a 7-day tour
Species included:
- Cassowary
- Emu
- Golden Bowerbird
- Satin Bowerbird
- Great Bowerbird
- Tooth-billed Bowerbird
- Victoria’s Riflebird
- Wompoo Fruit-doves
- Superb Fruit-doves
- Rose-crowned Fruit-doves
- Crimson Finch
- White-browed Robin
- White-browed Crake
- Black-necked Stork
- Australian Bustard
- Lesser Sooty Owl
- Rufous Owl
- Brolga and Sarus Cranes
- Blue-faced Finch
- Noisy Pitta
- White-eared Monarch
- Red-backed Wrens
- Lovely (Fairy) Wrens etc.
Cairns and near Atherton Tablelands
Tour Details
Habitats covered:
Mud flats and mangroves along Cairns Esplanade and forshore, freshwater lagoons and swamp, feather palm and paperbark forest, upland rainforest, dry sclerophyll woodland and savannah woodland. Includes lunch at the Mareeba Wetlands
Species included:
- Barred Cuckoo-shrike
- Double-eyed Fig-parrot (race Macleayana)
- Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
- Little Kingfishers
- Forest Kingfishers
- Mangrove Robin
- White-breasted Wood-swallow
- Olive-backed (Yellow-bellied) Sunbird
- Crimson Finch
- Rainbow Lorrikeets
- Scaly-breasted Lorrikeets
- Black Butcherbird
- Yellow Oriole
- Metallic Starling
- Rainbow Bee-eater
- Magpie-lark
- Spangled Drongo
- Bar-shouldered Dove
- Pied Imperial Pigeon
- Brown-backed
- Honeyeaters Varied Honeyeaters
- Green Pygmy-goose
- Comb-crested Jacana
- Australian Darter
- Brush Turkey
- Tawny Frogmouth
- Osprey
- Welcome Swallow
- Helmeted Friarbird
- Peregrine Falcon
Daintree and Northern Tablelands
Tour Details
Habitats covered:
Riparian/riverine, mangrove, estuarine, lowland and upland rainforest, dry sclerophyll woodland and freshwater wetlands
Species included:
- Great-billed Heron
- Striated Heron
- Double-eyed Fig-parrot (race Macleayana)
- Yellow Oriole
- Wompoo Fruit-dove
- Brown Cuckoo-dove
- Little Kingfishers
- Azure Forest Kingfishers
- Sacred Kingfishers
- White-eared Monarch
- Lovely Wren
- Shinning Flycatcher
- Papuan Fromouth
- Black-necked Stork
- Cattle Egret
- White-breasted Sea-eagle
- Brahminy Kite
- Osprey
- Grey-crowned Babbler
- Apostlebird
- Galah
- Blue-faced Honeyeater
- Pale-headed Rosella
- Red-tailed Black-cockatoo
- in season Black Bittern Black-cockatoo
- Pied Imperial Pigeon
- Buff-breasted Paradise-kingfisher
- Channel-billed Cuckoo
- Koel etc.
Ravenshoe and the Misty Mountains
Tour Details
Habitats covered:
Species included:
- Victoria’s Riflebird
- Golden, Satin, Tooth-billed & Great Bowerbirds
- Little Lorrikeet
- Chowchilla
- Bower’s and Grey Shrike-thrush
- White-throated (Little) & Brown (Black-backed) Treecreepers
- Grey Goshawk
- Pacific Baza (Crested Hawk)
- Pale-headed & Crimson Rosellas
- King Parrot
- Red-winged Parrot
- Bridled, White-cheeked, Fuscous, Scarlet, & Macleay’s Honeyeaters
- Eastern Spinebill
- Varied Sitella
- Crested Shrike-tit
- Red-tailed Black-cockatoo
- Owlet Nightjar
- Apostlebird
- Grey-crowned Babbler
- Topknot & White-headed Pigeons
- Wompoo Fruit-dove
- Eastern Yellow, Pale-yellow & Grey-headed Robins
- Fernwren
- Atherton Scrubwren
- White-browed Scrubwren
- Painted Button-quail
- Bassian & Russet-tailed Thrushes
- Black-faced and Pied Monarhs
- Mountain & Buff-rumped Thornbills
- Common Bronzewing & Squatter Pigeons
- Wedge-tailed Eagle
- Brolga & Sarus Cranes
- Australian Bustards
- Emu
- Magpie Geese
- Green and Cotton Pygmy-geese
- Hardheads & whistling ducks etc
Lakefield National Park and Musgrave
Tour Details
Habitats covered:
extensive freshwater wetlands (billabongs), floodplain, savannah, savannah woodland, monsoon (gallery) forest, riverine/riparian, mangroves and the inter-tidal zone.
Species included:
- Golden-shouldered Parrots
- possible Palm Cockatoo
- Black-backed Butcherbird
- Red Goshawk
- Black-breasted Buzzard
- Emu
- White-streaked, Banded, Red-headed, Rufous-throated, Rufous-banded & Bar-breasted Honeyeaters
- Star, Masked, Black-throated, the white-bellied form of Crimson Finch & occassional Gouldian Finches
- Red-browed Pardalote
- Comb-crested Jacana (the Lotusbird)
- Radjah Shelducks
- Wandering & Plumed Whistling ducks
- Pink-eared Duck
- Common Bronze-wing, Black-necked Stork
- Black-winged Stilt
- Australian Pratincole
- Oriental Plover
- Southern Boobook
- Barking & Grass Owls
- Papuan Frogmouth
- Owlet
- Large-tailed & Spotted Nightjars
- White-breasted Sea-eagle
- Wedge-tailed Eagle
- Brolga & Sarus Cranes and numerous waders
Iron Range and Lakefield National Park
Tour Details
Iron Range
Tour Details
Habitats covered:
Species included:
- Palm Cockatoo
- Eclectus Parrot
- Red-cheeked Parrot
- Double-eyed Fig-parrot (race Marshalli)
- Magnificent Riflebird
- Trumpet Manucode
- Yellow-billed & Azure Kingfishers
- Fawn-breasted Bowerbird
- Marbled Fogmouth
- Red-bellied & Noisy Pittas
- Frilled & Black-winged Monarchs
- Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo
- White-faced Robin
- Green-backed, Tawny-breasted & White-streaked Honeyeaters
- Tropical Scrubwren
- Mangrove Robin
- Collared Kingfisher
- Grey Goshawk.
Lower Cape York Bird Watching Tour
Tour Details
Fully accommodated, 7-days/6-nights. Daintree, Cooktown and Lakefield National Park. Accommodation in three locations. Includes early morning 2 hour Birding Daintree River cruise.
Habitats covered:
riparian/riverine, mangrove, estuarine, lowland and upland rainforest, dry sclerophyll woodland and freshwater wetlands.
Habitats for Lakefield/Lotusbird Lodge include extensive freshwater wetlands (billabongs), savannah, savannah woodland, monsoon (gallery) forest, riverine/riparian, mangroves and the inter-tidal zone.
Species included:
- Great-billed Heron
- Striated Heron
- Double-eyed Fig-parrot
- Noist Pitta
- Yellow Oriole
- Wompoo Fruit-dove
- Brown Cuckoo-dove
- Little, Azure Forest and Sacred Kingfishers
- White-eared Monarch
- Lovely wren
- Shinning Flycatcher
- Papuan Fromouth
- Black-necked Stork
- Cattle Egret
- White-breasted Sea-eagle
- Brahminy Kite
- Osprey and in season Black Bittern
- Pied Imperial Pigeon
- Buff-breasted Paradise-kingfisher
- Channel-billed Cuckoo
- Koel etc.
- ???
- Golden-shouldered Parrots
- possible Palm Cockatoo
- Black-backed Butcherbird
- Red Goshawk
- Black-breasted Buzzard
- Emu
- White-streaked
- Red-headed, Bar-breasted & Banded Honeyeaters
- Star, Masked, Black-throated, the white-bellied form of Crimson Finch & occassional Gouldian Finches
- Red-browed Pardalote
- Comb-crested Jacana (the Lotusbird)
- Radjah Shelducks
- Wandering & Plumed Whistling ducks,
- Pink-eared Duck
- Common Bronze-wing
- Black-necked Stork
- Black-winged Stilt
- Australian Pratincole
- Oriental Plover
- Southern Boobook
- Barking & Grass Owls
- Papuan Frogmouth
- Owlet
- Large-tailed & Spotted Nightjars
- White-breasted Sea-eagle
- Wedge-tailed Eagle
- Brolga
- Sarus Cranes
PLEASE NOTE
*** Please note that a number our bird species migrate to south-east Asia and beyond. Most do not return to the Tropical North Queensland region until around the end of August/early September and depart again in late February to mid-March depending on weather conditions prevailing at the time. There are exceptions; the Buff-breasted Paradise-kingfisher seldom arrive before the first week in November and most adults have usually departed by late February/early March. The Red-bellied Pitta of the monsoon forests of Iron Range/Cape York frequently arrive very late around early to mid-December. A few individuals appear to over-winter as we have found and photographed them in August and September. We have not however, heard over-wintering birds calling……!
Georgetown and the Gulf Savannah
Tour Details
Habitats covered:
Species included:
- Masked, Black- throated Zebra
- Double-barred, Plum Headed & occassionally Gouldian Finches
- Pictorella Mannikin
- Red-backed Kingfisher
- Varied Lorrikeet
- Cockatiel
- Budgerigar, Squatter & Spinifex Pigeons
- Ground Cuckoo-shrike.
Lawn Hill, Normanton/Kurumba, Georgetown and the Western Gulf Savannah
Tour Details
Wetlands and Waterbirds Tour
Tour Details
We offer the visitor the opportunity to explore a number of different wetland habitats around the North Queensland’s Cairns, Southern Tablelands and Gulf Savannah regions
Valley of Lagoons and Minnamoolka Swamp.
These diverse tropical wetlands include ephemeral nymphae lagoons, billabongs, paperbark and feather palm swamps, flood plains, deep, permanent, artificial lagoons or tanks, crater lakes or maars, mangroves, mudflats and inter-tidal zone. The ephemeral wetlands often provide excellent viewing of flocks of waterbirds such as Black Swans, Whistling Ducks, Magpie Geese, Brolgas and Sarus Cranes, Black-necked Storks, Spoonbills, Herons, Ibis, Darters and Cormorants.