Photo Gallery
Photos by Judy Davis
Birders in Australia are often enthralled by the continent’s multitude of colorful parrots, such as this Galah…
…and they may stand entranced, listening to an owl that really does sound like a barking dog.
Everyone marvels at the continent’s unique mammals, including Red Kangaroo.
But there is another side of Australia, one not often experienced by birders or travelers, that holds all of this and more…
a part of the continent that offers stark landscapes of sandy plains and drought-tolerant trees…
…immense areas of saltbush and rock…
…and vast and ancient trees scarred by Aborigines in years gone past.
Australia’s interior provides an opportunity to observe many of its little-known and rarely seen birds, such as Chirruping Wedgebill…
…or the Gibberbird…
…which inhabits the sparse gibber plains.
Cinnamon Quail-thrushes lend their elegance to the stark landscape.
Banded Whiteface and its close relative Chestnut-breasted Whiteface are found only in the arid lands of inland Australia.
Grasswrens including Thick-billed…
…Eryean…
…and Short-tailed have each found their own unique habitat to use as the playground for their antics.
Parrots always brighten the Australian landscape, whether they are the rarely seen and demurely plumed Bourke’s…
…Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo…
…or a Budgerigar adding color to a sunburnt landscape.
The Dog Fence, separating sheep and cattle stations, shows the influence of the Dingo on native mammals…
…with kangaroos abundant on one side and scarce on the other.
Accommodation is as varied as the landscape, from staff quarters on remote cattle stations…
…to comfortable rural hotels.
Towns are few and far between in this empty land, where sheep or cattle stations may be as large as a million acres.
But that remoteness is a plus during dinners replete with fine wines and cheeses beneath a starry sky…
…and our guides reveal the full range of their talents, becoming master of the barbeque as well as of the birds.
The unexpected is always just around the corner, taking the form of a young Powerful Owl…
…an Owlet-Nightjar during the day…
…or a Lace Monitor high in a tree.
And the experiences are as unique as the landscapes, such as seeing some of the rarest and strangest birds of Australia, including the famous Plains Wanderer.