2007 Tour Narrative
2007 was the first year in which WINGS offered a redesigned Australia tour split into three sections, which could be taken separately or combined into one grand adventure. For David Fisher’s full narrative of the entire bird-filled tour, also see Tasmania, Victoria, and the Plains-wanderer and South Australia and Northern Territory.
Our first morning in Cairns included visits to the Esplanade to watch shorebirds and to look at Varied Honeyeater; to the cemetery for Bush Thick-knees and Yellow Honeyeaters; and then to the Centenary Lakes for a selection of waters birds, nesting Brown-backed Honeyeaters, a massive Lace Monitor, and an unexpected Echidna. Then we headed up to the Atherton Tablelands, where our first visit to the rainforest around the Curtain Fig produced Victoria’s Riflebird, Black-faced and Pied Monarchs, the very local Gray-headed Robin, and perhaps best of all, a Lumholtz’s Tree-Kangaroo—trumped for some, perhaps, the Platypus seen on the way back to the hotel.
The next day started well at Lake Eacham National Park, where construction in the parking lot failed to keep us from birding the usual fruiting trees, which held more Victoria’s Riflebirds, Wompoo Fruit-Doves, White-headed Pigeons, the very local Bower’s Shrike-Thrush, and a stunning pair of Double-eyed Fig-Parrots. After breakfast our visit to the Crater got off to a flying start with an immature Cassowary as we drove into the car park. It came and went several times before being joined by two adults! The walk to the bower of a Golden Bowerbird was a bit hot and scratchy, but everyone agreed that it was well worthwhile once we had seen the splendid male sitting quietly near his maypole bower.
In total contrast, the next day was spent driving north into the dry eucalyptus country. Starting with the Apostlebirds in Mareeba cemetery, we moved on to the Australian Bustards at Mary Farms, where we enjoyed watching a displaying male before returning to view nesting Square-tailed Kites at Mt. Malloy. Late in the day at the Mareeba Wetlands, we ignored the wetlands themselves to concentrate instead on the surrounding dry woodland, where Squatter Pigeons, Black-throated Finches, and the local race of Brown Treecreeper (which should surely be split) all performed well. We also had another nesting Tawny Frogmouth here, and local guide Chook took us to see an active bower of the Great Bowerbird.
Returning to Cairns we spent a day with John Crowhurst, visiting Cassowary House in the morning (for our fourth cassowary of the tour), and enjoyed splendid buffet meals prepared by Sue Gregory while being deafened by calling Victoria’s Riflebirds on her feeders, and playing hide-and-seek with her trainee Red-necked Crake. In the afternoon John showed us around various spots in Cairns, where we saw a nesting Papuan Frogmouth, Black Butcherbirds, a Cicadabird perched up in good view, and a pair of Lovely Fairywrens that turned up just as dusk was starting to fall.
Our boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef is always a very different kind of day filled with ocean, coral reef, colorful tropical fish, and seabirds. We managed 10 species of tern during the day as well as several Great Frigatebirds and nesting Brown Boobies. One or two Green Turtles were glimpsed, and the coral reef was viewed beautifully through a glass-bottomed boat during low water, which gave stunning views of both the coral formations and the fish.
The next morning, after two hour’s flight to the south, we drove up to O’Reilly’s Guesthouse, one of the most famous birding destinations in Australia. Tim O’Reilly kindly spent a day with us after showing us Marbled Frogmouth on our first evening, and so we traveled around in the big green O’Reilly’s bus. Before breakfast we found a calling male Paradise Riflebird and saw Logrunners; Noisy Pitta was heard. After breakfast we went down Duck Creek Road, where we tracked down Red-browed Treecreeper and Variegated Fairywren with relative ease, but despite Tim’s sterling efforts scouring the grass-covered hillsides, we couldn’t locate the Glossy Black Cockatoos that he knew to be in the area. Not to be defeated, after lunch Tim brought out the even larger 4x4 bus, and we set off again for the lower reaches of Duck Creek Road, where this time Tim did find the cockatoos and also took us on an overland safari to a remote scrubby wood patch where he magically produced a pair of White-eared Monarchs. On our own again the next morning, we did finally find the Noisy Pitta, calling from the top of one of the tallest trees in the rainforest. And all of this, of course, interspersed with sessions at the feeders around the guesthouse with hand-tamed Regent and Satin Bowerbirds, scrub-wrens, robins and whipbirds at our feet, and one of the most obliging Albert’s Lyrebirds we have ever encountered in all our visits to O’Reilly’s. No wonder the place has such a fantastic reputation.
Our final few days were spent around Sydney. Gerry Richards accompanied us to the heathland of Sydney’s Royal National Park, where he conjured up Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Southern Emu-wren, and Tawny-crowned Honeyeater in record time. A Beautiful Firetail also appeared during our walk, giving all of us good views. Later in the day we enjoyed a close encounter with a male Superb Lyrebird at Minnamurra, but cold, misty weather at Barren Grounds kept us from seeing much there—though the hand-tamed Echidna on the drive up made the trip well worthwhile.
Tony Palliser accompanied us on our pelagic trip out of Sydney on the excellent Halicat, owned and skippered by Hal Epstein. Shy and Wandering Albatrosses came in to be fed just feet away from the stern. Providence and Great-winged Petrels circled around the boat before joining the albatrosses in the slick, and many more Wilson’s Storm-Petrels than usual came in for a feed. The rarest bird of the day was a Fairy Prion, spotted by Tony as we were cruising out to deep water, still present after we turned the boat around in pursuit.
Our last morning was devoted to another trip with Gerry, this time to the forested section of the Royal National Park, where we enjoyed a lovely cross-section of Australian birds, the best of which were probably the pair of Rock Warblers feeding young at an active nest. A suitable ending to our time in New South Wales, given that Rock Warbler is that state’s only endemic bird!
David Fisher
Updated: February 2008