The Wet Tropics World Heritage area between Cooktown
and Townsville is one of the best and most famous
birding regions in Australia. 14 species of birds
are endemic to the highland and lowland rainforests,
which receive the highest rainfall of the Australian
mainland. That accounts for its natural beauty, clear
creeks with Platypus and a large number of endemic
frogs and possums.
This tour has even more to offer,
as we visit woodland areas with some special birds
in mind.
Day 1
Your tours starts in Cairns, pick-up
time from your accommodation is around 7.30 am. After
a brief visit to the Cairns Esplanade for waders we
drive to Julatten and the Kingfisher Birdwatchers
Lodge in the northern part of the Tablelands. This
spot is well known for its bird life and is the prime
spot for Lesser Sooty Owls and Red-necked Crakes among
others, and the rooms are set in lush rainforest with
birds present at your fingertips.
We also travel to rainforests on nearby
Mt Lewis, which has the only reliable population of
Blue-faced Finches. These Finches are best seen between
January and May.
Accommodation: Kingfisher Birdwatchers
Lodge, Julatten
Day 2
We
leave Julatten very early and drive down to the coast.
On the Daintree River we take the well- known River
Cruise with Chris Dahlberg, who specialises in tours
for birdwatchers. Highlights are Great- billed Herons
and Little Kingfishers, and it's not uncommon to see
40 species of birds.
Later in the day, near Mt Carbine,
we look for Bustards, Squatter Pigeons, Red-tailed
Black Cockatoos and other open woodland birds. At
night we look for nocturnal birds in the surrounding
area.
Accommodation: Kingfisher Birdwatchers
Lodge, Julatten
Day 3 + 4
After an early morning excursion we move towards Yungaburra
in the southern part of the Tablelands. Places like
Lake Barrine, Mt Hypipamee and Hastie's Swamp are
the spots for the endemic highland rainforest birds
and many others.
At night we look for Gliders and Rainforest
Possums with possible nocturnal birds always on our
minds. Most birding regions are between 700 and 1000
metres above sea level, so temperatures can be 10
degrees Celsius lower than coastal Cairns and Mission
Beach.
Accommodation: Yungaburra Park Motel,
Yungaburra
Day 5
After visiting the dry high altitude woodlands near
Herberton we drive down to the coast. The Cassowary
is our main objective in the lowland rainforests at
Mission Beach, the stronghold for this endangered
species.
We
walk in the lowland rainforests amongst spectacular
Fan Palms looking for Noisy Pittas, White-eared Monarchs
and other target species. This is also where our nocturnal
search for Rufous Owl takes place. The coast might
show us Beach Thick-knees.
Accommodation: Castaways Beach Resort,
Mission Beach
Day 6
We leave Mission Beach and travel north
towards Cairns. Depending on time we'll visit Eubenangee
Swamp and/or the mangroves at Edmonton, which is a
good place to see the Mangrove Robin among others.
Depending on time and tides it may be possible to
visit the Esplanade before I return you to the accommodation
of your choice. The tour ends in the late afternoon.
Transport is in a 6 (forward-facing)
seater Toyota 4WD troop carrier, and we carry a satellite
phone and a First-Aid Kit. Six birdwatchers are maximum
on this excellent tour. We always search and concentrate
on the endemic and special birds of each region and
have generally great views of them.
Of course we also enjoy looking at
all the other birds encountered.
Note: No Reef Trip is planned on this
tour, as you could easily do it yourself at lower
costs. There are 3 companies visiting Michaelmas Cay
daily.
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