Shorter Australia Tours
Tropical Birding Australia offers a diverse set of tours, including "full-length tours", "day trips" out of of our base in Cairns, and a series of "short tours" outlined below. Short tours are classified as those of 10 days or less.
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Our list of short tours is growing all the time, but currently includes eight tours. The huge state of Queensland deserves several separate tours of its own. One focuses on the Wet Tropics out of Cairns and the Atherton Tableland, while another focusses further north still into the Cape York Peninsula, for a taste of New Guinea on Australian soil. A third tour goes deep into the heart of the northern Queensland Outback on the trail of rare grasswrens, while two other tours originate from Brisbane and cover coasts to inland, Outback, sites further south, combining these with rainforests and wetlands for a diverse bird list. One of these visits the Great Channel Country, west of Brisbane. Another centers on the island of Tasmania for both endemic birds and mammals. Finally, one tour targets the birds confined to the southwest corner of Australia.
Best of the Wet Tropics
Introduction: Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands are located within the Wet Tropics, where there is a heady selection of habitats and specialty birds. We will cover wetlands, coastlines, lowland and upland rainforests in pursuit of the specialty birds of the region.
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Target Species: Southern Cassowary, Spotted Catbird, Chowchilla, Golden Bowerbird, Fernwren, Lovely Fairywren and Pied Monarch. Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo and Platypus.
Cape York Specialties - Dry Season
Introduction: North of Cairns lies the Cape York Peninsula, home to endemic species and also typical New Guinea birds that on Australian soil are restricted to Cape York.
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Target Species: Golden-shouldered, Red-cheeked and Eclectus parrots, Palm Cockatoo, Black-eared Catbird, Frill-necked Monarch, and Magnificent Riflebird.
Cape York Specialties - Wet Season
Introduction: North of Cairns lies the Cape York Peninsula, home to endemic species and also typical New Guinea birds that on Australian soil are restricted to Cape York.
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Target Species: Papuan Pitta, Red-cheeked and Eclectus parrots, Palm Cockatoo, Black-eared Catbird, Frill-necked Monarch, and Magnificent Riflebird.
Western Queensland's Outback
Introduction: This tour largely focuses on the spinifex grasslands of Western Queensland's Outback, a seldom-visited area that holds some very rare and local bird species.
Target Species: Spinifex Pigeon, Paperbark Flycatcher, Purple-crowned Fairywren, Rusty, Carpentarian and Kalkadoon grasswrens, Rufous-crowned Emuwren, Great Bowerbird, Spinifexbird, Hall's Babbler, Black-tailed Treecreeper, and Painted Firetail.
Southern Queensland
Introduction: This tour visits temperate rainforests and mangroves near the coast, starting in Brisbane, before working its way to the western interior birding dry woodland.
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Target Species: Regent Bowerbird, both lyrebirds, Green Catbird, Turquoise Parrot, Paradise Riflebird, and Southern Emuwren.
The Great Channel Country
Introduction: The Outback to the west of Brisbane is a parrot-lover's paradise, and Bowra station has become a major hotspot for wandering Brisbanite birders in particular.
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Target Species: Pink Cockatoo, Bourke's Parrot, and Hall's Babbler.
New South Wales
Introduction: The state that contains Sydney has an extraordinary variety of habitats and birds. This tour covers cool temperate rainforest, coastal heathland, vast inland wetlands, mallee, dramatic sandstone outcrops, and temperate woodlands. This is a true, bird-filled, Aussie road trip!
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Target species: Plains-wanderer, Superb Parrot, Chestnut Quail-Thrush, Rockwarbler, Eastern Bristlebird, and Superb Lyrebird .
Birds and Mammals of Tasmania
Introduction: The island state of Tasmania is stunningly beautiful, a favorite among Australians and overseas visitors alike. It is also home to a dozen or so endemic bird species, Common Wombat and Tasmanian Devils.
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Target Species: Black-headed, Yellow-throated and Stong-billed Honeyeaters, Forty-spotted Pardalote, Yellow-wattled Wattlebird, Green Rosella, and Dusky Robin.
Southwest Specialties
Introduction: The southwest extremity of Australia is home to coastal heaths and mallee, and woodlands where more than 15 bird species are endemic. This makes for a great, quick splurge of lifers south of Perth.
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Target Species: Western Spinebill, Western Bristlebird, Western Whipbird, Noisy Scrub-bird, Carnaby's and Baudin's black-cockatoos, Western Rosella, Western Corella, Regent Parrot, Blue-breasted Fairywren, and Red-eared Firetail.