Bird watching in the tropics

The Cairns Highlands has a wide variety of habitats such as Cairns Highlands riverine, wetland, woodland, rainforest, grassland, agricultural and Cairns parkland and also has one of the largest avifauna of any region The Cairns Highlands has long been a favourite destination in Australia. for locals from the coast. Plenty of quality accommodation is available to suit all styles of travel — bed and breakfast Highlands It is home to over 300 species of birds and 12 of these are local houses, self-contained cottages, motels, caravan parks and endemics, being: camping grounds. Bird Watching Capital of Australia Fernwren: • generally seen in the higher altitude rainforests. Marvel at the picturesque volcanic crater lakes, cascading Atherton Scrubwren: • higher altitude rainforests. waterfalls, rainforest and woodland scenery. Numerous national Mountain Thornbill: • higher altitude rainforests. parks provide for ample bushwalking opportunities and the Macleay’s Honeyeater: •  common at lower and mid altitudes in rich fertile soils offer a cornucopia of local produce. Tasting rooms and around rainforest areas for coffee, tea, cheese and tropical wines welcome visitors. Bridled Honeyeater: •  common, found in rainforest and adjacent Other attractions abound with nature parks allowing woodlands. up close viewing of native animals. • Grey-headed Robin: common in rainforest, generally at higher altitudes. The elevation of the Cairns Highlands makes • Chowchilla: easiest when calling in the early morning, higher our climate very pleasant all year round. altitude rainforest. It is a place to explore and enjoy in • Bower’s Shrike-Thrush: fairly easy to find in higher altitude all seasons. rainforests. • Pied Monarch: throughout except at highest altitudes. • Victoria’s Riflebird: throughout rainforested areas and adjacent woodlands. • Tooth-billed Bowerbird: easily seen when displaying in mid to high altitude rainforest. • Golden Bowerbird: seen at bowers during breeding season (Sep-Jan) at higher altitudes Lesser Sooty Owl now lumped with Sooty Owl so is no longer a Wet Tropics endemic.

Additionally many distinct subspecies occur including: • Double-eyed Fig-Parrot • Crimson Rosella For further information visit Tropical Tablelands Tourism at: • Southern Boobook • Masked Owl www.athertontablelands.org.au • White-throated Treecreeper • Yellow-throated Scrubwren • Brown Gerygone • Yellow Thornbill Or contact the following friendly visitor information centres: • Yellow-faced Honeyeater • Eastern Spinebill Atherton (07) 4091 4222 [email protected] • Pale-yellow Robin • Grey Fantail Mareeba (07) 4092 5674 [email protected] • Satin Bowerbird • Bassian Thrush Kuranda (07) 4093 9311 [email protected] Whatever time of year you decide to visit there will always be Malanda (07) 4096 6957 [email protected] plenty of birds to see. Herberton (07) 4096 3474 [email protected] October to April may be our hotter and wetter months, but Ravenshoe (07) 4097 7700 [email protected] it is the time when the migrant species arrive from Papua Chillagoe (07) 4094 7111 [email protected] New Guinea including the beautiful Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Channel-billed Cuckoo and Common Koel. Many birds such as Noisy Pitta are also breeding at this time of year and are easier to observe as they search for food. During our cooler, drier, winter months (May to September) the Victoria’s Riflebirds are displaying and winter breeders such as White-eared Monarch can be easier to see. Tropical Tablelands Tourism During this period, Brolgas and Sarus Cranes are also found www.athertontablelands.org.au on the Tableland feeding on the agricultural fields. There are over 430 bird species in the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef

Southern Cassowary Australian Pelican Bush Stone-curlew Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo Yellow-spotted Honeyeater Pied Currawong Australian Brush-turkey Black-necked Stork Black-winged Stilt Black-eared Cuckoo Graceful Honeyeater Spangled Drongo Orange-footed Scrubfowl Black Bittern Red-necked Avocet Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Bridled Honeyeater - E Rufous Fantail Stubble Quail White-necked Heron Pacific Golden Plover Little Bronze-Cuckoo Yellow-faced Honeyeater Grey Fantail Brown Quail Eastern Great Egret Grey Plover Pallid Cuckoo Yellow Honeyeater Northern Fantail King Quail Great-billed Heron Little Ringed Plover - R Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Fuscous Honeyeater Willie Wagtail Magpie Goose Intermediate Egret Red-capped Plover Fan-tailed Cuckoo White-plumed Honeyeater Torresian Crow Plumed Whistling-Duck Cattle Egret Oriental Plover Brush Cuckoo Noisy Miner Leaden Flycatcher Wandering Whistling-Duck Pied Heron Black-fronted Dotterel Oriental Cuckoo Yellow-throated Miner Satin Flycatcher Freckled Duck White-faced Heron Red-kneed Dotterel Rufous Owl Brown-backed Honeyeater Shining Flycatcher Black Swan Little Egret Banded Lapwing Barking Owl Rufous-throated Honeyeater Restless Flycatcher Radjah Shelduck Nankeen Night-Heron Masked Lapwing Southern Boobook Dusky Honeyeater White-eared Monarch Australian Wood Duck Glossy Ibis Comb-crested Jacana Sooty Owl Scarlet Honeyeater Black-faced Monarch Pink-eared Duck Australian White Ibis Australian Painted Snipe Masked Owl Banded Honeyeater Spectacled Monarch Cotton Pygmy-goose Straw-necked Ibis Latham’s Snipe Eastern Barn Owl Brown Honeyeater Magpie-lark Green Pygmy-goose Royal Spoonbill Swinhoe’s Snipe - R Eastern Grass Owl White-cheeked Honeyeater Pied Monarch - E Australasian Shoveler - R Yellow-billed Spoonbill Black-tailed Godwit Azure Kingfisher Black-chinned Honeyeater Yellow-breasted Boatbill Garganey Eastern Osprey Little Curlew Little Kingfisher White-throated Honeyeater Apostlebird Grey Teal Black-shouldered Kite Common Sandpiper Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher White-naped Honeyeater Victoria’s Riflebird - E Chestnut Teal Letter-winged Kite -R Common Greenshank Laughing Kookaburra Blue-faced Honeyeater Jacky Winter Pacific Black Duck Square-tailed Kite Marsh Sandpiper Blue-winged Kookaburra Helmeted Friarbird Lemon-bellied Flycatcher Hardhead Black-breasted Buzzard Wood Sandpiper Forest Kingfisher Noisy Friarbird Pale-yellow Robin Australasian Grebe Pacific Baza Red-necked Stint Red-backed Kingfisher Little Friarbird Eastern Yellow Robin Hoary-headed Grebe White-bellied Sea-Eagle Pectoral Sandpiper Sacred Kingfisher Macleay’s Honeyeater - E Grey-headed Robin - E Great Crested Grebe Whistling Kite Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Rainbow Bee-eater Grey-crowned Babbler White-browed Robin Rock Dove - I Brahminy Kite Curlew-Sandpiper Dollarbird Chowchilla - E Horsfield’s Bushlark White-headed Pigeon Black Kite Ruff - R Noisy Pitta Eastern Whipbird Golden-headed Cisticola Spotted Dove - I Brown Goshawk Red-backed Button-quail White-throated Treecreeper Varied Sittella Australian Reed-Warbler Brown Cuckoo-Dove Collared Sparrowhawk Buff-breasted Button-quail Brown Treecreeper Ground Cuckoo-shrike Tawny Grassbird Emerald Dove Grey Goshawk Painted Button-quail Spotted Catbird Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Silvereye Common Bronzewing Spotted Harrier Red-chested Button-quail Tooth-billed Bowerbird - E White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Barn Swallow Crested Pigeon Swamp Harrier Little Button-quail Golden Bowerbird - E Barred Cuckoo-shrike Welcome Swallow Squatter Pigeon Red Goshawk - R Oriental Pratincole Satin Bowerbird Cicadabird Fairy Martin Diamond Dove Wedge-tailed Eagle Australian Pratincole Great Bowerbird White-winged Triller Tree Martin Peaceful Dove Little Eagle Gull-billed Tern Red-backed Fairy-wren Varied Triller Red-rumped Swallow - R Bar-shouldered Dove Nankeen Kestrel Caspian Tern Lovely Fairy-wren Crested Shrike-tit Bassian Thrush Wompoo Fruit-Dove Brown Falcon Whiskered Tern Fernwren - E Golden Whistler Russet-tailed Thrush Superb Fruit-Dove Australian Hobby White-winged Black Tern Yellow-throated Scrubwren Grey Whistler Metallic Starling Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove Grey Falcon Silver Gull White-browed Scrubwren Rufous Whistler Common Myna - I Pied Imperial-Pigeon Black Falcon Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Atherton Scrubwren - E Little Shrike-thrush Mistletoebird Topknot Pigeon Peregrine Falcon Galah Large-billed Scrubwren Bower’s Shrike-thrush - E Olive-backed Sunbird Tawny Frogmouth Sarus Crane Little Corella Weebill Grey Shrike-thrush Zebra Finch Papuan Frogmouth Brolga Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Brown Gerygone Australasian Figbird Double-barred Finch White-throated Nightjar Purple Swamphen Cockatiel Large-billed Gerygone Yellow Oriole Black-throated Finch Spotted Nightjar Red-necked Crake Rainbow Lorikeet Fairy Gerygone Olive-backed Oriole Plum-headed Finch Large-tailed Nightjar Lewin’s Rail Scaly-breasted Lorikeet White-throated Gerygone White-breasted Woodswallow Red-browed Finch Australian Owlet-Nightjar Buff-banded Rail Little Lorikeet Yellow Thornbill Masked Woodswallow Blue-faced Parrot-Finch Australian Swiftlet Baillon’s Crake Double-eyed Fig-Parrot Yellow-rumped Thornbill White-browed Woodswallow Nutmeg Mannikin - I White-throated Needletail Spotless Crake Australian King-Parrot Buff-rumped Thornbill Black-faced Woodswallow Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Fork-tailed Swift White-browed Crake Red-winged Parrot Mountain Thornbill - E Dusky Woodswallow House Sparrow - I Australasian Darter Pale-vented Bush-hen Crimson Rosella Spotted Pardalote Little Woodswallow Australasian Pipit Little Pied Cormorant Black-tailed Native-hen Pale-headed Rosella Red-browed Pardalote Black Butcherbird Great Cormorant Dusky Moorhen Pheasant Coucal Striated Pardalote Grey Butcherbird 327 species Little Black Cormorant Eurasian Coot Eastern Koel Eastern Spinebill Pied Butcherbird Pied Cormorant Australian Bustard Channel-billed Cuckoo Lewin’s Honeyeater Australian Magpie Mt. Lewis Road winds A boardwalk and bird Davis Creek flows over The Barron Falls Lookout its way up to 950m hide overlook the huge granite boulders and Wrights Lookout, a where upland rainforest swamp. The woodland surrounded by eucalypt short drive from Kuranda, species such as area around the car forest. There is a picnic both provide good Golden Bowerbird, park is often productive and camping area and birdwatching opportunities Chowchilla and Blue- and when the paper walking tracks. giving access to rainforest faced Parrot-Finch bark trees are Pale-headed Rosella, overlooking spectacular (Nov-April) are found. flowering, large White-cheeked views. Interpretive signage The road is gravel so numbers of lorikeets Honeyeater, White- and displays along the check the conditions and honeyeaters are naped Honeyeater boardwalk at the Barron before you go. attracted to the area. and Lemon-bellied Falls describe the park’s This birding area is part Crakes and rails can Flycatcher are found natural and cultural of the Australian Wildlife be seen around the here. Access is by a heritage. Look for Pied Conservancy property swamp, Northern corrugated gravel road Monarch and Yellow- Brooklyn Nature Fantail in car park. unsuitable for caravans. breasted Boatbill. Buff-Breasted Refuge. Paradise-Kingfisher Bird hide Lemon-Bellied Flycatcher Barron Falls in flood

Mt Lewis National Park Abattoir Swamp Davies Creek Falls National Park Barron Falls National Park

Squatter Pigeon, Red- Two short circuit walks winged Parrot and wander through dense Great Bowerbird are rainforest, where mound found around the builders Australian township especially Brush Turkeys and near the school. Orange-footed Bicentenary Park and Scrubfowl are common. Rifle Creek Rest Area Atherton Scrubwren, are also excellent areas Macleay’s Honeyeater to bird. Bakers Road, and Eastern Whipbird just south of Mt Molloy, are often spotted. Ask at leads to the cemetery the information centre for which is another good the latest tree kangaroo spot for bush birds. sightings.

Great Bowerbird Macleay’s Honeyeater

Mt Molloy Malanda Falls Conservation Park

Drive out onto the The crater lakes, Eacham causeway at the and Barrine, are tiny southern end of national parks with three the lake through a to 4 kilometre walks gate. This extensive around them. More man-made wetland than 180 bird species attracts thousands of are recorded. Double water birds including eyed Fig-parrot are Black-necked Stork. sometimes seen in small The woodland at the far flocks.Tooth-billed end of the causeway is Bowerbird build courts good for dry-country close to the track in birds. the breeding season (September – January). Look for Victoria’s Riflebird. Black-Necked Stork Lake Eacham

Lake Mitchell Crater Lakes National Park

Abundant waterbirds This unique extinct with White-breasted volcanic crater is a Sea-Eagle and Swamp roosting site for Harrier in the dry hundreds of Sarus season (September Crane and Brolga – December). in winter (April — Location off Chewko November). Best viewing Road at Walkamin. is at dusk when the birds Opportunity to see fly in for the evening flocks ofRed-tailed after feeding in the Black-Cockatoos nearby paddocks, or and Sulphur-crested early morning. Cockatoos in the surrounding paddocks and woodland forest.

White-Bellied Sea-Eagle Sarus Crane

Nardello’s Lagoon Bromfield Swamp

A tiny national park also The rainforest surrounds known as Nyleta Wet- of this iconic waterfall lands is home to more is home to Yellow- than 220 bird species. throated Scrubwren The two-storey bird and Bower’s Shrike- hide is the perfect place thrush along the 200 to spot wetland species. metre track. Located 5 kilometres south of Atherton off Herberton Road. Bird highlights are Magpie Goose, Plumed Whistling Duck, TOP BIRD WATCHING Pink-eared Duck and White-headed Stilt. DESTINATIONS ON THE

Bird hide CAIRNS HIGHLANDS Millaa Millaa Falls

Hastie’s Swamp Millaa Millaa Falls

A special piece of The car park and walk Drier western edge of the This beautiful rainforest remnant rainforest offers good viewing Tableland. Opportunities road has abundant harbours many of several endemics, are Painted Button- rainforest birds such as rainforest birds from including Fernwren, quail Little Lorikeet, Pale-yellow Robins. Emerald Dove and Bridled Honeyeater, Fuscous Honeyeater, Spectacular views over Wompoo Fruit-Dove Grey-headed Robin, Varied Sittella, Crested the Tully Gorge and to White-throated Chowchilla (best early Shrike-tit, and Eastern lovely picnic areas for Treecreeper, Fernwren in the morning) and is Yellow Robin. From bird watching. and Bower’s Shrike- habitat for Golden Wondecla travel two thrush along the Bowerbird. Keep kilometres on one hour walk (2.6 a lookout for the Herberton-Longlands kilometre circuit). Only occasional Southern Gap Road. Turn right 8 kilometres south of Cassowary. A popular onto Flaggy Creek Road. Atherton on the place for spotlighting Follow 15 kilometres of Kennedy Highway. possums as well. unsealed road to Kaban. Go straight ahead to Emerald Dove The Crater Eastern Yellow Robin Ravenshoe. Pale-Yellow Robin

Wongabel State Forest Mt Hypipamee National Park Kaban Tully Falls Road

Photos A, B, C, D, E, F, I, M, O, P: Keith & Lindsay Fisher © 2008 | Photos H, K, L, N: Peta Nott © 2008 | Photo G: Martin Willis © 2008 | Photo J: Ian Montgomery © 2008 www.birdway.com.au