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