Day tours - birdwatching

regent bowerbird in Lamington National Park

Southeast Queensland is one of the richest regions of Australia in terms of bird species. Every raptor of Australia and around half of all Australian bird species has at some time been seen here. Many southern species reach their northern limits here and many northern species reach their southern limits here or just below the border, and there are a few species that are found only in the border regions. Summer and winter migrants and nomadic species add to the diversity.

Rainforests with easily accessible walking trails are just a 90 minute drive from Brisbane and harbour many species, including regent and satin bowerbirds, green catbird, paradise riflebird, Albert's lyrebird, noisy pitta, eastern whipbird, Lewin's honeyeater, monarch flycachers, scrubwens, crimson rosella, wompoo and rose-crowned fruitpigeons, brush turkey and many, many more. Also nearby are wetlands (which can include great and intermediate egrets, glossy ibis, white-necked heron, royal and yellow-billed spoonbills, black-winged stilts, whistling ducks, black swans, Australasian grebes, cormorants, darters, pelicans, purple swamp hen, comb-crested jacana, magpie geese, black-necked stork, many others) and eucalypt forests (several honeyeaters, fairy-wrens, Australian magpie, butcherbirds, olive-backed oriole, magpielark, laughing kookaburra and other kingfishers, eastern and pale-headed rosellas, rainbow and scaly-breasted lorikeets, fantailed cuckoo and many more). Not all species will be seen on any particular day, and some will only be seen in certain seasons (e.g. channel-billed cuckoo, common koel and dollarbird are summer visitors only).

Your main guide will be Dr Ronda Green, who has conducted extensive research over the years in bird behaviour and ecology in Australian forests, especially those of southeast Queensland.

black swans at Eagleby Wetlands

We take a variety of guests on this tour, from complete novices to experienced birders. So that we can plan the best experience for you (and since our group size is small enough to do this) let us know at your time of booking whether your primary interests are:

seeing as many bird species as possible
seeing particular species (no guarantees that we can find them all)
learning about Australian or southeast Queensland birds and their ecology and behaviour
photographing birds
learning about birdwatching
interacting with birds (we don't normally feed birds on ecotours but there is one long-standing and well-regulated experience you can participate in),
simply spending time in beautiful forests, with birds as just part of a memorable experience.
seeing some other wildlife in addition to birds
spending a day birding and then being left at either Binna Burra or O'Reilly's to spend a night or more next to the rainforests and extensive walking trails of Lamington National Park (both have wonderful guest lodges and campgrounds)
(also tell us if you would prefer no children on the tour on the day you are booking for, or whether you have children who would like to join in

filming waterbirds at Redlands Indigiscapes

Our most frequent destination is Lamington National Park, usually with a brief visit to wetlands on the way but we can also concentrate on wetlands, mangroves, eucalypt forests or other habitats of your choosing. Some guests opt to come along for two or more birding day-tours with us, visiting different sites each day, or to join our 30day Australian wildlife overview tour, which includes many opportunities for birding in a variety of habitats.

If you would like a controlled interaction with some colourful birds, we can make O'Reilly's (at the edge of Lamington National Park) our destination for the day. Feeding birds used to be a free-for-all affair, but this could have negative effects on the health and behaviour of the birds being fed and on the surrounding ecosystems, so now it is done only in the presence of a ranger and following guidelines developed by Michelle Plant while conducting her thesis research on this subject. The walks from here (including the famous treetop walk, best experienced early in the morning before the crowds arrive) and the gardens around the lodge are also superb places to see a variety of rainforest birds and some from open habitats (e.g. fairy-wrens, eastern spinebill).

regent bowerbird andcrimson rosella at O'Reilly's

Binna Burra is a quieter lodge at the edge of the rainforests of Lamington National Park. Because birds are not fed, they tend not to come as close, but there is still a great variety to be seen (and heard) along the rainforest walks, the rainforest edge, and the neighbouring eucalypt forests. There is no canopy walk here, but there are also no strings of tourist buses arriving throughout the day.

We visit and enjoy both destinations frequently, so just let us know your preference. If you wish to spend a night or two, both Binna Burra and O'Reilly's have wonderfully comfortable and scenic lodge accommodation and also a campsite (permanent safari tents available at Binna Burra, or BYO tent to either place).

We can instead (or in addition if you book two or more days of birding) spend the day exploring eucalyptus forests and/or wetlands and/or coastal habitats

Bird-watching day-tours from Brisbane