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  South-east 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 flycatchers, scrubwens, crimson rosella, wompoo and rose-crowned fruit pigeons, 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, magpie lark, laughing kookaburra and other kingfishers, eastern and pale-headed rosellas, rainbow and scaly-breasted lorikeets, fan-tailed 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 dollar bird 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 south-east Queensland.  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:
      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).
   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 
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Birding also offered
during: other day-tours,
longer
tours, educational
camps,
excursions and presentations, conference
tours, customised
tours
Also see our pages on: wildlife of the Scenic Rim, Australian birds, and species seen on our tours
We generally don't take young children on birding tours that include other birding guests, in case the youngsters disturb birds others are trying to watch (some children - and of course some adults - find it very difficult to stand still for long and don't realise how loud their own voices are). However, we do enjoy including children in our tours generally, and if your child has a special interest, or if you would like a small group tour for a family (or a couple of families) or other group including children for a birding tour we are very happy to do this. We can also split the group with two guides when we enter the forest or wetlands.
Also see our pages on: wildlife of the Scenic Rim, Australian birds, and species seen on our tours
We generally don't take young children on birding tours that include other birding guests, in case the youngsters disturb birds others are trying to watch (some children - and of course some adults - find it very difficult to stand still for long and don't realise how loud their own voices are). However, we do enjoy including children in our tours generally, and if your child has a special interest, or if you would like a small group tour for a family (or a couple of families) or other group including children for a birding tour we are very happy to do this. We can also split the group with two guides when we enter the forest or wetlands.
With
small
group sizes (usual
maximum
is ten), this
is not a
hurried
herding of
tourists on
and off
buses, into
souvenir
shops, etc.
You will have
ample
opportunity to
tell us your interests, and let
us know any
time you want
to stop for
photos or
anything else
of
interest. Feel
free to ask as
many questions
as you like -
if we don't
know the
answers we
will suggest
ways of
finding out.We uphold the ideals of ecotourism and all our tours have achieved achieved advanced eco-accreditation