Budgies or Budgerigars to give them their full name, are nomadic. They follow the food and water. For most of the year they split up into small groups. This means that finding them in the vast expanse of Australia’s arid interior can be a bit hit or miss. However, as the standing water available in the bush dries up, these small flocks join together. They head to where there is a permanent source of this very necessary commodity. One of the places they head to is the small, western Queensland country town of Boulia.

The Wet Tropics  including the Atherton Tablelands and Cairns area has 15 endemic birds which are found nowhere else in the world. (see Sidebar) It also has many distinct subspecies including Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Southern Boobook, Masked Owl, Satin Bowerbird, White-throated Treecreeper, Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Brown Gerygone, Yellow Thornbill, Eastern Spinebill, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Grey Fantail, Pale Yellow Robin and Bassian Thrush. It addition it has some birds like Southern Cassowary which are found also in New Guinea and Papua but not anywhere else in Australia.

A 6-day/5-night trip exploring this great destination which boasts the largest avifauna in Australia. This tour visits many of the wide variety of habitats found in this region. We hope to see all the Wet Tropics endemics birds during the tour and a spotlighting trip should give us a good selection of nocturnal mammals such as tree kangaroos, platypus, possums and more. At this time of year many of the northern migrants are still here with the palearctic waders along the coast and birds down from New Guinea like the Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher. Led by an experienced and expert guide this is a great way of maximising your North Queensland wildlife experience.

A short trip visiting one of the major bird and wildlife areas of Cape York. The Cape York peninsula is one of Australia’s last frontiers and at this time of the year the road up from Cairns is often impassable so, to avoid getting bogged, or stuck on the wrong side of a river, we will be flying in and out of Lockhart River. This area boasts a number of diverse habitats including mangroves, heathland, rainforest, vine forest and coastal areas which offers lots to look at. Iron Range has a number of bird species that cannot be seen elsewhere in Australia such as the New Guinea ‘specials’ like Palm Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot and Yellow-billed Kingfisher and at this time of the year we are expect good views of the Papuan (Red-Bellied) Pitta and Black-winged Monarch.