Australia Top End – Kakadu, Victoria River & Broome
Saturday 8th to Wednesday 26th August 2009
AA9024
Australia
is well-known for its incredible landscapes - the dry outback, rugged
mountain ranges, beautiful coastline and rainforests - but as a
birdwatching destination it offers the chance to enter another world of
fascinating species, varying from the exquisite to the bizarre. Our
wide-ranging itinerary begins in the tropical north at Darwin, where
mangroves and mudflats may reveal Azure Kingfisher, Green-backed
Gerygone, Red-necked Stint, Terek Sandpiper and Great Knot, and we will
then move on to the superb wetlands of Kakadu National Park, hoping for
sought-after species such as Black Bittern, Pied Heron, Black-necked
Stork and Plumed Whistling-duck. We will look for Hooded Parrots around
Pine Creek, before moving on to Katherine, where we have a chance of Red
Goshawk and Great-billed Heron. Travelling Westwards from Katherine to
the massive man-made Lake Argyle, we’ll pass through huge sandstone
escarpments and gorges at the Victoria River, home to Purple-crowned
Fairywren, White-quilled Rock Pigeon, Yellow Chat and Sandstone
Shrikethrush. Moving into Western Australia we will enjoy a boat trip on
Lake Argyle – which is famed for it’s abundance of waterbirds. Just a
short flight from Kununurra lies Broome, with it’s wonderful beaches and
extensive mudflats, where flocks of migratory waders mass. Here also
we’ll find the Dusky Gerygone and other mangrove specialities. But with
so much exciting birdwatching in prospect, we mustn’t forget Australia’s
wonderful array of mammals, because on this tour we may encounter
anything from Rock-wallaby to Bandicoot! A fantastic itinerary to
Australia’s ‘Top End’Days 1 & 2: Evening departure from London Heathrow; the next day will be spent in-flight to Darwin.
Day 3: Morning arrival in Darwin and
transfer to our hotel. Those who do not wish to rest may go birdwatching,
perhaps on the tidal flats and in the mangroves of Buffalo Creek. The
mudflats should yield a number of shorebirds including Grey-tailed
Tattler, Marsh Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Eastern Curlew. The
mangroves are usually good for Azure Kingfisher, Lemon-bellied
Flycatcher, Shining Flycatcher, Green-backed Gerygone, Rufousbanded &
Red-headed Honeyeaters, Mangrove Golden Whistler and White-browed Robin.
Overnight – Darwin
Day 4: The Darwin area is one of the
most exciting birding spots in Australia. We start the day with a visit
to two excellent areas: Howard Springs and Fogg Dam. There is a chance
to see Rainbow Pitta and a fine selection of other species, including
Nankeen Night-Heron, Orangefooted Scrubfowl, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove,
Rufous Fantail and White-gaped Honeyeater. Fogg Dam has an international
reputation as a superb birding site, with a high density of wetland
species and monsoon forest specialities such as Grey Whistler,
Broad-billed & Restless Flycatchers.
Overnight – Darwin
Days 5 - 7: On the morning of Day 5 we
travel to Kakadu, which is a splendid National Park of ‘billabongs’
(waterholes) and escarpment, home to a number of rare species such as
Red Goshawk, Banded Fruit-dove, Chestnut-quilled Rock-pigeon, Partridge
Pigeon and Sandstone Shrikethrush. A ‘Yellow Waters’ boat trip will
yield a multitude of waterbirds:Wandering Whistling-Duck, Green
Pygmy-Goose, Straw-necked & Glossy Ibises, Brolga, White-bellied Sea-
Eagle, Royal Spoonbill, Comb-crested Jacana, Black-fronted Dotterel,
Azure & Little Kingfishers, as well as both Freshwater & Saltwater
Crocodiles.
Overnights – Kakadu
Day 8: Leaving Kakadu we travel to Pine
Creek where Hooded Parrots and Northern Rosellas find shade in the Water
Gardens. Further south we visit the beautiful Edith Falls where it is
possible to have a refreshing swim and look out for Bar-breasted
Honeyeater, Silver-crowned Friarbirds and Red-winged Parrots.
Overnight – Katherine
Day 9: Today we head further south
along the Stuart Hwy to Mataranka where Red Goshawks have been sighted
and in fact were recorded breeding in 2007. Along the way we will detour
along the Central Arnhem Road and look for Black-chinned Honeyeater and
the northern form of the Crested Shriketit. At Elsey National Park
there’s a chance of Great-billed Heron as well as an array of
honeyeaters.
Overnight - Victoria River
Day 10: We start in the woodland around
Katherine this morning, looking for Black-chinned and Banded Honeyeater.
Pheasant Coucal is also possible and, as we travel west into the drier,
semi-arid tropics, we have more chances of seeing flocks of Budgerigars
and Cockatiels. We will of course be watching out for raptors such as
the Wedge-tailed and Little Eagles soaring overhead and the rare
Square-tailed Kite as we head for Victoria River.
Overnight - Ayers Rock
Day 11: Our birdwatching begins in the
Canegrass along the Victoria River. Beneath more imposing sandstone
cliffs here, we will look for two more ‘Top End’ specialities: the
exquisite Purple-crowned Fairy-wren and the Yellow-rumped Mannikin,
along with the more numerous Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Golden-headed
Cisticola and the gorgeous Red-backed Fairywren. We then head west into
dry woodlands that are the haunt of Red-browed Pardalote and
Black-tailed Treecreeper. If the Bloodwoods are flowering, there should
be Varied Lorikeets, competing with their larger and more raucous
cousins, the Rainbow Lorikeet.
Overnight - Timber Creek
Days 12-14: Timber Creek should be full
of flowering eucalypts and grevilleas at this time, attracting a large
variety of honeyeaters including Yellow-tinted, White-throated, and
Barbreasted. Other specialities here include Spinifex Pigeon, Buff-sided
Robin and Shining Flycatcher. After lunch we continue west across the
Western Australia border, heading for Kununurra and keeping an eye out
for swirling flocks of Star Finches and the powerful Black-breasted
Buzzard along with other birds of prey. On Day 13 we start before dawn
with a boat trip on Lake Argyle, famed for its tremendous variety of
waterbirds. We’ll visit an island noted for its population of Yellow
Chats and a myriad of migratory wader species before investigating
various inlets and bays of the lake for local specialities such as the
Sandstone Shrikethrush, along with the endearing Short-eared Rock
Wallaby. Next day we head a short distance north-west to the coastal
town of Wyndham. En route we’ll visit the Grotto where White-quilled
Rock-pigeons sun themselves on the rocky outcrops and Red-winged Parrots
feed in the Kapok trees. Later we head for the grassy plains and swamps
of Parry Lagoons, with chances of Red-backed Kingfisher, the rare Black
Falcon, Spotted Harrier and a good variety of shorebirds. Stately
Brolgas patrol the shallow water while flocks of Chestnut-breasted and
Pictorella Mannikins forage in the roadside grass.
Overnights – Kununurra.
Days 15-17: Today we take a short
flight to Broome, a popular tourist destination renowned for its
pearling industry and as a staging point for mass wader migrations. We
will visit the famous Broome Bird Observatory possibly in time to see
the first of the waders arriving. Then we’ll explore the mangroves at
Crab Creek for the endemic Dusky Gerygone and specialities such as
White-breasted and Mangrove Golden Whistlers, Mangrove Grey Fantail and
the Kimberley form of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Inland we will
travel across the extensive Roebuck Plains, home to the Australian
Bustard and where Red-backed Button-quail may
be flushed and the woodlands ring to the beautiful trilling of the
White-throated Gerygone.
Overnights – Broome
Day 18: We catch a flight to Perth and fly back to UK.
An optional 7 night South Western extension is available to see the endemic and special species of the region. Price and itinerary available on request.