Hey Tweeters,
This last monday I returned from my month long trip to Australia after having an amazing time birding but also ready to be home again. All in all I saw 229 lifers out of the 241 species I saw. Considering the amount of birding I got do to this is pretty damn good. Birding while one of the more frequent activities wasn't always first on my parents' and my relatives' lists. All in all it was an amazing time!
Once I get the motivation I will write a full trip report, but for now I will give a brief synopsis. My mother and I started out with a week in Sydney and the surrounding area. I was first introduced to the birds of Australia in the suburb of Manly and in the Royal Botanical gardens (where I also learned to avoid tame Sulfur-crested Cockatoos looking for hand outs). After that we braved the left side of the road, visiting nearby national parks and birding spots including Royal National Park and the Blue Mountians, both amazing. I did the most birding during that portion of the trip.
My dad missed the connecting flight with us on the way to Cairns, so when we arrived there we had some extra time to explore the town parks and get to know the tropics. I still can't get over Orange-footed Scrub-fowl walking around all over the place, not to mention Brush Turkeys. After meeting my dad we headed into the Aetherton Tableland and met up with a tour guide named Alan Gillanders who took us around for a day showing us some of the great specialties up there. Next we explored the rest of the tablelands and went into the Daintree, managing to glimpse a Cassowary through the extremely dense vegetation of the forest. Finally we spent a day on the great barrier reef and a small cay that had Masked Boobies, Sooty Terns, Brown Noddies, and Lesser-crested Terns. By then it was time to head off to the Northern Territory.
This was probably the most disappointing section of the trip for me. The north of Australia operates mainly in terms of dry and wet seasons not spring, winter, fall, summer and the dry is now and is also the best time to go birding there. It was a little early into the dry but I am pretty sure I would have seen more with my own vehicle. My uncles home in Katherine was spectacular and the yard full of Great Bowerbirds and Blue-faced Honey-eaters among others. He was very supportive of birding but didn't grasp the the idea of early morning drives to remote places. I had missed most of the specialties around Katherine when we headed north to Kakadu. We only had two days in Kakadu, and because of its size, it was a bit of a whirlwind tour of the park. We spent most of our time visiting the tourist areas instead of the bird areas. Still we managed to get on a Yellow Waters Cruise Boat which took us out into an amazing wetlands teeming with birds, Co!
mb-crested Jacana's, Jabirus, and quite a few large crocodiles. After that we headed to Ubir rock and saw the aboriginal paintings there but where I didn't see any of the specialties of the rocky escarpment country. Still, I was having an awesome time as we headed to Melbourne and the last leg of our trip.
I knew Melbourne would be more of a family time, than a birding time, but I still made the best of every opportunity. My aunt was very supportive and took us our birding several times to places I didn't think we would make it to. Some highlights included finding some Hooded Plover (an endangered species) and finding myself surrounded by New Holland Honey-eaters with Red Wattlebirds making any number of loud noises and flycatching far overhead. By that time it was time to depart and while I was sad to leave I was also ready to be home.
I want to thank everyone who helped me with information, loaning of books, and everything else. I had a great time that was greatly improved by everyone's help. Thanks.
-Brendan
Brendan McGarry
Seattle, Washington