TOUR 2 – WEIPA TO CAIRNS
Day 1 – Sunday 6 October - Meet in Weipa after Cairns flight
Our tour will formally begin in Weipa when we will meet you at the Weipa airport after your flight QF2478 from Cairns. [People on this tour will need to be at the Cairns airport by 9-30am at the latest].
One highlight of visiting Weipa is the only known mainland roost of frigatebirds. Large numbers of both Great and Lesser Frigatebirds roost on the western Weipa peninsula. Many come down to roost after sunset, just on dark, along the main road into town between the port facilities and Evans Landing. We will enjoy this show before heading to enjoy our first evening meal together. We will have a quick get-to-know-you before any last questions regarding the tour will be discussed. No doubt we will report on the highlights of the first tour!
O/n Albatross Bay Resort, Weipa
Day 2 – Monday 7 October - Birding around Weipa
Weipa on the far north-west coast of Cape York Peninsula is a great introduction to Cape York birding, with access to a wide variety of habitats. There are coastal dunes, wetlands, mangroves, patches of vine forest, gallery forests along the major rivers as well as the tall open Darwin Stringybark forests of the Weipa plateau.
Visitors also come to Weipa to see Spotted Whistling Ducks and Cape York specialities like Magnificent Riflebird. Local Stringybark forests are a refuge for the disappearing black-backed form of the Brown Treecreeper.
O/n Albatross Bay Resort, Weipa
Day 3 – Tuesday 8 October - Weipa to Iron Range
Today we travel east across the Cape to Iron Range National Park. PLEASE NOTE – Lockhart River and surrounds are a dry community; meaning absolutely no alcohol!
o/n Iron Range Cabins
Day 4 & 5 – Wed and Thursday 9 & 10 October Iron Range
An early morning departure allows us to spend the entire two days in and around Iron Range National Park, one of Australia’s premier wildlife refuges. From tall forest to heath to coastal bush, Iron Range has a diversity of habitat and a range of wildlife found nowhere else in Australia. We shall target such species as Northern Scrub Robin, White faced Robin, Yellow legged and Lemon bellied Flycatchers, Magnificent Riflebird, Trumpet Manucode, Frilled Monarch, Black winged Monarch, Tawny breasted, Green backed, Yellow spotted and White streaked Honeyeaters, Tropical Scrubwren, Yellow billed Kingfisher, Chestnut breasted Cuckoo, Fawn breasted Bowerbird, Red cheeked and Electus Parrots and the magnificent Palm Cockatoo. There is a large variety of other species that inhabit this area as well so bird call could take a while this evening…
Nocturnal Species abound as well. We will target Frogmouths and Nightjars as well as two cuscus species.
O/n Iron Range Cabins
Day 6 – Friday 11 October Iron Range to Musgrave
After some final birding in the rainforests of Iron Range National Park we begin a long day’s drive south to Musgrave.
O/n Musgrave Roadhouse
Day 7 – Saturday 12 October - Musgrave to Lakefield NP to Musgrave
We depart early to go birding in the northern sections of Lakefield National Park, then we’ll turn east towards Princess Charlotte Bay. Today we’ll search for two major targets: the beautiful and very restricted Golden-shouldered Parrot and the rare Red Goshawk. Other good species we’ll hopefully come across include Rufous-throated and Rufous-banded Honeyeater, Star Finch, Black-breasted Buzzard and Black necked Stork. At the end of the day we return to Musgrave for another chance of night-birding if required.
O/n Musgrave Roadhouse
Day 8 – Sunday 13 October Musgrave to Laura [Laura Rock Art] via Lakefield National Park
Today we will enjoy a drive through Lakefield National Park on our way to Laura. Lakefield is the second largest national park in Queensland, after the Simpson Desert. The dominant vegetation in the park is eucalypt woodland and gallery forest associated with waterways. Countless lagoons and waterways throughout the park provide many opportunities for wildlife watching and the park is well known for its populations of waterbirds such as the Brolga, Sarus Crane, Black-necked Stork, Comb-crested Jacana and Magpie Geese and, of course, crocodiles. In the woodland and grassland area the Agile Wallaby, Northern Nailtail wallaby and, if we are very lucky, Spectacled Hare Wallaby.
We will stop and bird when we can. Specifically, we will visit 'Old Laura' and 'Red Lily Lagoon' for the White-bellied sub-species of the Crimson Finch. We will search for Star Finch at Nifold Plain. Australian Bustard may also be found.
In the afternoon if time allows, we will take a tour to see some of the splendid Quinkan Art Galleries near Laura. Famous for its rock art, Quinkan Country contains a large and dramatic body of prehistoric rock paintings. These galleries have been identified as being between 15,000 to 30,000 years old and have been included on the Australian Heritage Estate and listed by UNESCO as being among the top 10 rock art sites in the world. o/n Laura Motel
Day 9 – Monday 14 October Laura to Mossman via Mt Carbine and Mt Molloy
Today we head south from the small township of Laura to Mossman.
As we drive southwards through dry savannah habitat we will make several stops for birding. A key target will be the Australian Bustard however we will keep our eyes open for raptors and parrots. We’ll also keep our eye open for good flowering habitat as we could hope to encounter some of the more nomadic species of honeyeaters.
Tonight we will stay at a working Cattle Station near Mt Molloy where we will enjoy a BBQ dinner.
o/n Wetherby Station
Day 10 – Tuesday 15 October - Mt Lewis and on to Mossman
In the morning we will make our way up towards Mt Lewis National Park. This park, with Higher altitude rainforest, is home to all the 12 “Wet Tropic” endemic species. A bonus is the possibility of Blue-faced Parrot Finch.
After a full morning on Mt Lewis we will stop at Mt Molloy for a huge burger lunch before driving down the road to the lowlands of Mossman where we will stay one night. We will have an early start the following morning for our Daintree River cruise.
o/n Mossman Motel
Day 11 – Wednesday 16 October Daintree River Cruise & Birding Mareeba Wetlands and Granite Gorge
Daintree is famous for its birdwatching river trips and rightly so. Our first task this morning is to drive for an hour to the Daintree River for a 6-30am boat trip. We will split into two groups and while one is on the boat trip the other will explore the village surrounds. Great-billed Heron, Little Kingfisher and Black Bittern are some of the target species, and are regularly seen on the river. Other sought-after species include Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Beach Stone-Curlew, Lovely Fairy-Wren Large billed Gerygone and Yellow Oriole.
We will have breakfast in the Daintree Village before a little birding around the township
Enroute to our tableland accommodation we intend to visit Lake Mitchell. This is an extensive wetland that provides habitat for Black Swan, Rajah Shelduck, Black-necked Stork, Pied Heron, Glossy ibis and Painted Snipe, Eastern Osprey, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Brown Goshawk and Spotted and Swamp Harriers. We will also make a stop for Big Mitchell Creek. This small patch of riparian vegetation has long been known as habitat for White-browed Robin however other species such as Fairy and White-throated Gerygones, Northern Fantail and Lemon-bellied Flycatcher can also be encountered here.
Our lunch stop will be the Granite Gorge Nature Park. Here is an excellent place to get great views of the Mareeba Rock Wallaby. In addition there are quite a few good birds that are common in the park; Peaceful Dove and Squatter Pigeon, Great Bowerbird, Koel and Channel billed Cuckoo, Blue winged Kookaburra, Red tailed Black Cockatoos, Red winged Parrot, a range of Honeyeaters including Yellow and White gaped and Helmeted Friarbirds, White bellied Cuckoo Shrike, Grey crowned Babblers. We’ll also keep our eye open for the spectacular Frill necked Lizard which is occasionally seen in this area. We will spend much of the afternoon here before driving further south to our accommodation at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge.
We’ll enjoy a dinner [and perhaps a beer] at our accommodation where we may be able to see some nocturnal visitors; Sugar Gliders and White tailed Rats plus Red legged Pademelons and Long-nosed Bandicoots.
o/n Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge
Day 12 – Thursday 17 October - Lodge, Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine, Curtain Fig etc
We will try some birding in and around our Lodge before breakfast and we should be able to some new species. Spotted Catbirds and Tooth-billed Bowerbirds are both resident as are Victoria’s Riflebird. We should also see some familiar southern species here; Lewin’s Honeyeater, King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas.
After breakfast we will visit the nearby Lake Eacham and then onto Lake Barrine. These two crater lakes are surrounded by rainforest and we will search for such species as Grey-headed Robin, White-throated Treecreeper [sub specie - minor], Chowchilla, White-eared and Pied Monarchs, Fernwren and Yellow-breasted Boatbill and Barred Cuckoo-shrike. On the waters of Lake Barrine there are usually good numbers of Great Crested Grebe.
The Curtain Tree Fig will also be visited. This is an outstanding example of a strangler fig within Mabi rainforest. The name "mabi" is derived from a local Aboriginal word for the rare Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo, the largest mammal found in this rainforest. Birds possible here include Bower’s Shrikethrush, Grey-headed Robin, Brown Gerygone, Large-billed Scrubwren, Pied, Spectacled and Black-faced Monarchs, White-throated Treecreeper, Golden Whistler, Eastern Whipbird and all local Cuckoos. Macleay’s Honeyeater is also a possibility.
We should also complete the fig tree double and visit the Cathedral Fig Tree. This tree is located on a rainforest island; that is one surrounded by grassland and other habitat. In the grassland we should add Golden headed Cisticola, Red backed Fairy Wren, Tawny Grassbird and perhaps some quail to our list. While in the forest itself we have chances for fruit doves and some of the Wet Tropics Endemics.
o/n Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge
Day 13 – Friday 18 October – Tableland birding
This morning an early start, straight after breakfast, with a fifteen minute drive to the nearby Bromfield Swamp. Here we will spend about an hour or so hoping to get some views of the Cranes that roost there; both species – Brolga and Sarus Cranes can be seen. This is also a good site for road side views of Quail and good for raptors hunting the grassland.
After breakfast we will meet our local guide for the day [and night], Alan Gillanders. Allan is one of Australia’s greatest naturalists and he will be taking us to some of the best birding locations within the wet tropics. We will target remaining Wet Tropic endemics; Grey-headed Robin, Bridled Honeyeater, Mountain Thornbill, Atherton Scrubwren, Fernwren, Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Spotted Catbird and Golden Bowerbird.
This evening after dinner at a local pub we plan to take a spotlighting excursion, searching for both birds and mammals. Wet Tropics endemic mammals should be in the menu; Green, Herbert River and Lemuroid Ringtails plus the chance of Lumholtz’s Tree-Kangaroo.
o/n Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge
Day 14 – Saturday 19 October - depart for Cairns – Day birding around Cairns
Much of this day will be spent birding within the greater area of Cairns city. We will bird a variety of sites – the order being determined on the day.
The Cattana Wetlands, a nature Conservation park established in 2009, should show us our first Green Pygmy-goose, Black Butcherbird Orange footed Scrubfowl and Crimson Finch. If we are very lucky we could see some Spotted Whistling Ducks – a species that relatively recently started immigrating to Australia from New Guinea – as it has been recorded here previously.
Near the airport there is a Mangrove boardwalk which provides us the opportunity to see Torresian Kingfisher, Shining Flycatcher and Mangrove Robin.
The nearby Centennial Lakes and Flecker Botanical Gardens are home to a variety of species; Olive backed Sunbirds, Yellow Honeyeaters, Pied Imperial Pigeon – to name a few.
And we’ll visit the Cairns Esplanade; surely one of the best paces in Australia to see migratory waders. The esplanade is also home to Double eyed Fig Parrots.
o/n Crystal Garden Resort & Restaurant, Cairns
Day 15 – Sunday 20 October - Tour ends with breakfast. [Michaelmas Cay option]
[Please note that there is an option, greatly encouraged, to remain in Cairns another day, and enjoy a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef, specifically Michaelmas Cay plus the outer reef. This boat trip offers great opportunities for snorkelling while on the sand cay you can see Common Noddy, Lesser Crested, Crested, Black naped, Sooty and Bridled Terns plus Masked and Brown Boobies and the chance for both Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds. Please advise at the time of booking if you are interested in this inclusion.]
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