After leaving Kalbarri, we drove through the National Park and met up with route 1 headed south going through Gerladton. Here are some of the highlights we encountered along the way.
Kangaroos still within the park boundaries.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoos just south of the park.
Carnaby’s Cockatoos – not sure of exact location but about 2 hours before we reached Yanchep.
The Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) is a species of flowerpecker native to most of Australia (though absent from Tasmania and the driest desert areas), and also to the eastern Maluku Islands of Indonesia in the Arafura Sea between Australia and New Guinea. They also must live where there are trees and shrubs, so that they can build their nests. The bird eats a variety of different foods such as berries and assorted types of insects.
They are widespread throughout Australia so odds are you will happen upon one sooner or later. I first saw this one in the Murchison River Reserve near Kalbarri, Western Australia. Later, I saw one at Oxley Creek Common in Brisbane.
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Good mini-doco showing the relationship between Mistletoebirds and the Mistletoe plant.
There are several possible birding areas in the Kalbarri region. The town is basically surrounded by the Kalbarri National Park except on the west coast on the Indian Ocean.
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Kalbarri is accessible by car about 8 hours north of Perth. If you are entering from the south, there is a possibility of birding in the scrub south of the Rainbow Jungle at the end of Explorer Road. We were there around 5pm but didn’t see much.
Eremaea and Frank O’Connor have bird lists.
While not birding in the wild, the local council puts on a pelican feeding on the beach. The fish being handed out attract all kinds of sea birds.
The best birding was in the Murchison River Reserve just north of town.
Port Lincoln/Australian Ringneck
Jacky Winter
Blue-breasted Fairy-wren
Mistletoebird
Singing Honeyeater
Port Lincoln/Australian Ringneck
Conveniently located in the town centre, the Palm Resort offers a range of comfortable styles of motel suites and apartments just walking distance from the beach. Relax in 5 acres of established gardens with heated outdoor spa, 2 swimming pools, BBQ’s, tennis court, netted cricket pitch, lawn bowls, children’s playground and green lawns.
The rooms are simple but clean and fine for passing the night and prices are very reasonable.
If you are lucky, the local Galahs will be on hand to welcome you in!
There’s a pub and a fish & chip shop about 5 minutes walk away. Food is of the cheap and cheerful variety which is just what we like! Sorry foodies!
Bookings can be done on their website, Pointshound or several other hotel booking engines.
Gorgeous landscaped walk-in aviary with dozens of brightly coloured Aussie birds of many different species. They also have display cages for certain species. Good for getting a close up look at the birds you are hoping to see in the wild so you can identify them more easily. Also a great place to bring kids to see and appreciate the beauty of Australian birds (and a few exotics) in a family-friendly setting. More details on their website.
It’s about 10 km south of Kalbarri on Red Bluff Road. You’ll need a car as I didn’t see any sign of bus service.
By the time we got there – around 4pm, we only had an hour to look around and I could have easily stayed 2 hours or more as I like to sit back, relax and watch the birds go about their business. You can get really good photos and while the birds are not tame, they aren’t terribly skittish either. Some of the highlights were the Cockatoos, Princess Parrots, Gouldian Finches and more – see photos below!
They don’t have a conservation program. The main value in a walk-in aviary such as this is to become familiar with the various species, educate your kids and then move on to seeing them in the wild. The signs are nicely done and show the range of the birds.
There aren’t any chain hotels in Kalbarri. You can earn points by using Pointshound to book hotels such as Palm Resort where we stayed. Rocketmiles doesn’t currently serve this location but worth a try as they seem to be adding lots of new properties.
Zebra Finch