Where To Go Birding Around Kalbarri

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Tara

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.

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

Zebra Finch

Mistletoebird

Singing Honeyeater

Zebra Finch

Port Lincoln/Australian Ringneck

Hotel Review: Palm Resort, Kalbarri

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Tara

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.

Surprise Corellas – Small Town Between Mt Magnet & Geraldton

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Tara

This was another lucky call of nature that led to a surprise sighting of some Little Corellas in the trees in a tiny Outback town somewhere between Mt Magnet and Geraldton.

There were blue-eyed crows too.

Not far from the road was a pond with breeding dragonflies and Zebra Finches and Galahs.

That’s the magic of the Aussie Outback, you never know what you are going to find! A local told us we had missed a small flock of Cockatiels by one day! It was sad to be saying goodbye to this vast wilderness but we were hoping the western coast would bring different and interesting birds that we haven’t seen yet.

Western Bowerbird (Chlamydera guttata)

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Tara

The Western Bowerbird (Chlamydera guttata) is a species of bird in the Bowerbird family. The species is a common endemic of Australia. It has a disjunct distribution, occurring in Central Australia and the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Male Bowerbird

Female This bowerbird is endemic to Central Australia and mid-central inland and semi-arid Western Australia. They can be easily seen at Nallan Station near Cue in Western Australia. See black dot on map below.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WESTERN BOWERBIRDS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Nice footage of Bowerbird dancing and calling for a mate.

Cue: Gateway To Western Australia’s Outback

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Tara

As one might expect, a country as large as Australia has a wide variety of eco-systems and species of birds. Many of these potential bird habitats are extremely difficult to access such as the Canning Stock Route. You need to be a very experienced 4WDer to make it out there safely.

Canning Stock Route

Fortunately the Outback town of Cue gives us a much easier way to access some stunning bird species such as Mulga Parrots, Major Mitchell Cockatoos, Bourke’s Parrots, Western Bowerbirds and some that are very familiar to pet bird keepers such as Cockatiels, Budgerigars and Zebra Finches. Seeing your pet bird’s wild cousins is an amazing experience and can give you a renewed interest in conservation and learning more about the bird’s behaviour. Check out the very impressive bird list!

Cue has no airport so most people would fly into Perth and drive. The roads are in good condition but you should avoid driving between sunset and sunrise as there is a strong risk of hitting kangaroos.

Location of Cue

You also need to beware of road trains and oversized mining equipment. They are preceeded by a warning vehicle which gives you plenty of time to pull over and let them pass.

Forget about your hotels points, there are only two places to stay in town:

Queen of the Murchison (I stayed there, review coming)

Murchison Club

Up until around 2010, most birders stayed at Nallan Station, about 13 km north of town, but they are no longer operating the station stay. Hopefully, they may open it back up again!

Cue has a “wild west” feel about it and an Outback charm all its own. The locals are very friendly and the town attracts birders interested in the wonderful Nallan Station which I will be blogging about separately. Meanwhile, here’s a few pics from Cue and surrounds!

Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Tara

The Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) (formerly Poephila guttata),is the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool moist south and the tropical far north. It can also be found natively in Indonesia and East Timor.

Since they have such a large range, you are likely to run into them in any part of Australia. To date, I have seen them at Nallan Station, at a few road side places in Western Australia and near Kalbarri.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Birds in Backyards

ABC TV Documentary (YouTube version embedded below)

VIDEOS

Western Australia – An Outback Journey From Esperance To Cue

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Tara

You never really appreciate the vastness of Australia until you drive it. After birding the forests, mountains and southern coast of Western Australia, the next destination after Esperance was Nallan Station outside Cue. This involved an epic journey of 1150 kilometers which seemed like forever but is really nothing compared to the whole of Australia.

There was no way I could drive that in one day so I decided to break the trip a little more than halfway at the mining town and former Gold Rush centre of Leonora. This meant the first day would be 390 km (4 hours) to Kalgoorlie for a lunch stop, then a further 235 km (3:25) to Leonora. The second day would be 512 km to Cue with a lunch stop at Mount Magnet.

There isn’t much to look at while on the road but it was worthwhile to keep an eye out for nomadic parrot species such as Major Mitchell Cockatoos, Budgerigars & Cockatiels. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to spot any parrots other than these guys in an aviary at a petrol station.

There are a few waterholes along the way, might be worth a look. You are more likely to see water birds and raptors. Lunch stops are few and far between. We ate at KFC in Kalgoorlie on the first leg (first cheap place I saw after buying fuel) and on the 2nd leg we got sandwiches at Mt Magnet which is an interesting little Outback town. Fuel is really expensive, figure on $1.70 – $1.85 a litre and always top up the car before leaving a town.

Birding Around Esperance

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Tara

Almost a year ago, I did a post on using Esperance as a gateway to the southern coast of Western Australia and Cape Arid National Park. A couple of months ago I finally had a chance to visit and try my luck at finding Rock Parrots. There are several places they are known to be found as shown on the map below. The Twilight Beach area is to the west of Esperance and a prime habitat. In the past, they have been seen near the pier right in town, but unfortunately at the time of my visit there was construction going on and the whole area was blocked for safety reasons. Then there is the Bandy Creek area to the east of Esperance which is the yellow highlighted section that has the red dot.

Esperance Rock Parrots

The scenery was gorgeous and we did see a few honey-eaters but no Rock Parrots. I had hoped the water around the windmill would have attracted some but no luck.

The next morning it was time to try Bandy Creek. This map has a bit more detail. You can see where the road ends, there is a car park there and a few trails heading off into the dunes that have the kind of bushes Rock Parrots would be attracted to.

This is a popular place for locals to go fishing and walk their dogs so there were a few people around. I went down to the beach, then walked back up to find a rock I could sit on and watch and listen. After about 20 minutes, I saw a flash of green as two small Rock Parrots (which I recognized as being similar in size to Elegant Parrots) shot out of a bush and flew over a sand dune. I attempted to follow but there is just no way I had the physical fitness to clamber up and down sand dunes and they escaped un-photographed much to my frustration! I waited a while longer hoping they would return but they didn’t. You can’t win ’em all!

Fitzgerald River National Park – Stunning Scenery But No Western Ground Parrots

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Tara

I knew it was a longshot but had to give it a go anyways. Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in Western Australia, 419 kilometres southeast of Perth. It was once one of the last two remaining habitats for Western Ground Parrots but recent surveys have failed to locate any here, leaving Cape Arid as the last remaining habitat.

FRNP can be approached via Albany and Bremer Bay in the west, Jerramungup and Ravensthorpe in the north and Hopetoun in the east. The only accommodation inside the actual park are campgrounds. If you want a roof over your head, you will need to stay in one of the towns just outside the park border. Most of the roads within the park are 4wd track only but the Hamersley Drive from Hopetoun is suitable for normal cars.

There is a nice picnic ground at Four Mile Beach with beautiful sea views. Culham Inlet is a good spot for water birds. A full bird list can be found here. Fees are payable at the unmanned entrance via an honesty box. You pay and tear off a receipt to display on your window.

The southern portion of Hamersley Drive is a sealed road that winds along a beautiful part of the coast between the park’s eastern boundary and Hamersley Inlet. This drive will take you to all the main recreation sites in the south-eastern corner of the park: Four Mile Beach, Barrens Beach, Barrens Lookout, East Mount Barren, East Mylies, Mylies Beach, Cave Point and West Beach. – See more at: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/fitzgerald-river#sthash.GZi9Iv2e.dpuf

I didn’t get very many shots here but here’s a few!

Albany – The Crossroads Of Western Australia’s National Parks

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Tara

Albany is the 6th largest city in Western Australia, but more importantly to the eco-traveler lies withing reach of several of Australia‘s top birding destinations and national parks. At around 420 kilometers from Perth, it’s too far for a day trip but can easily be added to a larger tour of Western Australia.

Coming from Stirling Range, it’s about an hour’s drive south to Albany and the beautiful Two People’s Bay Reserve. The main attraction for me was the chance to see Rock Parrots.

To help you find the best place to go birding for the species you are most interested in, here are some bird lists from Frank O’Connor’s excellent website.

Albany

Cheyne’s Beach

Fitzgerald River

Albany can be a good choice for a birder who is traveling with non-birding family members or friends as there are plenty of beaches for the non-birders to visit.

Two People’s Bay

ACCOMMODATION

Not a lot of choices for stays on points. Wotif.com tends to have the best deals for smaller Australian cities and towns. Here’s a sample of what’s on offer. Prices vary by season. Just taking a cursory look – Emu Beach Chalets are jumping out as “my kind of place”.

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Tag Archives: Western Australia