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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

  • Sacred Kingfisher (Image ID 35485)

    Sacred Kingfisher.   Photographer: Bill Harding

  • Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Image ID 30509)

    Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater.   Photographer: Emmy Silvius

  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Image ID 18867)

    Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.   Photographer: Mark Lethlean

  • Australasian Gannet (Image ID 20331)

    Australasian Gannet.   Photographer: Rob Parker

  • Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Image ID 32794)

    Scaly-breasted Lorikeet.   Photographer: Judy Leitch

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Road Trip Reports

Planning a birding road trip to unfamiliar areas involves a lot of searching on the internet, and sometimes a little luck, to come up with a satisfactory itinerary.  The aim of this resource is to share experiences with one another and make the planning exercise a little easier.  A common frustration of photographers is finding the good locations to get those special shots; these reports should help to get you in the right area to find that sought-after bird.

Part of planning a road trip is locating suitable accommodation. The reports should contain recommendations regarding accommodation to be useful; links to websites would be useful. These recommendations are those of the contributor; they do not indicate that BirdLife Photography endorses the recommendations.

Please share your experiences with the rest of us by sending a report to the website administrator, Rob Parker: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  You may include a few photos, or give the ID numbers of some of your images from the trip if you've already submitted them to our galleries.

Reports published within the last two years are member-only access; you must be logged in to see them.

Report submitted by Rodney Appleby

We decided to head up to Townsvillle over the Christmas break to spend a few days with Jake and then head up to the Cairns area to do some birding.  Sara has never been that far north, so it seemed a great opportunity.  Never mind heading to North Queensland in the wet season, which turned out to be a little wetter than normal, thanks to Cyclone Imogen which formed while we were up there.

Report submitted by Geoff Stapley

The following are my recollections of my first planned birding trip, albeit that the planning was done by someone else - David (“Chook”) Crawford, owner and driver/guide of Close-Up Birding Adventures.

Report submitted by Gary King

My recent trips would duplicate reports already on the website and submitted by Doug Castle and Tim Van Leeuwin so I am submitting a report from a different region of Australia.

This trip focused on the birds of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the savannah woodlands of the region, Lawn Hill Station and Boodjamulla NP.  The birds reported are the species I photographed and not necessarily all the species seen.

Report submitted by Tim Van Leeuwen

One of the Top End's iconic birds is the beautiful Gouldian Finch.  Once commercially harvested, they have now recovered somewhat and can be reliably viewed at the West Australian town of Wyndham.  The largest Goulidan Finch trapping year was 1958, with 38,649 birds exported; the last licensed trapping of Gouldian Finch occurred in 1981.

Report submitted by Tim Van Leeuwen

Any member lucky enough to visit Australia’s top end is never disappointed with the many birding opportunities. 

Mid last year I felt excited as my wife Mandy and I arrived in Derby for a four day stay before heading down the Gibb River road.  As I headed out early the next morning I had no idea that I was about to have one of those experiences when everything just comes together.

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