Birds of Channel Country Outback Safari

Pickup from your Mount Isa hotel at 6:30am begins a full day exploring this remarkable corner of outback Queensland. The morning heads north into the rocky hillsides around Mount Isa in search of the highly sought Carpentarian grasswren, alongside black-tailed treecreeper, diamond dove, little woodswallow, and grey-crowned babbler. The afternoon explores the surrounds of Lake Moondarra, a popular wildlife destination where purple-necked rock-wallaby, long-tailed finch, varied lorikeet, and diverse waterbirds are regularly encountered. Overnight at Abacus Motel, Mount Isa.

A final morning around Mount Isa searches for the Cloncurry subspecies of the Australian ringneck before the drive south to Cloncurry, with a lunch stop at Chinaman Dam offering excellent birdwatching including white-bellied sea eagle, Australian darter, sacred kingfisher, and double-barred finch. A stop at McKinlay, home of the famous Walkabout Creek Hotel from the Crocodile Dundee films, precedes the final stretch to Winton across vast grassy plains where distant flocks of budgerigar and Australian bustard are a regular sight. Roadside stops search for rufous and brown songlark and singing bush lark in their natural grassland habitat. Overnight at Matilda Motel, Winton.

The day heads south to Lark Quarry for a morning searching some of outback Queensland's most range-restricted species, including Opalton grasswren, rufous-crowned emu-wren, Hall's babbler, and pied and black honeyeaters if the eremophila is in flower. A peaceful lunch in the field is accompanied by red-capped robins and the resonant calls of crested bellbirds before a guided tour through the Lark Quarry Dinosaur Stampede monument, one of the most significant dinosaur trackway sites in the world. The day closes with an hour at the Winton sewerage ponds, a surprisingly productive location for plum-headed finch, Baillon's crake, black falcon, and restless flycatcher. Overnight at Matilda Motel, Winton.

A morning in the rugged beauty of Bladensburg National Park criss-crosses spinifex-covered hills, creek crossings, and dense mulga scrub in search of chestnut-breasted quail-thrush, red-winged parrot, pallid cuckoo, hooded robin, spinifex pigeon, and red-capped robin. After lunch in Winton the drive continues to Longreach, with stops at creek crossings along the way to discover what flora and fauna the watercourses have attracted. Overnight at Saltbush Retreat, Longreach.

Early morning birding at the Longreach sewerage ponds consistently delivers excellent species including cockatiel, white-winged and purple-backed fairy-wren, rufous-throated honeyeater, and little grassbird. After a late breakfast, a visit to the Qantas Founders Museum celebrates the story of Australia's most iconic airline before lunch and the drive to Windorah via Lochern National Park. The coolibah-lined watercourses of the park are prime habitat for splendid fairy-wren, Bourke's parrot, and crimson chat. An optional spotlighting session along the grassy plains this evening offers a chance to encounter outback nocturnal wildlife. Overnight at Western Star Hotel, Windorah.

A few hours of morning birding around Windorah precedes the long and rewarding drive to Birdsville. A roadside lookout provides excellent opportunities for white-backed swallow, and wedge-tailed eagles are a near-constant presence along the route. Lunch is taken in the vast silence of the outback, with only zebra finch and distant Australian ravens for company, before a stop at the Dreamtime Serpent artwork at Betoota, a significant piece of Indigenous cultural heritage set in the open gibber plains. The day ends with arrival in the iconic outback town of Birdsville. Overnight at Birdsville Hotel.

A full day exploring the areas around Birdsville, beginning with the banks of the Diamantina River just a short walk from accommodation in search of red-browed pardalote and the isolated caeruleus subspecies of red-rumped parrot, alongside large numbers of waterbirds on the Birdsville Billabong including cormorants, ibis, spoonbills, herons, and egrets. A visit to a stand of waddi trees just outside town offers the chance to encounter black-faced woodswallow and orange chat in and around one of Australia's rarest and most distinctive tree species. Overnight at Birdsville Hotel.

An early start heads north along the Eyre Developmental Road to Cuttaburra Crossing, a permanent water source in an otherwise parched landscape that reliably attracts Australian pratincole, red-necked avocet, white-winged triller, and tree and fairy martins nesting under the bridge. Lunch in Bedourie is followed by a walk along Eyre Creek for Australian owlet-nightjar, white-breasted woodswallow, black kite, whistling kite, and brown falcon. The day's standout target is the letter-winged kite, the world's only nocturnal raptor and one of Australia's rarest birds, occasionally encountered in breeding colonies of hundreds of birds in this remote landscape. Overnight at Desert Sands Motel, Boulia.

A morning walk along the Boulia Billabong after breakfast before the final drive north to Mount Isa. A stop near Dajarra searches a rocky hillside for Kalkadoon grasswren, the elusive spinifexbird, and the brilliantly coloured painted finch. The remainder of the day takes advantage of any remaining target species between Boulia and Mount Isa, with the day's final checklist review celebrating an extraordinary nine days across one of Australia's most remarkable and rarely visited birding landscapes. Overnight at Abacus Motel, Mount Isa.

After a final breakfast, transfer to Mount Isa Airport for your departing flight.