Tropical Birding in North Queensland

Depart Cairns and journey north to Cape Tribulation, one of the few places on Earth where two World Heritage areas meet – the Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. This dramatic valley, enclosed by Mount Sorrow and Mount Hemmant, traps moisture creating Australia's wettest and most biodiverse region. Walk rainforest and mangrove boardwalks searching for the iconic southern cassowary alongside wompoo fruit-dove, pied monarch, yellow-breasted boatbill, shining flycatcher, azure kingfisher, white-bellied sea-eagle and Pacific heron. Continue to Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge near Julatten for a two-night stay. Spend the afternoon exploring the lodge grounds where noisy pittas, pale-yellow robins, spectacled monarchs and multiple honeyeater species frequent feeders and water features.

Rise before dawn for the legendary Daintree River wildlife cruise. As mist rises from the water and rainforest awakens, search for the phantom great-billed heron – one of the world's largest herons and amongst Australia's most elusive birds. Cruise quiet mangrove creeks for little kingfisher, azure kingfisher, black bittern, Papuan frogmouth, and saltwater crocodiles basking on muddy banks. This famous cruise, referenced in birding guides worldwide, offers unparalleled tropical riverine birding. Return to the lodge for breakfast before driving to Mount Lewis. At 1,200 metres elevation, these highland rainforests harbour blue-faced parrot finches (wet season only), Victoria's riflebird performing spectacular displays, Bower's shrike-thrush, bridled and Lewin's honeyeaters, mountain thornbill, and both wompoo and superb fruit-doves. Optional evening spotlighting reveals barking owls, barn owls, calling Papuan frogmouths, Boyd's forest dragons, northern leaf-tailed geckoes, striped possums and green ringtail possums.

Depart Kingfisher Park and traverse the dramatic transition from highland rainforest through savannah woodland to Mabi forest – each supporting distinct bird communities. Explore the backroads, farms and wetlands around Mareeba township, investigating billabongs, swamps and creeks teeming with waterbirds. Search for magpie geese, black-necked storks (jabiru), brolgas, sarus cranes, Australian bustards, comb-crested jacanas on floating water lilies, laughing and blue-winged kookaburras, and numerous honeyeaters, robins, monarchs and fairy-wrens. Visit Granite Gorge to observe the endemic Mareeba rock-wallaby amongst weathered granite boulders. The surrounding riparian grasslands attract red-backed fairy-wrens, squatter pigeons, rainbow bee-eaters, dollarbirds, treecreepers and pardalotes. Continue to your Atherton Tablelands accommodation.

Explore the volcanic Atherton Tablelands, the high-altitude counterpart to the coastal Daintree. Begin at Hasties Swamp, a large seasonal wetland with over 220 recorded bird species. From the observation hide, scan for migratory waders, waterfowl, egrets, herons and raptors. Continue to Mount Hypipamee National Park, one of Australia's premier sites for the magnificent golden bowerbird. Males construct elaborate moss-covered bower structures up to two metres tall. The surrounding rainforest harbours southern cassowaries, eastern spinebills, grey-headed and pale-yellow robins, Lewin's and bridled honeyeaters, chowchillas (heard before seen), spotted catbirds and tooth-billed bowerbirds. Optional evening spotlighting may reveal green ringtail, Herbert River ringtail, Lemuroid ringtail and brushtail possums, and with exceptional luck, the rare Lumholtz tree-kangaroo.

Spend your final morning exploring the volcanic crater lakes region around Yungaburra. Ancient Lake Barrine, formed 17,000 years ago, is surrounded by pristine rainforest supporting an incredible density of birds. Walk forest trails tailored to target species including tooth-billed bowerbird, spotted catbird, Victoria's riflebird, double-eyed fig-parrot, Australian king parrot, white-throated treecreeper, yellow-throated scrubwren, and an impressive array of honeyeaters: Lewin's, bridled, dusky, scarlet, brown and Macleay's. Look for chowchillas, eastern whipbirds, three species of cuckoo-shrikes, robins, monarchs and grey fantails. Visit Peterson Creek in Yungaburra's town centre for a final chance to see platypus foraging in the clear stream or perhaps the rare Lumholtz tree-kangaroo in overhanging branches. Return to Cairns in the afternoon.