Western Australia: Southwest Specialties

Western Australia: Southwest Specialties
October 2024

Due to geographic isolation and diverse habitats, the southwest of the state of Western Australia boasts several endemic species and subspecies. This nine-day small-group well-paced tour will focus on finding as many of these endemics as possible, while also enjoying a wide range of other interesting flora and fauna along the way.

Blue-breasted Fairywren is one of our targets on this trip.

Local endemic bird species that we will be focusing our attention on during the tour include Carnaby’s (Short-billed) and Baudin’s (Long-billed) Black Cockatoos, Western Corella, Red-capped Parrot, Western Rosella, Noisy Scrubbird, Western Bristlebird, Red-winged Fairywren, Western Fieldwren, Western Shriketit, Western Thornbill, Western Wattlebird, Western Spinebill, Gilbert’s Honeyeater (formerly known as Western White-naped or Swan River Honeyeater), White-breasted Robin, Red-eared Firetail, and the newest addition to the southwest Australia endemic list, Black-throated Whipbird (described as a new species in 2018 as a result of the split of Western Whipbird into two species – the other half of the split occurring in South Australia and now called White-bellied Whipbird). Other species that just about get out of Western Australia and are near-endemics to the state (and still Australian endemics) also form targets as they are unlikely to be found on other eastern tours, these include Western Yellow Robin, Rufous Treecreeper, Blue-breasted Fairywren, Western Whistler, and Spotted Scrubwren (a 2019 split from the White-browed Scrubwren complex). Due to recent fires in its previous stronghold, the likelihood of finding Western Ground Parrot is unfortunately very low, as this species, with a tiny remaining population, is pushed nearer to the brink of extinction.

One of the toughest birds to see in all of Australia; we will hope to see Noisy Scrubbird well again, this is one seriously tough bird, but we have a great record of seeing them on our tours.

Additional species we will also be looking for include the Australian endemics Malleefowl, Square-tailed Kite, Banded Stilt, Hooded Dotterel, Rock Parrot, Elegant Parrot, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Splendid Fairywren, and the near-endemic Fairy Tern. The isolation of southwestern Australia has led to a high degree of endemism, also at the subspecies level, and we will try to see as many of these as possible in case of potential future splits, such as (Western) Scarlet Robin and Western Shriketit. This tour will prove interesting for those participants who have been birding on the Australian East Coast and/or in Tasmania and are interested in the possibility of some potential future armchair ticks!

A much-hyped potential split into its own species the Western Shriketit is a stunning bird and worth seeing regardless what happens to its taxonomy.

For those wishing to explore Australia further, this tour can be combined with our other Australian tours: Tasmania – Endemics and the Orange-bellied Parrot, Eastern Australia: from the Outback to the Wet Tropics, and Northern Territory – Top End Birding. From 2022 our new Northern Territory – Alice Springs Birding tour will precede this Western Australia tour and is a perfect combination. All five of our Australian birdwatching tours could be combined into one long tour, or you could just do one or two (or more!), whatever suits your time. We can also arrange further extensions (e.g., sightseeing trips to Sydney, Uluru, etc., and pelagic trips) if you wish.

Itinerary (9 days/8 nights)

Day 1. Arrival in Perth

Morning arrival into Perth, if not arrived ahead of the tour starting. We will meet in the afternoon and spend the late afternoon birding around Perth, including near to our hotel, adjacent to the famous grounds of the Kings Park and Botanical Gardens, within the city. If we have time, we will take a walk into the park, where we will hope to connect with the first of the southwestern endemics, Western Spinebill and Western Wattlebird, as well as more widespread White-cheeked, New Holland, and Singing Honeyeaters and the huge and ever-vocal Red Wattlebird. Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo could be present, feeding in the pine trees, and we will likely find Little Corella, Australian Ringneck, Laughing Dove (introduced from Africa/India), and Rainbow Lorikeet and Laughing Kookaburra (both introduced from eastern Australia). Passerines here may include Australia’s smallest bird, the tiny Weebill, Australian Reed Warbler, and Little Grassbird, while waterbirds may include the beautiful Nankeen Night Heron and the stately Black Swan. We may also visit other sites within the city depending on local flowering conditions.

Overnight: Perth

Day 2. Perth to Dryandra Woodland

We will likely spend the early morning birding around Perth, seeing some of the above species and others. If tidal conditions allow, we may find Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers, Great and Red Knots, and Pacific Golden and Grey Plovers, among others. We will also check out some of the lakes in and around the city before we head south. The waterbodies here may harbor a late Freckled Duck if we are very lucky but other species likely include Hardhead, Blue-billed Duck, and Hoary-headed Grebe. Lakeside vegetation may hold Little Grassbird, Australian Reed Warbler, Grey Fantail and Spotless Crake. We will also keep our eyes peeled skywards for any raptors that may be overhead.

Spotless Crakes are often shy and retiring, but occasionally, with patience, they can show well.

After a late breakfast we will leave Perth and head south towards the Dryandra Woodland area, keeping a look out for Baudin’s Black and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos along the way. After lunch we will check in to our accommodation for the next couple of nights and then head out for an afternoon birding in the local vicinity. This is one of the prime birding sites in the region, so we want to do it justice over the next couple of days.

Overnight: Narrogin

Day 3. Full day at Dryandra Woodland

The woodland consists of an interesting mix of Eucalyptus (jarrah, wandoo, and marri), with a good native shrub layer. We will spend the full day in and around the woodland and will look for some of the area’s specialties, such as Western Yellow Robin, Rufous Treecreeper, Western Whistler, Blue-breasted Fairywren, Western Thornbill, Spotted Scrubwren, and Western Shriketit. We will also look for ‘the’ special mammal found at Dryandra – the rare Numbat.

An exceptionally rare and range-restricted endemic mammal – Numbat. Unusually for an Australian mammal, this species is diurnal, spending its days hunting for termites.

There are plenty of birds to look for around the huge woodland, and we will focus on finding the above birds and other exciting species such as Painted Buttonquail, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brown Goshawk, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, Red-capped Parrot, Western Rosella, Regent Parrot, Elegant Parrot, Brush Bronzewing, Black-faced Cuckooshrike, Western Spinebill, and Tawny-crowned, Yellow-plumed, Brown, Brown-headed, White-cheeked, New Holland, White-eared, and Gilbert’s Honeyeaters, Restless Flycatcher, and Splendid Fairywren.

After the sun goes down, we will take a look around for some of the woodland’s nocturnal creatures, such as Bush Stone-curlew, Australian Boobook (formerly called Southern Boobook), Eastern Barn Owl, Australian Owlet-nightjar, and Tawny Frogmouth. At this time, we will also be looking out for some of the area’s many mammals such as Short-beaked Echidna (sometimes also seen during the daytime too), Woylie, Western Brush Wallaby, Tammar Wallaby, and Western Grey Kangaroo.

Overnight: Narrogin

Day 4. Dryandra Woodland to Stirling Range National Park

We will spend the morning back in Dryandra Woodland or another nearby interesting site, focusing on finding the aforementioned species and others that we may still be looking for, or want to see again after our last couple of days.

As the day progresses, we will continue south to the Stirling Range National Park, an area renowned for its impressive flora and pretty landscape, as well as plenty of avian targets. While here we will search for Black-throated Whipbird, Southern Scrub Robin, Western Spinebill, Gilbert’s and Purple-gaped Honeyeaters, Western Yellow Robin, Blue-breasted Fairywren, and Western Fieldwren.

Overnight: Amelup

Western Spinebill is one seriously beautiful honeyeater.

 Day 5. Stirling Range National Park to Cheynes Beach

We will spend the morning birding at Sterling Range, seeking out those species referred to above but also many others, such as Square-tailed Kite, Spotted Harrier, Little Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Elegant Parrot, Regent Parrot, Rufous Treecreeper, Southern Emu-wren, Red-winged Fairywren, White-breasted Robin, (Western) Scarlet Robin, Western Thornbill, Western Shriketit, and Red-eared Firetail.

After our birding session here, we will travel down to the south coast township of Cheynes Beach, along the way looking out for interesting species such as White-necked Heron, Banded Stilt and other interesting shorebirds/waders. Cheynes Beach is home to some great (and very difficult) birds, and we will start looking for these as soon as possible after our arrival and check in for our two night stay here.

Overnight: Cheynes Beach

Day 6. Full day at Cheynes Beach

A full day birding the Cheynes Beach area for three of Australia’s toughest, most skulking birds: Noisy Scrubbird, Western Bristlebird, and Black-throated Whipbird (a different subspecies from that at Stirling Ranges and a much talked-about potential further future split). These birds are difficult to see, but we will put all of our effort into securing views of them all during the course of the day.

The heathland at Cheynes Beach is beautiful and occasionally one of the major skulkers shows well, such as this Western Bristlebird.

There are also plenty of other species to look for in the area, such as Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Spotted Harrier, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Brush Bronzewing, Southern Emu-wren, Red-winged Fairywren, Spotted Scrubwren, Inland Thornbill, White-cheeked Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, White-breasted Robin, Dusky Woodswallow, and Red-eared Firetail.

Weather permitting, at night we will look and listen for Tawny Frogmouth, Australian Boobook, and Spotted Nightjar, as well as the area’s nocturnal creatures such as Quokka, Western Ringtail Possum, the tiny Honey Possum (sometimes possible during the day too – they are tiny!), Western Brush Wallaby, and Southern Brown Bandicoot.

Overnight: Cheynes Beach

Day 7. Cheynes Beach to Augusta

We will spend the early morning birding around Cheynes Beach again, enjoying views of some of the above species and mopping up any others we may still want to try and see. We will then make our way west along the spectacularly forested coast with giant red tingle and karri trees towards Augusta. With a stop at Lake Muir Nature Reserve along the way we may find a selection of interesting wildfowl and waders (very much depending on water levels), such as Banded Stilt, Eurasian Coot, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White-faced Heron, Blue-billed Duck, Freckled Duck, and Chestnut Teal. More secretive species around the lake shore include Spotless Crake, Black-backed Bittern, and Australasian Bittern.

Regardless of water levels, the woodland surrounding the lake is home to a population of Western Corella, known as ‘Muir’s Corella’, which is an endemic and isolated subspecies and worth looking for. Other birds possible here include Emu, Carnaby’s, Baudin’s, and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Western Rosella, Australian Ringneck, Brown Quail, Square-tailed Kite, Western Spinebill, Gilbert’s Honeyeater, Southern Emu-wren, White-winged Triller, Restless Flycatcher, Western Yellow Robin, (Western) Scarlet Robin, and Spotted Pardalote. We will arrive in Augusta in time to freshen up before visiting the local award-winning fish restaurant.

Overnight: Augusta

Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos can sometimes be found feeding on spilt grain on the side of the remote roads.

Day 8. Augusta to Busselton

The morning will be spent birding around the rugged coastline of the Cape Leeuwin area, pretty much the most southwesterly point of this huge continent-country where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. We will look for seabirds here, such as Bridled Tern, Fairy Tern, Flesh-footed, Hutton’s, and Little Shearwaters, Southern Giant and Northern Giant Petrels, and Indian Yellow-nosed, Black-browed, and Shy Albatrosses. Much depends on what the weather is doing as to what is possible here over the water on any given day.

Along the coast we will look for Sooty and Pied Oystercatchers, Hooded Dotterel, Grey-tailed Tattler, Far Eastern Curlew, Pacific Reef Heron, Rock Parrot, Southern Emu-wren, and Splendid Fairywren.

After birding here, we will slowly wind our way up the coast, checking our areas of Banksia, jarrah, and marri woodland, with the hopes of seeing more black cockatoos, and Western Shriketit. We will stop in the picturesque Margaret River for lunch and will arrive in the Busselton area in the afternoon for the final night of the tour.

Overnight: Busselton

Hooded Dotterel is considered Vulnerable (BirdLife International), which is not surprising, it has a lot of recreational pressure on its breeding grounds (sandy beaches) but we will hope to find this beautiful shorebird during the tour.

Day 9. Busselton to Perth, departure

Our final morning will be spent checking out some areas around Busselton where we often find interesting shorebirds and waterfowl. We will then commence the return journey back to Perth keeping our eyes peeled for anything interesting we may still want to see.

We will arrive in Perth mid-afternoon where the tour will conclude.

Overnight: Not included

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors.

Western Australia: Southwest Specialties Trip Report, October 2023

12 – 20 OCTOBER 2023

 By Andy Walker

All fairywrens are stunning little birds, the Red-winged Fairywren is no different and is only found in the extreme southwest of Australia. This makes it a big target on our Western Australia bird tour and is always a popular bird, given how beautiful it is.­

Overview

This birding tour of Western Australia started in Perth on the 12^th of October 2023 and ended back there on the 20^th of October 2023. The tour focused on the endemic birds of Southwest Australia, as well as a great number of more widespread Australian endemic birds. During this Western Australia bird tour we birded at Lake Monger Reserve, Herdsman Lake, Foxes Lair Nature Reserve, Dryandra Woodland, Stirling Range National Park, Cheynes Beach, Lake Muir, Cape Leeuwin, Margaret River, Busselton, and Nairns.

We recorded 154 bird species on this Western Australia birdwatching tour, (two of these were heard only). Some of the highlights seen included Noisy Scrubbird, Western Bristlebird, Black-throated Whipbird, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, Baudin’s Black Cockatoo, Western Corella, Western Rosella, Red-capped Parrot, Regent Parrot, Rock Parrot, Elegant Parrot, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Square-tailed Kite, Australian Hobby, Red-winged Fairywren, Blue-breasted Fairywren, Splendid Fairywren, Southern Emu-wren, Spotted Scrubwren, Western Thornbill, Western Gerygone, Western Fieldwren, Western Spinebill, Gilbert’s Honeyeater, Western Shriketit, White-breasted Robin, Western Yellow Robin, Scarlet Robin, Rufous Treecreeper, Western Whistler, Hooded Dotterel, and Banded Lapwing. In addition to the incredible birds seen, we also found a great selection of other animals, such as Numbat, Short-beaked Echidna, Western Grey Kangaroo, Southern Right Whale, Dugite, (Southwestern) Carpet Python, and several other reptiles. Bird and animal lists for this Western Australia birding tour follow the report.

During our Western Australia birding tour, we focused on the endemic species and subspecies found in the region, such as the regionally endemic and geographically isolated campbelli subspecies of Scarlet Robin, a potential future split.

Detailed Report

Day 1, 12^th October 2023. Arrival in Perth

We arrived in Perth in the late afternoon and had a group welcome meal in the evening, discussing the plans for the coming week of birding in the bird-filled southwest of Australia.

Day 2, 13^th October 2023. Birding Perth and travel to Narrogin

We spent the morning birding at a couple of sites in Perth city. Our first stop, at Lake Monger Reserve, gave us lots of waterfowl, including Musk Duck, Blue-billed Duck, Hardhead, Pink-eared Duck, Hoary-headed Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Dusky Moorhen, Australian Pelican, Black Swan, and Little Black Cormorant. In the vegetation surrounding the lake we noted Straw-necked Ibis, Australian Raven, Willie Wagtail, Little Corella, Rainbow Lorikeet, Red Wattlebird, Brown Honeyeater, and Australian Reed Warbler.

After our birding at Lake Monger Reserve, we moved the short distance to nearby Herdsman Lake, where we had excellent looks at stunning breeding plumage Great Crested Grebes and Australasian Grebes. Additionally, we had very close looks at Pink-eared Duck, and good views of Australian Shoveler, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Duck, Australian Pelican, Australasian Swamphen, Little Egret, Great Egret, Australian White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Swamp Harrier, Whistling Kite, and Osprey. Meanwhile, Sacred Kingfisher, Australian Reed Warbler, Silvereye, Singing Honeyeater, Australian Magpie, and Little Grassbird were all seen fleetingly. One of the highlights of our birding at Herdsman Lake was finding a family group of roosting Tawny Frogmouths, which showed wonderfully – an early tour highlight, for sure!

Tawny Frogmouth,showing how well camouflaged they can be, was a great start to the tour!

We left Perth in the late morning and made our way to Narrogin for our two-night stay. Along the way we made a lunch stop at the village of Wandering, where we found Nankeen Kestrel, Australian Ringneck, a stunning male Western Rosella, Western Gerygone, Grey Fantail, and Tree Martin.

After a brief break to check in at our B&B we visited Foxes Lair Nature Reserve, right on the edge of Narrogin, here we found a pair of Square-tailed Kites that showed incredibly well in the beautiful late afternoon sunlight. We then also had good looks at the tiny Weebill, Elegant Parrot, Australian Ringneck, Red-capped Parrot, and Gilbert’s Honeyeater, as well as a stunning male Scarlet Robin, which was glowing in the last rays of the sun.

We enjoyed some excellent views of the gorgeous Square-tailed Kite in the late afternoon glow.

Day 3, 14^th October 2023. Birding Dryandra Woodland

We spent our morning birding session exploring Dryandra Woodland. As soon as we arrived in the woodland we heard the distinctive high-pitched call of Purple-crowned Lorikeet. We set off to get into a better position to look for them and soon thereafter we were enjoying good views of these attractive small lorikeets. While watching the lorikeets we also got lots of other target species come into our view, such as Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, Western Yellow Robin, Rufous Treecreeper, Western Whistler, Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, Brown-headed Honeyeater, Gilbert’s Honeyeater, Varied (Black-capped) Sittella, Striated Pardalote, Spotted Scrubwren, Inland Thornbill, and Shining Bronze Cuckoo. Both Collared Sparrowhawk and Peregrine Falcon were noted overhead, causing a bit of alarm amongst the other birds!

An attractive male Blue-breasted Fairywren gave some close views.

We moved deeper into the woodland, finding our first Shingleback Lizard and Western Grey Kangaroos of the tour. Then a few more interesting bird species came our way, including Bush Stone-curlew (a pair with a young baby), Blue-breasted Fairywren, Western Thornbill, Western Gerygone, Tree Martin, Grey Shrikethrush, Rufous Whistler, Jacky-winter, Grey Currawong, Australian Magpie, Australian Raven, and Rainbow Bee-eater. Here, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Brown Goshawk were overhead too.

While birding at Dryandra Woodland, we had incredible close looks at several Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos as they came to a waterhole to drink.

After lunch and a siesta, we went back into Dryandra Woodland for an afternoon birding session. We saw many of the birds listed above, with the addition of a couple of species and improved looks at others, including Western Spinebill and Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo. In addition to the great birds, we also saw the Endangered (IUCN) Numbat (for some people in the group), Short-beaked Echidna, lots of Western Grey Kangaroos, (Gould’s) Sand Goanna, and two snakes, a Dugite and a (Southwestern) Carpet Python.

It’s always exciting to see one of Australia’s “strange” animals, and Short-beaked Echidna certainly ticked that box!

Day 4, 15^th October 2023. Birding Dryandra Woodland and travel to Stirling Range National Park

We headed back to Dryandra Woodland in the morning (finding a pair of Banded Lapwings along the way), and what a great morning we had. We drove some roads around the woodland and found another Numbat, this one showed much better than the one we’d briefly seen the previous day, and everyone managed to see this one well. We also enjoyed watching a mother Western Grey Kangaroo with a joey in her pouch, and we had further looks at (Gould’s) Sand Goanna – a sunbathing individual soaking in the first rays of the day. All very exciting!

After enjoying seeing the Numbat and other critters, we focused on the birds of Dryandra Woodland once again, and had a really enjoyable walk through a patch of the woodland that has served us well on past tours. Today was no exception, and we found one of the big trip targets, the recently split Western Shriketit. We also found Restless Flycatcher, Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo, Rufous Treecreeper, Scarlet Robin, Rainbow Bee-eater, Red-capped Parrot, and several pairs of nesting Purple-crowned Lorikeets.

We saw a Numbat foraging for termites while in Dryandra Woodland.

After finishing our birding at Dryandra Woodland, we commenced our journey to Stirling Range National Park. Along the way we found several notable birds, and these included Peregrine Falcon (a perched pair), Nankeen Kestrel, Black-shouldered Kite, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Chestnut Teal (a pair with very young ducklings), Black-fronted Dotterel, White-faced Heron, White-winged Triller, Rufous Songlark, Australian Pipit, and Pallid Cuckoo.

We enjoyed great views of a pair of Western Shriketits in Dryandra Woodland.

Once we arrived at our accommodation at Stirling Range National Park, we took a brief late afternoon walk around the grounds. It was quite late, but we had excellent looks at several Regent Parrots coming into a water bath to drink, along with Gilbert’s Honeyeater, Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, New Holland Honeyeater, and a brief Blue-breasted Fairywren. A fitting end to a great day’s birding in Western Australia.

Day 5, 16^th October 2023. Birding Stirling Range National Park and travel to Cheynes Beach

We spent the morning birding around Stirling Range National Park. As we made our way to our first site within the park, we got distracted by several Emus. The first few were quite nervous, but the others, seen a bit later, showed nicely. We also had a flock of Regent Parrots, Rufous Songlark, Brown Falcon, and Grey Butcherbird. On arrival at our main morning birding site, we got several new birds, including Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, White-cheeked Honeyeater, Splendid Fairywren, and Southern Emu-wren. After enjoying these species, we saw the main target, Western Fieldwren, and it showed very well for us. Nankeen Kestrel and Wedge-tailed Eagle were overhead too. As we drove back to get a late breakfast, we found another gorgeous (Southwestern) Carpet Python and our first Western Bluetongue, a lizard full of character!

This Western Fieldwren performed brilliantly for us while we birded Stirling Range.

After our late breakfast we visited another section of Stirling Range National Park, where we found Southern Emu-wren, Western Spinebill, Brown Falcon, and more Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters. After this short birding session, we made our journey down to Cheynes Beach. Several stops along the way yielded Red-necked Avocet, Pied Stilt, Silver Gull, Australian Shelduck, Grey Teal, Hoary-headed Grebe, Grey Butcherbird, Yellow-throated Miner, Grey Fantail, and displaying Brown Songlarks.

We took a short walk near our accommodation at Cheynes Beach, where we found several new birds, including White-breasted Robin, Red-winged Fairywren, Brown Quail, Brush Bronzewing, Red-eared Firetail, and our best looks so far of Common Bronzewing and Splendid Fairywren. A King’s Skink looked rather impressive hiding in the undergrowth, our first of many over the coming days, and we had plenty of Western Grey Kangaroos keeping on top of the lawn cutting! Looking out along the beach we found Silver Gull, Greater Crested Tern, Australasian Gannet, Common Sandpiper, and Sooty Oystercatcher.

Day 6, 17^th October 2023. Birding Cheynes Beach

We spent the morning walking around the coastal heathland at Cheynes Beach. White-cheeked Honeyeaters were abundant, and many Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos were flying around. We tried to concentrate on finding the three tough species of the region. Noisy Scrubbird was, unsurprisingly, heard but not seen, with a bird calling from deep within some impenetrable heath. Western Bristlebird was the first of the three skulkers to show, a singing bird which then started foraging along a shady section of sand dune. After enjoying the sighting of this one we found Black-throated Whipbird. This bird moved around us giving fleeting and frustrating glimpses, before it then clambered up to a song perch and belted out a burst of its pretty song for us.

Western Bristlebird was foraging along a shady section of the sand dunes and showed well.

While birding here, we also noted Spotted Scrubwren, Southern Emu-wren, Red-winged Fairywren, New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird, and Silvereye. Several raptors were moving around the local area, including White-bellied Sea Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Collared Sparrowhawk, Brown Falcon, Nankeen Kestrel, and Australian Hobby. The heat started to build considerably and so we took a break during the middle of the day.

Black-throated Whipbird initially gave us the run-around, but eventually showed nicely as it sang from an exposed perch.

When we met for our afternoon birding session, we were greeted by very strong winds which made birding almost impossible, the sand from the beach and dunes was getting whipped up and blown all around too. It was all rather inhospitable! We took a drive around the village trying to find some shelter from the wind, and some birds to look at, but not a lot was braving the wind. We did however see a rather cute pair of Brown Quails with a very recent golf-ball-sized hatchling in tow. There were not a lot of options with the wind howling, so we parked the van up and waited near a dirt track to see if we could get lucky. After about 90 minutes of waiting, with a very close Brush Bronzewing, a duo of Black-shouldered Kites, several White-breasted Robins, and a pod of Indo-Pacific Bottle-nosed Dolphins doing their best to distract us, we heard a Noisy Scrubbird calling not too far away. After about another 30 minutes of waiting and hoping, all of us had seen this super-skulker and major tour target! We enjoyed another fantastic dinner and a celebratory one at that. The tough trio of Western Bristlebird, Black-throated Whipbird, and Noisy Scrubbird all seen

Day 7, 18^th October 2023. Birding Cheynes Beach and travel to Augusta

Today was essentially a travel day interspersed with some birding stops, as we made our way from Cheynes Beach to Augusta, via Albany, Mount Barker, and Lake Muir. A final brief walk near our accommodation at Cheynes Beach gave us a big tour highlight in the form of a mother and calf Southern Right Whale – such a huge animal and they were relatively close inshore too. Here we also had nest-building Red-eared Firetails and Ospreys, as well as a hunting Australian Hobby, and a Fan-tailed Cuckoo.

Moving on to Albany, we were treated to some simply incredible views of a stunning adult male Red-winged Fairywren (see trip report cover image), as well as good views of two Spotless Crakes, Swamp Harrier, Musk Duck, Blue-billed Duck (amazing close views), and Australian Reed Warbler. Here we also saw loads of nesting Straw-necked Ibis and Australian Ibis, as well as our first Little Pied Cormorants of the tour.

As we left the coast behind, we cut inland to Lake Muir, where a few strategic stops resulted in sightings of the Critically Endangered (BirdLife International) Baudin’s Black Cockatoo, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, and Western Correla. Here we also saw Emu, plenty of Western Rosellas, Splendid Fairywren, Red-winged Fairywren, Inland Thornbill, Western Whistler, and Spotted Scrubwren. There was water in Lake Muir for a change, and many Black Swans and Australian Shelducks were present. In the late afternoon we continued our journey to Augusta, our base for the night.

The Western Corellas had been feeding along the shore of Lake Muir and so were rather filthy as they flew right by us!

Day 8, 19^th October 2023. Birding Augusta (including Cape Leeuwin) to Busselton

We had an interesting morning at Cape Leeuwin with several hundred BMX bike riders who were starting their cape-to-cape bike race. However, the distractions didn’t prevent us from finding our main target bird of the morning, the habitat-restricted and range-restricted Rock Parrot. A pair of birds gave good close views. We then moved up the coast to the Margaret River area, where a walk on a beach resulted in excellent sightings of three Hooded Dotterels at close range. Other birds noted during the morning at the coast included Australian Pied Cormorant, White-faced Heron, Australasian Gannet, Pacific Gull, Greater Crested Tern, Sooty Oystercatcher, and Osprey.

Rock Parrot showed very well at Cape Leeuwin.

After lunch, we continued our journey to Busselton. A short stop in some beautiful Karri and Wandoo woodland near Margaret River gave us a sighting of Common Water Rat (Raikai), Western Whistler, Gilbert’s Honeyeater, and several other forest species. Finally, a stop at an ephemeral wetland near Busselton resulted in good looks at Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Pink-eared Duck, Australasian Swamphen, and several other waterbirds

Hooded Dotterel was foraging along a big sandy beach.

Day 9, 20^th October 2023. Birding Busselton and travel to Perth for the end of the tour

We spent our final day of the tour traveling from Busselton to Perth, where the tour ended. On the way we spent some time birding at a wetland in Busselton, where we had excellent views of a pair of Musk Ducks in a courtship display, and we saw plenty of other waterfowl, including Australasian Shoveler, Hardhead, Hoary-headed Grebe, Nankeen Night Heron, Dusky Moorhen, Australasian Swamphen, and Yellow-billed Spoonbill. We also had Whistling Kite and a flock of Little Corellas going over. A surprise sighting of a Masked Lapwing was followed by an excellent look at a couple of juvenile Banded Lapwings.

Two juvenile Banded Lapwings showed well for us in Busselton.

Near Perth, we called into a coastal wetland, where we were greeted by a pair of Ospreys at a nest. While scanning the sandflats and estuary we found Fairy Tern, Caspian Tern, Greater Crested Tern, Australian Pied Cormorant, Eastern Cattle Egret, Red-capped Plover, and Pied Oystercatcher. As we checked a pond near the coast, we found plenty of Common Greenshanks, Pied Stilts, and a Buff-banded Rail. After a final lunch, we continued our journey back to Perth, where the tour ended. Lots of great birds were enjoyed on the tour. “Bird of the Trip” was a tough one to pick, with Noisy Scrubbird, Tawny Frogmouth, Red-winged Fairywren, Spotless Crake, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, and Red-eared Firetail all being popular.

It is hard to look beyond Splendid Fairywren as being one of Australia’s best-looking birds. They are dazzlingly beautiful, and we enjoyed repeated sightings of this popular stunner on our Western Australia birding tour.

Restless Flycatcher gave us some great views while we were birding at Dryandra Woodland.

Bird List – Following IOC (13.2)

Birds ‘heard only’ are marked with (H) after the common name, all other species were seen. The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following BirdLife International: CR = Critically Endangered, EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

Mammal List

Reptile List

(Southwest) Carpet Python is an attractive snake, we saw two individuals out sunning themselves during the tour.

This is a sample trip report. Please email us ([email protected]) for more trip reports from this destination.

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‘Andy is a superb guide with a wonderful knowledge of birds and where to find them. He is enthusiastic and keen, great company and a real pleasure to bird with. Our Australian trip was very successful in terms of sightings and also really enjoyable. Andy played a big part in that with his superb organisation, excellent birding skills, easy-going nature and positive attitude. I would happily join Andy on a birding trip again and hope to be able to do so later this year!’

Janice