Summary: Excellent site for desirable birds, especially if explored by boat
Dates of visits: 28 Aug 2021, 29 Jul 2022, 26 & 27 Jul 2024
Buffalo Creek is a tidal creek located at the very north of Darwin in the Northern Territory and is a great spot to find lots of interesting birds. If you’re a connoisseur of eBird you’ll notice a cluster of very decent hotspots in this area; this is due to a huge beach, the large creek mouth and the winding creek itself, which is lined with mangroves and forest.
Technically, Buffalo Creek is a suburb, but for the purposes of this post we’re going to use that moniker for the creek only. To get there, drive along Lee Point Rd, then take a right onto Buffalo Creek Rd and follow it to the end. There’s a car park here mostly geared towards boaties.
The beach encompasses a large area especially at lower tides, and like most of the coastline of the region, is host to many migratory shorebirds. On our first visit here in Aug 2021 we spotted a Beach Stone-Curlew out on the sand. I love the goofy look of these birds and I don’t see them often enough for the novelty to wear off.
Australian Terns are regulars here, with the recently split Gull-Billed Tern also being a chance. Little, Caspian, White-Winged Black and Common Terns are also frequently spotted, along with Lesser and Greater Crested Terns. The site is also a good one for raptor-lovers, with various kites (Whistling, Black and Brahminy) also a given, along with White-Bellied Sea-Eagles and more.
In 2021 we found a pair of Brown Goshawks along the roadside, which if memory serves is the only time I’ve seen more than one goshawk at a time.
We saw Common Sandpipers on all our visits here – they seem to like foraging along the creek’s muddy banks. Terek Sandpiper are also a good possibility – look out for those yellowy-orange legs and an upturned bill!
There is a huge range of shorebirds, seabirds, gulls and terns that have historically been seen around the beach of this site, so from here on I’m going to concentrate mainly on what can be found along the creek itself.
On our first visit in Aug 2021 we were super lucky to see a Chestnut Rail on the opposite creek bank from the boat ramp. Being on the other side of the water, the view was a little distant.
In Jul 2024 we were able to take a boat up the creek, and we saw several Chestnut Rails at much closer quarters, foraging in the mud of the creek banks. This quite large-sized rail is normally fairly secretive and its preferred habitat is mangrove forests. Buffalo Creek (whether you take a boat or not) is one of the best sites in Australia to try and find this skulking bird. They really are rather cool!
Speaking of large birds, the Great-Billed Heron stands over a metre tall and has a whopping wingspan approaching two metres and is definitely one to look out for on a Buffalo Creek boat trip. We had previously and memorably seen this bird on a Daintree River birding cruise and it was lovely to see it again.
Other heron species call the creek home too: Eastern Reef Egret (also known as the Pacific Reef Heron) and Striated Heron being two examples.
As you go deeper down the creek, it narrows from around 40 metres near the boat ramp, down to 25 and 20 metres for long stretches.
Kingfishers are a big drawcard on Buffalo Creek, with five species all regularly seen (though perhaps the boat ride is necessary to see them all on one trip): Forest, Azure, Sacred, Torresian and the well-named Little Kingfisher.
The kingfishers will tend to sit on mangrove branches looking intently into the water or mud for their next unsuspecting prey – a fish or crab or suchlike.
The Little Kingfisher was actually our big target bird, having dipped on it several times in the Cairns/Daintree region. It was therefore with some joy that we spotted an unmistakable – and tiny! – blue and white blip darting across the river – this after hours of scanning the mangroves. A Little Kingfisher at last!
The Little Kingfisher was not bothered by the approaching boat, and even zipped down to catch a tiny fish while we watched enraptured from several metres away. The blue of this bird’s feathers gives the vibrant Forest Kingfisher a run for its money, and that’s saying something.
In between kingfisher sightings we saw plenty of other birds on the trees towering over the creek, including an excitable flock of Yellow White-Eyes, a couple of Lemon-Bellied and Broad-Billed Flycatchers and one or two Mangrove Gerygones. These aren’t generally speaking species that you’d need to take a dedicated boat trip to find – indeed, the restriction of being on a floating vessel means you likely won’t get too close to those types of birds anyway.
Not so for the water birds, of course, with some birds hunting even from exposed rock perches in the middle of the creek, like an Australasian Darter.
A snake was also spotted which we think was an Australian Bockadam, an aquatic reptile found on and near the northernmost coastlines of Australia as well as parts of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Summary
Buffalo Creek is a rewarding birding hot spot which would elevate to the status of “top-tier site” if you can wrangle a boat ride to make the most of it. The scenery is mostly muddy creek lined with thick mangroves, but can be rather lovely in its own way. Birding from a boat might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but being quite sheltered on this breezy waterway you’re likely to have a pretty stable platform from which to observe and photograph the wildlife. With the potential of awesome species like Chestnut Rail, Great-Billed Heron and Little Kingfisher to see (and it’s reasonably likely you’ll see all three very well on a trip!), as well as a host of other cool birds, this is a must-do for birders and nature lovers when in the Darwin area. The equally awesome Lee Point/Muirhead Bushland site is just around the corner too, which makes for an incredible hotspot combo with Buffalo Creek.
Boat trip provided by the excellent skipper Christopher Spooner – please email “ccsb.spooner at bigpond.com” to enquire.
eBird:
Hotspot: Buffalo Creek (220 species) – though note there are also Buffalo Creek Shore and Buffalo Creek Point hotspots
Checklists for these visits: Aug 28 2021 (12 species), Jul 29 2022, (19 species) Jul 27 2024 (21 species)
Bird Spots videos from this location: Little Kingfisher, Chestnut Rail, Great-Billed Heron, Yellow White-Eye, Azure Kingfisher
Pluses and minuses:
+ Lots of desirable species including Chestnut Rail, Great-Billed Heron, Little Kingfisher
+ Boat trip allows terrific close-up views of many water-related species
+ Very decent bird and nature diversity
+ Lee Point and Casuarina Beach sites very nearby
– Have to take a boat up the creek to make the most of the site
– Scanning mangroves for target species can get tiring
AUTHOR: ANDY GEE
BIRDERS: ANDY GEE, LUKE S, K-A
Bird Spots 