Author Archives: birdspots

Venman Bushland NP, 2024

Summary: Super pleasant forest for walking with some good bush bird encounters possible Dates of visits: Aug 23 2021, Nov 18 2022, Dec 27 2024 Long-time readers of this blog will know that we prioritise locations with satisfying bird encounters in beautiful natural settings. Sure, sites like Sandy Camp Rd Wetlands may yield upwards ofContinue reading “Venman Bushland NP, 2024”

Rottnest Island, Dec 2022

[A stop on the South-west WA Trip Jan 2023] Summary: A small island which is a popular day trip from Perth, for the beaches, the quokkas, and as it turns out, the birds! Date of visit: Dec 27, 2022 Rottnest island (Wadjemup) is not far from Fremantle off the west coast of Australia. The island isContinue reading “Rottnest Island, Dec 2022”

Atherton + Cairns mini-break, Nov 2024

What to do when your birding buddies nick off to southern states for the weekend without you? (How dare they!) Why, make a last minute solo trip to birding paradise, a.k.a. the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland! The lure of riflebirds, catbirds, robins and many others – with a chance for the odd lifer –Continue reading “Atherton + Cairns mini-break, Nov 2024”

Springfield Lakes

Summary: Classic suburban birding with three lakes to choose from Dates of visits: 8 Mar 2022, 24 Aug 2024, 14 Oct 2024 Springfield Lakes is a suburb in Ipswich, south-east Queensland, which is notable to the bird-lover for its three large lakes – Spring Lake, Regatta Lake and Discovery Lake. I don’t rate these quiteContinue reading “Springfield Lakes”

Finland Rd, 2021-2023

Summary: Terrific high-diversity birding hotspot well located on the Sunshine Coast Dates of visits: May 16 2021, Nov 4 2022, Aug 20 2023, Dec 3 2023 Finland Road in the suburb of Paradise Waters is a pretty weird spot to be the Sunshine Coast’s #1 eBird hot spot. It brings to mind Cairns Esplanade, anotherContinue reading “Finland Rd, 2021-2023”

Varsity Lakes, 2022-2023

Summary: Enjoyable location with better bird habitats than you might expect in Gold Coast suburbia Dates of visits: 20 Aug 2022, 13 Aug 2023, 25 Dec 2023 Varsity Lakes is a locality on the Gold Coast which, like many suburbs on the Goldy, is dominated by waterways (canals and lakes). In this case the largestContinue reading “Varsity Lakes, 2022-2023”

Lytton Wader Roost and Wynnum Boardwalk

Summary: Unique and interesting birding site providing a few different habitats in close proximity Dates of visits: Eight or more visits between 2021 and 2024. You’d have to think a nature site that encompasses grassland, bushland, tidal wetland, a bird hide and Brisbane’s best mangrove boardwalk would be pretty good, right? This is such aContinue reading “Lytton Wader Roost and Wynnum Boardwalk”

Top End Revisited, Jul 2024

We made a ten day trip made from July 19 to July 28, 2024, mainly visiting nature sites around Darwin and Kakadu National Park, a journey very similar to one we made back in 2021. So we knew what we were getting ourselves in for… rainless – usually cloudless – days, tropical heat, and moreContinue reading “Top End Revisited, Jul 2024”

Hardings Paddock, 2020-2024

Summary: Great site for a good variety of bush birds, especially in winter Dates of visits: Several from 2020 to 2024 Hardings Paddock is an excellent birding site in the Ipswich city area. It is a little hard to make generalisations about this location, as it tends to vary quite a bit from season toContinue reading “Hardings Paddock, 2020-2024”