[A stop on the Cairns + Atherton + Daintree trip, 2021 trip] How good does a birding hotspot have to be to be the #3 all-time eBird hotspot in Australia? Pretty darned good, you’d expect, and with 278 species recorded, Cairns Esplanade is that spot. Even more surprising, there’s not a forest in sight – instead it’s beachContinue reading “Cairns Esplanade, Apr 2021”
Category Archives: Hotspots
Michaelmas Cay, Apr 2021
[A stop on the Cairns + Atherton + Daintree trip, 2021 trip] What would you think about taking a boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef and being dumped on a tiny remote sandy island for an hour? If you’re a birder, and that tiny sand island is Michaelmas Cay, you’ll absolutely love it! MichaelmasContinue reading “Michaelmas Cay, Apr 2021”
Forest Lake, 2021-2022
Summary: Beautiful suburban lake which is fantastic for bird photography Dates of visits: Apr 8 2021, Feb 10 2022, Mar 8 2022, Jun 8 2022 Forest Lake is the man-made lake (completed in 1994) upon which the surrounding suburb is named, and is located in the south-west of Brisbane, reasonably easily reached via the CentenaryContinue reading “Forest Lake, 2021-2022”
Oxenford Weir, 2021-2022
Summary: Unique site to watch birds (including Osprey) hunting for fish at close quarters Dates of visit: Apr 3, 2021 to present Oxenford Weir, also known as Old Tamborine Rd Weir and Coomera River Weir, is easy to reach, being just 3km from the Pacific Motorway (just go to the end of Old Tamborine Rd)Continue reading “Oxenford Weir, 2021-2022”
Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, Mar-Dec 2021
Summary: Lovely manicured gardens with birds just waiting to be photographed Dates of visit: Mar 26 2021, Oct 8 2021, Dec 12 2021 I’ve had some awesome birding experiences in botanic gardens around Australia, with George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens (Darwin) and the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens (Hobart) providing some very fond memories of birdContinue reading “Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens, Mar-Dec 2021”
John Oxley Reserve, Mar 2021
Summary: Good birds to be found in a short paved path and mangrove boardwalk loop Date of visit: Mar 14, 2021 John Oxley Reserve lies on Brisbane’s northside and is basically a rectangle containing sports fields and bushland/mangroves bordering the North Pine River. It contains a very well-constructed path and a boardwalk circuit, and boastsContinue reading “John Oxley Reserve, Mar 2021”
Springbrook Twin Falls Circuit, Mar 2021
Summary: Superlative short bushwalk with good rainforest birds Date of visit: March 2, 2021 Springbrook lies in the Gold Coast hinterland in South-East Queensland, about half an hour from the main highway. It’s a little slice of heaven at high altitude, featuring several stunning lookouts and superlative waterfall-strewn bushwalks, and is much quicker to accessContinue reading “Springbrook Twin Falls Circuit, Mar 2021”
Nudgee Beach, Feb & Oct 2021
Summary: Large beach good for waders and Osprey, with creek exploration options for the more adventurous Dates of visit: Feb 26 and Oct 24, 2021 Replace “sun, surf and sand” with “sun, mud and wading birds” and you describe Nudgee Beach at low tide in a nutshell. It’s an expansive area with widescreen vistas andContinue reading “Nudgee Beach, Feb & Oct 2021”
Bellbird Grove, Feb 2021
Summary: Nice little spot with a few tracks and decent variety of birds Dates of visit: Feb 26, 2021 Bellbird Grove, part of the D’Aguilar National Park west of Brisbane and a few kilometres up Mt Nebo Rd from Enoggera Reservoir, held a special allure for me when I first started making a systematic catalogueContinue reading “Bellbird Grove, Feb 2021”
Wellington Park, Feb 2021
Summary: Mixture of forest types right on Hobart’s doorstep with some good birding Dates of visit: Feb 10 & 13, 2021 [A stop on the Tasmania, Jan-Feb 2021 trip] It’s got to be quite special having bird-rich patches of dense forest right on the edge of your state’s capital city. Brisbane has the rainforest of D’Aguilar National ParkContinue reading “Wellington Park, Feb 2021”
Bird Spots 