October 4-23, 2025 with Jay VanderGaast
Though this tour has sometimes been thought of as a "lite" birding trip, or less hardcore than many of the other tours on our schedule, I don't really think that's an accurate portrayal of this tour in general. Certainly it doesn't compare to our survey tours of either PNG or Australia; the coverage of both countries is far more complete on those tours. But to write it off as a "lite" birding option is being a bit too dismissive. I've always thought of this trip as one that appeals to people who might only be able to make one big jaunt to this part of the world, and my approach has always been to try to help them to see as many of the iconic creatures --birds, mammals, reptiles, etc-- as we possibly can. And there is sure a lot to see! This tour regularly tallies around 400 species of birds, 20+ species of mammals, a dozen or more herps, not to mention numerous beautiful butterflies, dragonflies, and so much more.
The diversity of a few groups really stands out here. Cuckoos are quite numerous, and there are 11 species on our checklist. Of these, we only missed one outright (with a couple of other species heard only), but recorded 13 species as we also had 3 write-in cuckoos! Pigeons are incredibly diverse in this region, and we tallied 24 of 29 listed species. For kingfishers, we saw 12 of the 15 listed species (with one other heard-only), plus an additional write-in, for parrots (including cockatoos), we tallied 24 out of 26 listed species, with 2 extra write-ins. There are also 50+ honeyeaters shown on our checklist, and we picked up 80% of these. And then there are the birds that are arguably the biggest draw on this tour: the incredible birds-of-paradise. We recorded all 14 species that are shown on our checklist, with great looks at 11, plus added an additional species as a heard-only. As the heard-only species included 2 rather dull manucodes and one of 3 very similar riflebirds, the only truly distinctive one we missed seeing was Magnificent BoP, as a vocal male just refused to emerge from the dense scrub in which it was hidden. In addition to all this, there are a bunch of families that are endemic to this region, including 7 that are found only in PNG. We had great looks of at least one member of nearly all these endemic familes, including all 7 of the PNG endemic families. All this adds up to a very successful tour indeed!
Kicking things off in the Cairns region, one of the most diverse areas of Australia, we really hit the ground running, tallying some great birds like White-browed Crake, Comb-crested Jacana, and Orange-footed Megapode at Cattana Wetlands, loads of shorebirds at the Barron River mouth, including Terek Sandpiper, and my first ever Broad-billed Sandpiper for Australia, and Torresian Kingfisher, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, and Crimson Finches at Yorkey's Knob all before lunch on the first day! We finished the day with more shorebirds along the fabulous Esplanade, with Australian Terns and a nice flyover Australian Hobby as bonuses, then a final foray to Centenary Lakes, where a pair of lovely Radjah Shelducks and gangly Magpie Geese put a nice finishing touch on a very birdy first day! A return visit to Centenary Lakes early the next morning rewarded us with great looks at a Rufous Owl before we headed up into the Atherton Tablelands for the next couple of days.
The tablelands region just has so much to see that it's hard to whittle it down to just a few highlights, but there are always some that stood out from the others. This trip, this included some incredible looks at a group of Varied Sittellas at Granite Gorge, along with the more expected treats there like Squatter Pigeon, Pale-headed Rosella, and those adorable Mareeba Rock-Wallabies. Early mornings around our Lake Eacham lodging offered up stunners like Rose-crowned and Wompoo fruit-doves, Black-faced and Australian Spectacled monarchs, Spotted Catbird, and even a surprise Red-necked Crake, while at night, a pair of Australian Boobooks and a striking Striped Possum were just fantastic. Nearby, we spent a couple of afternoons staking out local creeks for Platypus, being rewarded with some incredible looks, with Buff-banded Rail, Shining Flycatcher and White-cheeked Honeyeaters among the birds that vied for our attention. A couple of visits to Lake Barrine led to great encounters with furtive Chowchillas, a vocal Tooth-billed Bowerbird at his lek, and the exquisite Pied Monarch, while a male Golden Bowerbird at his enormous bower highlighted a visit to the Crater. The dry eucalypt forests gave us views of Little Lorikeets and handsome Eastern Shrike-Tits, and a return visit to the Mareeba area on our final day allowed us to catch up with local specialties like Emu, Australian Bustard, a surprise group of Apostlebirds, and a delightful male Lovely Fairywren. And of course I have to mention our incredible, close encounter with a huge Southern Cassowary along the coast south of Cairns, voted the top bird in Australia for the tour!
All too soon, our time in Far North Queensland had drawn to a close and we boarded a flight for the short hop across the Coral Sea to Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. Despite the relatively small distance, it was obvious from the start that PNG is a much different place. The contrast just in bird activity alone was almost jarring; where Cairns was crawling with birds --thick-knees, megapodes, lorikeets, etc-- here there were few to be seen between the airport and our hotel. But while the birds might not be on quite as friendly terms with the human population here, there are still some great places to see them, and we headed straightaway to one of the best, the incomparable Varirata National Park. With less than 2 hours of daylight remaining, we focused on the eucalypt savannah along the entrance road, and had a wonderful introduction to PNG's avifauna. Pigeons and parrots were well-represented here, and we enjoyed super looks at prizes like Zoe's Imperial-Pigeon, Pink-spotted Fruit-Dove, Papuan Eclectus, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, and even a pair of shy Papuan King-Parrots. Streak-headed Honeyeater, Barred and Boyer's cuckooshrIkes, Hooded Butcherbird, and Yellow-faced Mynas were among the other nice finds here, but the most magical moment came near the end of the day, when a group of 33 enormous Blyth's Hornbills winged by right overhead! What a treat!
The next day found us right back at Varirata, though this time we headed straight for the famous lek of the country's national bird, the stunning Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise. And seeing them couldn't have been easier, as we found them calling and displaying right above the road! After spending some time enjoying the show, we turned our attention towards tracking down some of the other quality species to be found in the park. And what quality! Through the course of the day, we had wonderful encounters with Beautiful Fruit-Dove, Purple-tailed Imperial-Pigeon, Barred Owlet-Nightjar, Barking Owl, Papuan Dwarf-Kingfisher, Brown-headed Paradise-Kingfisher, Eastern Hooded Pitta, Rusty and Hooded pitohuis, Frilled Monarch, White-faced Robin, and many more. If you're like me, all these great birds just got you more excited about what we would find on our return visit in a few days! On our way back to the city, we made a stop at the grounds of the Pacific Adventist University (PAU) for a quick look around, despite the gloomy, rainy afternoon. We kept our visit short due to the wet conditions, but still managed to see many of the birds we were hoping for, including dapper Pied Herons and a soggy-looking Papuan Frogmouth, before making an early return to our hotel.
On the docket next was a trip up to the highlands, home to many species of birds-of-paradise and a whole load of other unique birds. A rather late arrival only allowed us a little time to enjoy the feeders at Kumul Lodge, our home for the next 3 nights, but with Brown Sicklebill and Ribbon-tailed Astrapia among the visitors, no one minded much! Besides which, we filled the next two and a half days tracking down a fantastic assortment of great species. The first two mornings were devoted to Lesser BoP and Blue BoP, and we eventually got fine views of both, with a supporting cast of birds such as Goldie's Lorikeet, Ornate Melidectes, Black-headed Whistler, Yellow-breasted Bowerbird, Torrent Flyrobin, and Greater Lophorina, to name a few. But it was the afternoons at Murmur Pass that really stood out, with gorgeous males of King-of-Saxony BoP and Stephanie's Astrapia, Yellow-billed, Orange-billed, and Plum-faced lorikeets, Loria's Satinbird, Tit Berrypecker, and Blue-capped Ifrita among the many fantastic birds we saw here. We also managed to get incredible looks at the scarce Mottled Berryhunter, a monotypic species that we often struggle to see!
As we woke to our final morning at the lodge, there were still a number of key species we hoped to track down before our return to Port Moresby. Things got off to a great start at breakfast, when one of the lodge staff members beckoned us outside to see a male Crested Satinbird she'd spotted. It played a bit hard to get initially, but then ended up dropping to the lawn in front of the cabins and hopped about on the grass in full view just a few yards away! Easily my best ever encounter with this stunning species! It was hard to imagine the morning getting any better, and yet it did, as over our remaining hours at the lodge, we nailed nearly all of our most-hoped for targets. The bizarre Wattled Ploughbill with its huge, bubblegum-pink wattles- check! The lovely Eastern Crested Berrypecker-check! The skulking Lesser Melampitta-check! All three of our main targets showed beautifully! Heading back to the lodge to pack up, there was just one more species on our list of targets, the charming Black-breasted Boatbill, and soon, it too, popped out for some super looks! The morning's success made the long wait at the airport for our delayed flight that much more tolerable!
For our final day in PNG, we opted to start with a return visit to PAU, since our first visit was rainy and miserable. It turned out to be a good decision, as not only did we get better views of all the birds we'd seen on the first visit, but we also added a handful of new species, including an unexpected Oriental Cuckoo, Dusky Lory, Common Paradise-Kingfisher, Glossy-mantled Manucode, and Gray-headed Munia. Then it was back up to Varirata to carry on with our exploration of the park. Things started off well with smashing looks at a Hook-billed Kingfisher, an often tough to see bird, and one that is quite rare in the park. We then spent the next few hours working our way up a ridgeline trail, with mixed flock after mixed flock producing a bunch of great birds including Stout-billed Cuckooshrike, Black Cicadabird, Fairy and Yellow-bellied gerygones, Chestnut-bellied Fantail, the unique and beautiful Goldenface, and Spot-winged and Golden monarchs, the latter being my first ever in the park. A pair of Long-tailed Honey Buzzards circled above, a flock of tiny Buff-faced Pygmy-Parrots scrambled around high in the canopy, and perhaps the biggest prize, a pair of rarely-seen Papuan Hanging-Parrots, gave us fantastic looks as they fed in a flowering tree right over the trail. As we ate our lunch back at the picnic area, we were joined by a stunning Yellow-billed Kingfisher as it sat nearby, a couple of feet off the ground, and eventually pounced on an unwary skink before flying off to enjoy its own lunch. As expected, the heat of the afternoon was quiet, but a short jaunt along another trail did turn up yet another rare and tough to see species, a shy Ochre-breasted Catbird, a bird I've only seen a couple of times previously! A late afternoon stop back along the entrance road turned up one more rarity when an Oriental Hobby flew past overhead, quite a finish to an excellent day of birding!
The final leg of the trip had us flying back across to Australia for a couple of stops further south along the east coast. We began in Brisbane, where, before heading up to our main venue, the incomparable O'Reilly's, we made a few birding forays nearer to the city. The Port of Brisbane Wetlands produced a few waterbirds that we had not seen, including elegant Black Swans, and attractive Chestnut Teals, as well as a couple of mangrove specialists in the form of Mangrove Gerygone and Mangrove Honeyeater, plus a few Black Flying-Foxes roosting in a stand of tall eucalyptus. Another stop at Daisy Hill turned up a couple of nice sightings, like White-throated Gerygone, Variegated Fairywren, and Square-tailed Kite, plus our first of three Tawny Frogmouth nests, with our second nest coming at our very next stop for lunch in Canungra! Finishing the day at O'Reilly's, we enjoyed some up close and personal views of some of the many habituated birds that have made this place so famous among birders. Crimson Rosellas, Australian King Parrots, stunning Regent and Satin bowerbirds, Eastern Whipbird, and Red-browed Firetails were among the many birds for which binoculars really weren't necessary! The next couple of days were devoted to tracking down some of the more difficult prizes at this beautiful locale. Gorgeous Noisy Pittas and the range-restricted Albert's Lyrebird, often two of the most difficult species, both gave themselves up with little difficulty, while Australian Logrunners, the dapper Wonga Pigeon, lovely Rose Robins, Spotted Pardalotes, and White-eared Monarchs, and Russet-tailed Thrush all showed beautifully, and a male Paradise Riflebird put on a great show as he displayed for a nearby female. We also had a couple of forays after dark, with smashing views of both Marbled Frogmouth and Australian Owlet-Nightjar, as well as Lamington Spiny Crayfish, Eastern Ringtail Possums, and the fascinating glowworms as rewards for our efforts!
Saying goodbye to O'Reilly's and the Brisbane region, we once again grabbed a flight, this time heading down to Sydney for one final day of birding at the wonderful Royal National Park. Though extreme high temperatures and strong winds led to some worry that the park would be closed, the day actually started off quite cool, overcast, and calm, and we took full advantage, tracking down one of our big targets, the amazing Superb Lyrebird, before both the heat and the wind really picked up. Our quick success with the lyrebird allowed us the time to do a bit of exploring, and we next headed to an area of heathland I had not been to before. It was a great choice, as several heathland species I'd been struggling with in the park in recent years showed well here, including Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, and the awesome Southern Emuwren, with Wedge-tailed Eagle and Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo other nice finds here. By this time the temperatures were soaring, and the wind was blowing hard, and we learned at lunch that, while the park would remain open, all hiking trails were closed for the day. While the remainder of our birding day was limited to areas not closed off, our luck held, as we managed to find both the tricky Rockwarbler, a highly localized NSW endemic, and a Beautiful Firetail in spite of the hot, windy conditions. With that, we left the park behind, with one final stop to look for Powerful Owl, yet another success as we quickly found a bird clutching half a possum in its talons!
This was my tenth time leading this particular tour, and while I've enjoyed them all, this had to be one of the best. Having a small group of clients that gelled really well was a big part of that, so thanks are due to the 5 of you that joined me on this year's tour. It was great travelling with you, sharing the incredible birds and other wildlife of this region with you, and getting to know you all, and I look forward to seeing you all on another tour soon!
Here is a list of the mammals seen on the tour:
Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus): Amazing views at a couple of places in the Yungaburra region.
Speckled Dasyure (Neophascogale lorentzii): seen a couple of times at Kumul Lodge, though at least one sighting may have been of Black-tailed Dasyure (Murexia melanura).
Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta): at the feeding station at Chambers.
Common Brush-tailed Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula): I have to retract our Coppery Brush-tailed Possum, as the one we saw at the Curtain Fig was actually this species.
Short-eared Brush-tailed Possum (Trichosurus caninus): O'Reilly's.
Eastern Ring-tailed Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) : On the night walk at O'Reilly's.
Green Ring-tailed Possum (Pseudochirops archeri): a couple at the Curtain Fig.
Torresian Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata): at the feeding station at Chambers.
Musky Rat Kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus): the smallest macropod. We had one at Lake Barrine.
Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis): numerous after dark at O'Reilly's.
Red-legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica): a couple after dark at Chambers.
Mareeba Rock Wallaby (Petrogale mareeba): Granite Gorge.
Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis): Several places in the Atherton Tablelands.
Red-necked Wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus): Nice looks at Daisy Hill.
Whip-tailed Wallaby (Notamacropus parryi): A couple of these lovely wallabies were on the drive up to O'Reilly's.
Eastern Gray Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus): Mareeba golf course.
Black Flying Fox (Pteropus alecto): A few in tall trees at the Port of Brisbane Wetlands.
Spectacled Flying Fox (Pteropus conspicillatus): A big noisy camp along Peterson Creek in Yungaburra.
Gray-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus): A massive camp of these were along the Canungra Creek.
Roof Rat (Rattus rattus): one at the feeding station at Chambers. An introduced pest.
White-tailed Giant Rat (Uromys caudimaculatus): several at the Curtain Fig, found by their loud chewing sounds!
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae): a couple from the sea watch spot at Royal NP.
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus): a pod of about half a dozen from the Royal NP sea watch spot, though this identification is only tentative.
We also saw the following herps:
Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus): one at Cattana Wetlands. Not a species we usually see on the tour.
Australian (Eastern) Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii): common along waterways in eastern Australia.
Frill-necked Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii): one near Granite Gorge.
Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius swainii): inside the Wishing Tree.
Carpet Python (Morelia spilota): One coiled up in the grass at O'Reilly's.
Australian Scrub Python (Simalia kinghorni): the large python crossing the road at Chambers was this species, not Amethyst, as I had thought.
Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus): one at O'Reilly's.
Eastern Short-necked Turtle (Emydura macquarii): aka Krefft's Turtle. Seen in the Cairns region.
Eastern Saw-shelled Turtle (Myuchelys latisternum): Along the platypus stream in Yungaburra.
Cane Toad (Rhinella marina): at Chambers and Varirata NP.
Orange-eyed Tree Frog (Chlorohyla chloris): the very loud green frog outside of O'Reilly's entrance doors.
Fletcher's Frog (Platyplectrum fletcheri); the frog near the glowworms seems to be this species and not the Fleay's Barred Frog as we thought.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/451095
You can see my iNaturalist report of non-avian taxa at this link: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wildlife-of-papua-new-guinea-and-australia-2025
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/naz25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Jay