Gulf and
Inland Bird Tour
13 Day Tour
6 birdwatchers maximum
Mt Isa - Lawn Hill National Park - Karumba - Cloncurry
- Mt Isa (Mini-Bus)
Day
1 - 4
First impression of Mt Isa
are of a mining town, but visitors are always pleasantly
surprised to find beautiful gorges and waterholes in
this rugged outback environment.
The tour starts in Mount
Isa, and the birding highlights include Kalkadoon and
Carpentarian Grasswrens, Spinifex Birds, Painted Finches,
Ground Cuckoo-shrikes and Spinifex Pigeons. We travel
to several waterholes and gorges, visit Lake Moondarra
and the Sewage Plant.
Looking for the specialities keeps us
busy, as some of them are very difficult to find, like
the Carpentarian Grasswren. They are only found in
two small locations in Australia, and north of Mount
Isa is the one of the best spots.
Other
birds we look for include varieties of Honeyeaters,
Pigeons and Doves, and uncommon raptors.
Accommodation:
Burke & Wills Motor Inn, Mt Isa
Day
5 - 7
We travel from Mount Isa
via the Camooweal Road to the southern part of the
Gregory River, which is the best area for the Purple-crowned
Fairy-wrens. Depending on interest we stop at the Riversleigh
fossil site.
The destination is Lawn
Hill Gorge, a smaller version of Katherine Gorge in
the Northern Territory. It's a great birding and holiday
spot, where we look for the Sandstone Shrike-thrush,
Purple-crowned Fairy-Wren, Buff-sided Robin, Northern
Rosella and the Channel-billed Cuckoo, which stays
here all year around.
We stay at Adel's Grove,
10 km from Lawn Hill. The accommodation is in air- conditioned
small cabins with power, but the generator gets turned
off at night. In winter the nights are quite cool, so
that never was a problem. There are only shared amenities,
and hot water is produced with wood-fire stoves, so
it is all quite basic. Lawn Hill is very inviting for
swimming and canoeing, as there are no motorboats on
the water. More species of Finches and Honeyeaters are
found in this region.
Accommodation:
Adel's Grove, Lawn Hill N.P.
Day
8 - 10
From
Lawn Hill we travel via Burke & Wills Roadhouse
to Karumba. As bird activity varies we stopped intermittently
on the road, have lunch at the Burke &
Wills Roadhouse and arrive in the afternoon in Karumba.
The mangroves at the coast
of the Gulf are great for Red-headed Honeyeaters, White-breasted
Whistlers, Mangrove Robins, Broad-billed Flycatchers
and Mangrove Golden Whistlers, while the vast Karumba
plains are good for raptors and grassland birds. Even
in winter the shoreline offers some waders.
Accommodation:
End of the Road Motel, Karumba Point
Day
11 + 12
Accommodation: Gidgee Inn Motel, Cloncurry
We drive via Normanton to
Cloncurry. Near Normanton we stop at the Norman River
where we usually catch up with Brolgas and Sarus Cranes,
plus other wetland species.
N
ear
Cloncurry we have more chances for the Kalkadoon Grasswren
and south of Cloncurry for the Rufous-crowned Emu-Wren.
Of course there are other birds around these areas.
Even Night Parrots have been historically reported
south of Cloncurry. In May 2003 we watched a Grey Falcon
hunting in this area, although that was quite likely
a vagrant.
Day
13
After
morning birdwatching we travel back to Mt Isa to
return you to the airport or to the accommodation
of your choice. Transport
is in a 6 (forward-facing) seater Toyota 4WD troop
carrier, and we carry a satellite phone and a First-Aid
Kit.
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