Get in a flap about Kimberley’s birdlife

Used as a research and education facility, the Broome Bird Observatory offers tours taking birdwatchers out to important habitats within 70km of its Roebuck Bay base. The tour guides are experts at identifying and spotting birds. Trips are made at high tide so that birds are naturally forced to stop feeding and rest along the shoreline. They also conduct mangrove, bush & plains and lakes tours. Bird watchers flock (excuse the pun) to see the rare Yellow Chat and the Common Redshank (which, despite its name is not common in the rest of Australia)! You can camp here too.

Other recommend locations for twitchers are Lake Argyle, Lake Kununurra, Parry Creek Nature Reserve, Point Spring Nature Reserve and the Mitchell Plateau.

Now you know where to go to see the birds but what birds are you likely to see? If you’re lucky, you will spot birds of prey soaring up in the thermals over the tops of ranges, in open woodlands or around carrion. Birds of Prey in the Kimberley include Wedge-Tailed Eagle, Black Kite, Barking Owl (it makes a ‘woof woof’ noise like a dog), Brown Falcon, Black Breasted Buzzard, White Barn Owl, Goshawk, Osprey, Little Eagle, Harrier Falcon, Peregrine Falcon and the Hobby.

Most of these birds prey on small marsupials, bats, lizards, bush rats and mice. Some birds such as the Black Kite can be seen scavenging in towns.

From the Asian Dowitcher to the Variegated Fairy Wren, there is an enormous variety in the types and sizes of birds you are likely to see in the Kimberley. The Jabiru, for example, is Australia’s only stork and can be seen at the water’s edge. The Brolga is also a noteworthy ‘spot’ as it can reach heights of up to 1.3m. At the other end of the scale, the Red-backed Fairy Wren is a mere 9cm.

Other noteworthy birds to spot are: striated pardalote, cockatoo, egret, cuckoo, bustard, quail, bronze wing, pheasant, dollar bird, figbird, Noisy Friar Bird and bush stone curlew.