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7 Day -‐ Darwin, Mary River, Kakadu and Pine Creek, Katherine and Timber Creek Regions Finch Frenzy Over seven bird-‐filled days, let NT Bird Specialists take you on a “Finch Frenzy” expedition to the best finch viewing sites spanning the Top End. Stretching as far as Kakadu National Park, Nitmiluk National Park, Pine Creek, Mataranka and Judbarra (Gregory) National Park near Timber Creek, we’ll be scouring the countryside for the fantastic and colourful Gouldian, Long-‐tailed, Masked and Star finches, as well as Yellow-‐rumped and Pictorella Mannikins that call this part of the country home. Day one -‐ Darwin to Mary River (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) We start our “Finch Frenzy” by scoping out a selection of the best birding sites in Darwin and it’s surrounding region. By starting early, we maximise our bird and wildlife viewing opportunities. Our guide will choose sites such as East Point (Rainbow Pitta), Nightcliff (Collard Kingfisher, shorebirds), Lee Point (Green-‐backed Gerygone) and Buffalo Creek (Chestnut Rail), which provide the best birding conditions to suit the eight metre tidal range and weather conditions on the day. We’ll then drive through tropical woodlands in rural Darwin for a picnic lunch at Howard Springs, the first nature reserve to be established in the Northern Territory and home to a spring-‐fed monsoon forest. These dense and lush areas provide relief and shelter for birds and other wildlife, like elusive forest birds including Rainbow Pitta, Emerald Dove, Grey Whistler, Large-‐billed Gerygone and wandering colonies of Black Flying Foxes. Our next stop is the renowned wetland of Fogg Dam, located on the edge of the Adelaide River Floodplain. Fogg Dam is an absolute must for bird watchers visiting the Top End. Keep your eyes peeled as we cross the man-‐made dam wall, surrounded by paperbark swamp, wetlands and floodplains. Geese, Ducks, Ibis, Egrets, Herons, Spoonbills, Kingfishers, Finches, Cisticolas, Crakes, Flycatchers, Doves, Black-‐necked Stork, Cranes, Kites, Jacanas, Bee-‐eaters are just some of the regulars seen at this amazing site. So often we are provided with amazing photographic opportunities at this Heritage-‐listed site. We continue east scouring the granite hills of the Mt. Bundey Range looking for Wedge-‐tailed Eagle soaring above. After checking in to our accommodation at Mary River Wilderness Retreat, we will have time to recall our day’s highlights and fill in our daily bird list before our two-‐course dinner in the restaurant. While making your way back to your room after dinner, listen and look out for nocturnal birds such as Bush-‐stone Curlew, Barking and Rufous Owl. 1 Day two – Mary River to Kakadu (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) We welcome the day with a dawn boat cruise along the fresh water reaches of the paperbark-‐lined Mary River. Searching for elusive riverine birds (Black Bittern and Great-‐billed Heron) by boat provides advantageous views of the birds in their territory. Busy honeyeaters to keep an eye out for include Rufous-‐banded, Bar-‐breasted, White-‐gaped and Dusky. Look for signs of Freshwater and Estuarine (Saltwater) Crocodiles, which call the Mary River home. After a bush breakfast (we don’t want to miss a birding opportunity), we continue on our travels east along the Arnhem Highway to the iconic World Heritage Kakadu National Park. We are surrounded by tall eucalyptus woodland when we enter through the Park Gates, until it eventually opens up to the stunning floodplains of the mighty South Alligator River, keeping all eyes open for Australian Bustard, Brolga and birds of prey. Our first close up views of the Ramsar listed wetlands takes place at the Mamukala Wetlands bird hide, a great shady place to see Magpie Goose, Wandering Whistling-‐Duck, Comb-‐crested Jacana and Green Pygmy Goose. We then travel to northeast Kakadu, home to superb iconic views and some of the region’s endemic species living amongst sandstone outcrops and escarpment. The stone country is also home to impressive aboriginal rock art sites, painted layer-‐by-‐layer with ochre over thousands of years, some even depicting bird life. Chestnut-‐quilled Rock Pigeon and another sandstone inhabitant, the Sandstone Shrike-‐thrush, are target species in the East Alligator Region, along with the newly split Wilkin’s (Eastern) Short-‐eared Rock Wallaby. Night two is spent in the heart of Kakadu, in the township of Jabiru, where we have time to recall our day’s sightings and fill in our daily bird list over a two-‐course dinner. Day three – Kakadu to Pine Creek (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) An even earlier start will reward us today, as we watch the sunrise as we cruise along the famous Yellow Water Billabong. This is the best time of day to look for birds such as Little and Azure Kingfisher, Black Bittern, Arafura Fantail, Buff-‐sided Robin, Black-‐
necked Stork, White-‐bellied Sea Eagle, Australasian Dater and Nankeen Night-‐Heron. After a hearty breakfast at the nearby lodge, we head to a famous Aboriginal rock art site ‘Burrunggui’ (Nourlangie Rock) in search of other endemic species like White-‐lined Honeyeater, Banded Fruit-‐dove, Helmeted-‐friarbird and the endemic Black Wallaroo. We will travel south along the Kakadu Highway towards the historic gold mining and railway township of Pine Creek, combing the treetops for the rare Red Goshawk. Pine Creek, which we dub “Top End’s home of parrots”, is a hotspot to view yet another endemic bird, the Hooded Parrot. They can be seen along with Red-‐winged Parrot, Northern Rosella, Cockatiel, Little Corella, Sulphur-‐crested and Red-‐tailed Black Cockatoo, Galah, Varied and Rainbow Lorikeet (red-‐collared form). Night three is spent in Pine Creek where we will have time to recall our day’s sightings and fill in our daily bird list over a two-‐course dinner. 2 Day four – Pine Creek to Mataranka (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Enjoy an early continental buffet breakfast before we head further south east to Leliyn (Edith) Falls, in the iconic Nitmiluk National Park. This region is a hotspot for many finch species including the infamous Gouldian and sought-‐
after Masked, Long-‐tailed, Crimson and Double-‐barred. A myriad of other species thrive in the drier conditions, which will normally group together including Varied Sittella, Diamond Dove, Black-‐faced Woodswallow, Varied Triller, Rufous Whistler, Grey-‐shrike Thrush and Banded Honeyeater. After lunch at Edith Falls, we’ll continue south along the Stuart Highway to the township of Katherine (Chestnut-‐
breasted Mannikin and Apostlebird), before making our way to Mataranka in search of Red Goshawk, Rufous-‐throated and Yellow-‐tinted Honeyeaters and checking into our accommodation. Bring your swim wear, you’ll have time to enjoy the natural thermal pools in the region, a beautiful location where we are likely to spot Shining Flycatcher and Northern Fantail amongst Livistona palms. We will dine at our accommodation and fill in our daily bird list over a two-‐course meal. Day five -‐ Mataranka to Timber Creek (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Today we’ll be up and at it early to north towards Katherine, checking out a couple of local haunts for Crested Shrike-‐tit (northern form) and Black-‐chinned Honeyeater. After a bush breakfast, we’ll stop in Katherine to stock up on supplies before heading west along the Victoria Highway, driving through cattle farming country, which also coincides with ideal finch habitat. We’ll comb the cane grass lining the Victoria River for Purple-‐crowned, Variegated and Red-‐backed Fairy-‐wren. We will travel through the breath-‐taking Judbarra (Gregory) National Park, where we’ll share some stunning views of the spectacular Stokes and Newcastle Ranges, getting our first glimpses of the strikingly-‐different Boab trees growing naturally in the wild. The grasslands become more prolific, feeding different varieties of finches, such as Star and Zebra Finches, Pictorella and Yellow-‐rumped Mannikins. We will also get another opportunity for the famous Gouldian Finch. We’ll check in to our night’s accommodation, have dinner and fill in our daily bird list at Timber Creek, situated at the base of the Newcastle Range, just near the Victoria River. Day six -‐ Timber Creek to Pine Creek (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Today we’ll continue to search around the Timber Creek region for species we may have missed, as this region is rich with finch diversity. Make sure to check your peripheral vision every now and then for encounters with White-‐winged Trillers, Weebill, Grey-‐headed and Grey-‐
fronted Honeyeaters. After a busy morning we’ll make our way back towards Pine Creek, crossing the impressive Victoria River and cattle farming country once again, checking the random watering troughs and dams for Budgerigar and Diamond Dove. We’ll skirt around Katherine, scoping open plains for Australian Bustard and Grey-‐crowned Babblers, before checking in to the Pine Creek Railway Resort. We have time to recall our day’s sightings and fill in our daily bird list over a two-‐course dinner. 3 Day seven -‐ Pine Creek to Darwin (Breakfast, Lunch) An early morning scout around Pine Creek’s permanent water bodies (Lake Copperfield, Water Gardens and the local sewage works) is where we’ll be looking for Partridge Pigeon, Olive-‐backed Oriole and various waterfowl. We follow the Stuart Highway northwest to the quaint township of Adelaide River, making our way to the back roads of town in search of Red-‐backed Kingfisher on the electrical wires. We examine the monsoon forest patches lining the Adelaide River for an encounter with Buff-‐sided Robin, a variety of honeyeaters, Grey Butcherbird (silver-‐backed form), Arafura Fantail and Varied Lorikeet. A quick visit to the local sewage works will then lead us back to the Stuart Highway. The journey back towards Darwin sees us leave the open floodplain regions and back through taller tropical woodlands, where we’ll stop at our discretion for birds that take our interest. Nearing Darwin we’ll make a last stop to complete our bird list before saying goodbye and dropping you off at your accommodation in Darwin where you can compose yourself and reminisce after your “Finch Frenzy”. Inclusions: • Hotel pick up and drop off (from Darwin) • Experienced and professional guide • Transport in a modern 4WD vehicle • Small groups (maximum 4 guests) • All Meals (please notify us of allergies at time of booking) and accommodation on tour • Cold water, tea and coffee (alcoholic beverages to be purchased at guest’s own expense) • Take home bird list • A spotting scope and field guides to share • Satellite phone • First Aid kit • Assurance of an Australian Accredited Tourism Business rating and Licensed Commercial Tour Operator and Vehicle 4 7 Day “Finch Frenzy” 2015 Tour Code: NTBS7FF Book with us today at: e. [email protected] w. www.ntbirdspecialists.com.au p. (+61) 0421 651 122 p. (+61) 0455 921 092 Locations and itineraries may vary according to environmental conditions, availability and guide's best discretion on the day. 5