Trip
Information
Date: September
26 – October 2, 2010 (7 days)
Tour Leader: Duan
Biggs
Price: US$2,050,
CDN$2,125, Single supplement US$405, CDN$415
Highlights:
• Many Tasmanian endemics including the flightless giant Tasmanian Native-Hen
• Many very special marsupials, including quolls, pademelons and possibly
Koala!
• Superb country of excellent infrastructure and hospitable people
Featured Birds and Mammals:
• Tasmanian Native-Hen
• Forty-spotted Pardalote
• Flame and Pink Robins
• Black Currawong
• Chestnut Teal
• Brolga
• Southern Emu-Wren
• Rufous Bristlebird
• Sulfur-crested Cockatoo
• Eastern Quoll
• Koala
•
Bennett’s Wallaby
Trip Summary:
• Hobart to Melbourne flight additional (~AUD$165)
• Moderate to excellent quality hotels and lodges, all comfortable
•
4-8 participants with one leader, 8 – 12 with two
• All meals included
• Variable weather; warm to cool, nights possibly cold
• Generally easy to moderate walking
• Ferry trips included
Tour begins and
ends in Melbourne |
Tasmania,
Victoria, and southern New South Wales encompass a wide variety of habitats
and climates. The Victorian countryside seems reassuringly familiar due
to two centuries of European settlement, but wildlife is specifically
Australian. Large flocks of exotic parrots feed on the highway verges
and multicolored fairy-wrens and honeyeaters fill the woods, while kangaroos
graze in the paddocks and Koalas look down from giant eucalyptus trees.
Tasmania holds many endemics, among them some fascinating birds, even
flightless ones such as the Tasmanian Native Hen.
See below for detailed itinerary.
Click
here to download a registration form
Photos by
Lin Steedman |
Detailed
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Hobart
We catch a flight to Hobart, capital city of Tasmania, from Sydney after
our Eastern Australia tour ends. Time permitting, we visit sites close
to Hobart, perhaps Mount Field National Park for Black Currawong. Night
near Hobart airport.
Day 2: Transfer to Tasmania
In the morning, we drive south to Bruny Island. We should encounter several
Tasmanian endemics on
our way south - perhaps Yellow-throated and Strong-billed Honeyeaters. We
take a ferry to the island, noticing the Black-faced Cormorants sitting
on pylons
in the harbour and perhaps encountering Short-tailed Shearwaters on the crossing.
Bruny Island is a special place; it is home to all 12 of Tasmania’s
endemics and with luck we should encounter all of them, including the impressive
flightless
giant rail, the Tasmanian Native-Hen. We plan an optional night drive this
evening to search for such marsupials as Bennett’s Wallaby, Rufous-bellied
Pademelon, Long-nosed Poteroo, and Eastern Quoll. Night on Bruny Island.
Day 3: Bruny Island
We spend all day exploring forests and farmland, searching for endemics: Green
Rosella, Dusky Robin, Tasmanian Thornbill, Forty-spotted Pardalote, Tasmanian
Scrubwren, Scrub-Tit, Yellow Wattlebird, and Black-headed and Yellow-throated
Honeyeaters. Several species are easier to find on Tasmania than on the Australian
mainland - Hooded Plover, Brush Bronzewing, Swift Parrot, Flame and Pink Robins,
Crescent Honeyeater, and Forest Raven. The endangered Orange-bellied Parrot
is a possibility as are threatened species such as the Tasmanian subspecies
of the
Wedge-tailed Eagle and Masked Owl and the pure white form of the Grey Goshawk.
There is an active Little (Blue) Penguin colony on the island and Laughing
Kookaburras are widespread. Night on Bruny Island.
Day 4: Bruny Island and Hobart
Today we look for species not encountered so far, then we return to Hobart,
perhaps in time to visit Mount Field National Park for Black Currawong. Later
in the
day we catch a flight back to Melbourne. Night in Melbourne.
Days 5 – 6: Melbourne area
We have two days to explore the many superb birding areas around Melbourne.
Local parks host Rufous Night-Heron, Maned Duck, Galah, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo,
Red-rumped
Parrot, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Laughing Kookaburra, Crested Shrike-Tit and
Varied Sittella, and Gray-headed Flying-Foxes. The areas around Port Philip
Bay, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula, and Werribee, one of the premier
wetlands
in Australia, support a rich diversity of herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills,
many waterfowl including Chestnut Teal, shorebirds, and wintering Latham’s
Snipe (a challenging identification!). On the coast south of Melbourne are
several
promontories, home to Rufous Bristlebird, and offshore we could spot shearwaters
and even an albatross. Other species we will be particular alert for include
Southern Emu-wren, Striated Fieldwren and Brolga, perhaps Helmeted Honeyeater,
Superb Lyrebird and Powerful Owl. Nights in Melbourne.
Day 7: Departure
Our tour ends in Melbourne after breakfast.
What
to expect
Our
daily travel schedule varies. Most days involve a full day of birding,
usually with a picnic lunch in a prime birding
spot. Driving distances vary from short to moderate. We make frequent
stops during each day’s travel. You can expect some early morning
walks. This tour involves easy to moderate walking and hiking, as well
as short forays away from the van. Most days we return in late afternoon
to our accommodation. After-dinner activities are optional. Spotting
scopes will be useful on this trip, especially at coastal locations
in Victoria; the leader will have a scope for the group to share.
It is likely to be cool in Victoria and in Tasmania, especially on
Bruny Island, and nights can be cold. Warm clothing is recommended
and rain is possible at any time. Wet weather protection is recommended
with light waterproof pants and jacket ideal. The sun can be intense,
so sunscreen and a brimmed hat are advised.
Our itinerary includes flights to and from Hobart in Tasmania, and
ferry rides to and from Bruny Island. The list of birds and other wildlife
seen will be reviewed each evening, and plans for the next day discussed.
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