The Atherton Tablelands need several days to explore, being reminiscent of an English dairy farming area amongst remnant patches of rainforest. These hold many rare and local animals and birds, and a night spotlighting trip with a local guide can be arranged and should let you see a variety of possums and maybe even a tree- kangaroo. There is always a chance of Lesser Sooty, Barking or Rufous Owl too. The bizarre platypus is also quite easy to see up here, and there are some spectacular birds like Sarus Crane and Golden Bowerbird. Places to visit include the Crater NP, Lake Eacham and Lake Barrine, the Curtain Fig-tree, and Bromfield Swamp. Target birds would be White-headed Pigeon, Mountain Thornbill, Fernwren, Bridled Honeyeater, Scarlet Honeyeater, Tooth-billed Catbird, Bower's Shrike-thrush and Grey-headed Robin. There are also a lot of art and craft centres in the small towns.

You may like to take a day visiting the Daintree and Cape Tribulation, for a river trip and beautiful rainforest scenery. Chris Dahlberg runs an outstanding 2 hour Daintree River Cruise. Great-billed Heron and Little Kingfisher are a good bet on this journey, and maybe the bizarre Papuan Frogmouth. saltwater crocodile is also a possibility

The Great Barrier Reef too ought to be done via a day trip, either on one of the fast catamarans out to Green Island or on the slower but cheaper Seastar 2 via Michaelmas Cay. The cost includes lunch and hire of gear but varies considerably depending on the type of vessel chosen. You can ride in a glass bottom boat, swim, scuba dive or snorkel and the marine life is really incredible. Birds could include Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Brown Booby, Brown Noddy, Sooty, Bridled and Black-naped Terns and perhaps Roseate Tern and Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove.

Mount Lewis and the dry country out towards Mount Carbine are also worth a trip, being very different habitats with their own birds and flora. Australian Bustard, Great Bowerbird, Golden Bowerbird, Apostlebird, White-browed Robin, Black-throated and Blue-faced Finch are possible here. The strange and geologically fascinating Undarra lava tubes are within a reasonable drive too, for another day as are the caves and aboriginal rock art out at Chillagoe.

Cairns with its cinemas, shops, pubs and restaurants, can be visited to get the full spectrum of variety up here. There are plenty of parks to walk in and the Mangrove Boardwalk is a fascinating insight into the world of the tidal swamps, if you don't mind getting chewed by insects! Cairns Esplanade is famous for the variety of waders, with Beach Thick-knee, Eastern Curlew, Greater and Lesser Sand-Plovers and Great Knot often resident. Terek, Sharp-tailed and Broad-billed Sandpipers are found at migration times. The noisy Varied Honeyeater is another Esplanade special too. Mangrove Robin and Crimson Finch can be seen nearby.

There is a huge range of possibilities for any sort of holiday. If you need more details on some aspects please let us know. If you have a hankering to go further afield then our sister company, Sicklebill Safaris, is involved in regular tours to elsewhere in Australia, Australasia and New Guinea. We can readily advise on where to go and what to see, and make arrangements as appropriate. Cassowary House area and Cairns/Tablelands area checklists are available.

Local Bird-watching excursions in Far North Queensland from Cassowary House

Any combination of days or part days can be arranged to suit your schedule. Extensions to Iron Range or the dry west can be set up as required.
Beautiful scenery and great birding, at a pace to suit your requirements. Hit lists welcome!

· Day One: in the: Black Mountain Road for rain forest species including Brush-turkey, Noisy Pitta, Cassowary, Chowchilla, Victoria Riflebird, Spotted Catbird, Lovely Fairywren and up to 4 species of monarch: Pied, Spectacled, White-eared and Black-faced (summer only).

· Day Two: Cairns area to visit the world famous Esplanade for its amazing variety of waders, including Great Knot, Eastern Curlew, both sand-plovers and Red-necked Stint. Varied Honeyeater is regular here. Best at passage times but always worth a look.
Yorkey's Knob ponds for nesting Darters, Green Pygmy Geese and The Botanic Gardens and the Centenary Lakes for birds such as Metallic Starling, lorikeets, White-browed Crake and Little Kingfisher and the mangrove boardwalk for the mangrove specials like Mangrove Robin and Mangrove Kingfisher.

· Day Three: Mareeba Wetlands and on to the dry country around Mt. Molloy: Squatter Pigeon, Black-throated Finch, Red-winged Parrot, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Pale-headed Rosella, Brown Tree-creeper, Great Bowerbird and Australian Bustard. Also agile wallaby and eastern grey kangaroo.

· Day Four: Atherton Tablelands for Sarus Crane (winter), Topknot Pigeon, White-headed Pigeon, King Parrot, Golden Bowerbird, Fernwren, Mountain Thornbill, Grey-headed Robin, Bower's Shrike-thrush, Tooth-billed Catbird and platypus.

· Day Five: Dawn boat trip on the Daintree River, for Great-billed Heron and Little Kingfisher, then Mt. Lewis and the Julatten area for rain forest birds, honeyeaters at Abattoir Swamp, and maybe Blue-faced Finch.

· Day Six: Great Barrier Reef for seabirds, reef viewing and snorkelling if desired: Brown Booby, Brown Noddy, Sooty and Bridled Tern, Black-naped Tern. Roseate Tern, Black Noddy and pelagics are always possible

· Day Seven: The Ravenshoe area and Hastie's Swamp for waterbirds, drier country species like Little Lorikeet, Grey Butcherbird, Crested Shrike-tit and Fuscous Honeyeater.

Spot-lighting trips

For nocturnal mammals can also be organised, with 9 species of possum possible including the rare Herbert River ringtail and lemuroid possum, plus a chance of Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo. Barn Owl is likely, and Barking, Boobook, Lesser Sooty, Rufous or perhaps Masked Owl are possible.

Georgetown dry country option

A 2 or 3 day trip over to the really dry country at could also be arranged, which means going over to Georgetown, about 450km west of here, on the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria savannas. We stay in a comfortable motel there, and spend a couple of days exploring the dry scrub, woodland and other habitats in the area. There are a number of small dams that are usually good for birds and which attract many species at this time of the year, at the end of the dry season. Last year we saw Masked, Black-throated and Zebra Finches. Other interesting species can include Emu, Brolga, Black-breasted Buzzard, Budgerigar, Cockatiel, Spinifex Pigeon, Grey-fronted and Red-throated Honeyeaters, and Red-browed Pardalote.

Cape York

For those with limited time we recommend a visit to Lotusbird Lodge where comfortable accommodation and some excellent birding can be had. The rare Cape York endemic Golden-shouldered Parrot is one of the star birds round here and Red Goshawk and Grass Owl have been distinct possibilities recently

For Iron Range there are two options, driving or flying. For those with limited time it is possible to fly into nearby Lockhart River and meet the guide and 4WD there or if you are doing the trip without a guide it is possible to fly into Weipa and pick up the 4WD there and drive across. Accommodation is available at Lockhart River or Portland Roads and there is a camping option. Driving means that you can visit Lotusbird Lodge to look for Golden-shouldered Parrots and Red Goshawks on the way and White-streaked Honeyeater is also a possibility on your way up.

Bamaga is usually best done by flying in and hiring a 4WD locally. There is a variety of accommodation at Bamaga ranging from camp sites to a comfortable resort.

Many species of New Guinea origin only get into Australia at Iron Range or Bamaga: Eclectus and Red-cheeked Parrots, Palm Cockatoo, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo, Northern Scrub-robin, Green-backed Honeyeater, Yellow-legged Flycatcher, Tropical Scrubwren, Black-backed Butcherbird, Magnificent Riflebird and Trumpet Manucode.. The Red-bellied Pitta and Black-winged Monarch are wet season migrants from New Guinea, usually only seen between November and March.

These area very good trips, but driving probably needs 6 days or so for the round trip to do it justice.

For further information about local area tours click here visit the Sicklebill Safaris website............. Please note that these tours are priced from Cairns and may differ for Cassowary House residents.