Category Archives: Australia

Birding Bibra Lake, Western Australia

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When: February 2026 Weather: Hot 30C

OM System

The birder we met at the Big Swamp in Bunbury had suggested that Bibra Lake would be worth a visit and so we arrived there at about 830am. We drove around the whole lake once to recce it and then parked on the East Side of the Lake near the skate park before walking towards the hides which are the nearer the top end of the east lakeside.

the boardwalk to the first hide which was small and rudimentary with nowhere to sit down…..we did shoot a few birds here but the better ones were at the second hide further north…
a few fairy wrens welcomed us
as did the silver eyes
grey fantail
fanning his tail
and flashing his wings!
new holland honeyeater’s colours are almost lost amongst the flowers
he too flashed his wings
rainbow lorikeet
yellow billed spoonbill posed beautifully
white faced heron from the first hide
Australian pelican flypast
oriental reed warblers were busy in the reeds
oriental reed warbler singing

Other local birders told us that we’d have better luck with the target ducks at the second hide and so we hiked over there….

this is the second hide where there were seats around the pontoon and the ducks came much closer……
Here it was we saw our first close up blue billed duck
blue billed duck
blue billed duck
australasian grebe
the rather drab musk duck
musk duck
musk duck
grey teal
grey teal
pacific black duck

As the sun came up nearer noon we thought we spotted some pink eared ducks in the far distance nearer the opposite shore……just a bit far for our lenses….so we opted to go for lunch in a wonderful grill and bar called Carrington’s, just about 10min from Bibra Lake…..they were awarded the best steak sandwich in West Australia so well worth a visit. After lunch we went back and parked on the west side of the lake and made our way to the water’s edge……

the western lake side where there wer many black swans and where the ducks were closer…
black swan flypast
black swan native to WA
and then we finally got close enough to see the lovely pink eared ducks!
Pink eared duck with typical stripes down the side
the pink ear isn’t the easiest thing to see as it’s a very small area but here we can see it quite clearly
notice also the unusual lower beak….

We finally called it a day about 3pm and made the 30 min journey back to Perth. Bibra Lake is well worth a visit from Perth as it is snear, eassy to navigate and has lots of bird activity. Highly recommended.

Birding Mandurah, Western Australia

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When: February 2026 Weather: Warm 27C

OM1mk2 150-400mmzuiko Pro

Having lost two precious morning birding sessions to Qantas delaying our flights, this third day was our first full day….we decided to head south to Mandurah where we had been reliably informed that we might find fairy wrens, one of our target birds….It was just over an hour’s drive from the airport hotel to the Seba’s Giant Statue car park in Mandurah.

This is the called Seba’s Song in Mandurah….the last car park and the gravel trail to the statue was where we did all the birding….as we parked and hopped out heading to the toilets, we were waylaid….quite a few little wrens were hopping all over the place!
a female fairy wren checked us out
male and female fairy wrens
magnificently coloured male fairy wren
side view
close up
female on a pedestal
in flight
hopping
contrasting colours
posing
sandpiper
silver gull
new holland honeyeater
new holland honeyeater in flight
inland thornbill
inland thornbill
singing honeyeater
singing honeyeater with the yellow marking under the eye
singing honeyeater in flight
brown honeyeater
after the fairy wrens got all the attention, it was the turn of the spotted scrub wren…charming
scrubwren
and final bird of the morning was this tiny fellow way up high, blocked by twigs and hence blurry…but could just see enough to identify it as a spotted pardalote….what a beauty!

This location was a gem; full of activity, easy to get to and lots on interesting birds. Highly recommended

Birding Margaret River, Busselton, Bunbury

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When: February 2026 Weather: Hot 32C

OM1 mk2 150-400mmZuiko Pro

After we were done Mandurah, we stopped at Bunbury for lunch and shelter from the unrelenting western australia sunshine….as we had the whole afternoon ahead, we drove down to the Margaret River area, targeting the Malbup Hide and Wonnerup area near Busselton.

First port of call was the Malbup Hide, just a short walk from the main road…it overlooked a water body with a number of water birds around
a white faced heron from afar
white faced heron in flight
a brown honeyeater buzzing a fantail
white faced heron in the bushes
along the Layman Road further in, this Nankeen Kestrel posed
great crested tern in flight
Swamp harrier
we then arrived at Bunbury to visit the Big Swamp Parkland Viewing Platform where a lovely Pacific Black Duck welcomed us in the early evening light
a mother coot was feeding her baby
coot junior
shelducks
and as the evening wore on , a kindly local birder brought us to see another tawny forgmouth!
a lovely common bronzewing
common bronze wing
ringneck
new holland honeyeater
shelduck
Little corellas were everywhere
and as the sun set, the black fronted Dotterel made an appearance
such a pretty bird
pair of dotterels
finally the sun set over the big swamp

Birding Busselton and Bunbury did not yield many new birds but that was probably due to it being the hot 2-4pm time.

Overall still an interesting drive.

Birding Hamilton Island, Whitsundays, Australia.

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When: July 2024 Weather: Cool 20C

Nikon P900

In Hamilton Island for a meeting and the Reef Resort Hotel there is surrounded by trails on the surrounding hills. They’re moderately steep and you have to be careful coming down the gravelly trails….

we stayed at the Reef Resort Hotel which overlooks the Whitsunday Island in the background
This wall of green faces the hotel and the trails are dotted within this hill
the commonest bird by far was the sulphur crested cockatoo….and there are hundreds of them …so much so that if you leave your windows open, they will come in and raid the kitchen!
trail map
the dirt and gravel trail
stunning view of the surroundings
the Pied Currawongs were busy
First lifer of the trip..the black faced cuckoo shrike
black faced cuckoo shrike
view of the airport from the walk up to resort lookout
resort lookout view of whitsunday island
and then the stunning rainbow lorikeets appeared…
they fly so fast and fearlessly that they zipped past me several times on the trail
the next morning we were greeted by this stunning sunrise with the sulphur crested cockatoos in the foreground
the common mynahs are different from the javan mynahs in singapore
I took a walk on the ‘Scenic Trail’ leading to Hideaway Beach
one of the more easily seen birds in the evening is the bush stone curlew, a rather large chickensized bird…
and then another lifer, the white bellied cuckoo shrike
white bellied cuckoo shrike
beautiful butterflies..here a Blue Tiger
an eagle being harrassed by crows
a different hued sunrise the next day
another beautiful butterfly
I also explored the little trail behind the hotel and the whitsunday apartments just before the scenic trail entrance
finally a wallabee showed up with the curlew behind
bush stone curlew
juvenile biush stone curlew
a fourth lifer….the orange footed scrub hen
orange footed scrub hen
a sunbird which looks like the olive backed sunbird we are so familiar with in singapore
but yet the flame coloured breast is much more orange …
a final serene sunrise on my last day
marina view
a pair of canoodling kookaburras
they made a lot of noise….but the cockatoos were far noisier
screaming sulphur crested cockatoos
a large black and white bird then landed….lifer no. 5 the Radjah shelduck
why did the duck cross the road?
the sixth lifer of my visit….the olive backed oriole
a koala at the wildlife sanctuary
the stunning pheasant coucal lurking just beside the main road! Picture courtesy of G Barrett.
a smart pied currawong bid farewell
Hamilton Island is a pretty idyllic place to hold a meeting…..but it’s a charming place..

The birding was excellent and the weather nice and cool. Whilst most come here for the barrier reef and snorkelling or diving, the waters are still a bit cold and it’s a 2 hour boat ride to the snorkelling sites in seas which can be rough….I stuck to birding and got 6 lifers! Recommended.