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.