birding...

Bridport/Waterhouse

Satellite View
Bridport/Waterhouse is on the Northeast coast. The mild climate here encourages over-wintering by some of the migratory species, so even in winter you might see Welcome Swallows, Fan-tailed Cuckoos, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes and on the beaches and sandspit, Red-necked Stints along with the resident shorebirds. Between Bridport and Waterhouse Point the improved pastures provide for many species such as Egrets, Australasian Shelduck, Masked and Banded Lapwings, Pipits and raptors. The dune-locked lakes hold Black Swans, Grebes, most species of duck, Black-fronted Dotterels, Tasmanian Native Hens etc. and a good chance of spotting an Australasian Bittern. The coastal heathland of Waterhouse Protected Area is a stronghold of the Tawny-crowned Honeyeater and many other species.

Bruny Island

Satellite View
Bruny Island is off the South East coast and accessible by vehicular ferry several times a day; it has all 12 endemic species, plus a penguin viewing area. There is plenty of variety in accommodation, and you'll probably want more than a day to spend on this lovely island, which has the biggest population of our rarest endemic, Forty- spotted Pardalote, in the drier Northern half.

Melaleuca/Port Davey

Satellite View
Melaleuca/Port Davey is difficult to get to but worth every dollar and day waiting for the right weather for the flight in by light aircraft. The heart of the true wilderness of Tasmania's South West and home to the tin-mining King family for many years (read King of the Wilderness by Christobel Mattingley for the fascinating story); it is now a vital part of the Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Plan. The only place you are likely to see these beautiful little parrots (but only in summer and early autumn) is at the feeding station and observation area set up at Melaleuca. The Beautiful Firetail, our only native finch, will probably show up for a snack too. Even if you don't see the parrots, the flight over the mountains or along the coastline is magnificent.

Narawntapu National Park

Satellite View
Narawntapu National Park is a coastal park between Launceston and Devonport in the North. Much of it was previously farmed and it now has the most extensive bird checklist of any Tasmanian National Park. There is a good bird hide on the lagoon - I used it three times in one morning and saw several new birds on each visit. Narawntapu also has a huge population of marsupials including Tasmanian Devils.

Tasman Peninsula

Satellite View
Tasman Peninsula is part of the Southeast best known for the Port Arthur Historic Site. Lots of accommodation, and things to see and do. All 12 endemics are recorded here, and it is a favourite place for pelagic bird trips, being near to the continental shelf. The eastern half, most of which is in the Tasman National Park, has wet forest with rainforest gullies (Pink Robins, and Tasmanian Scrubwrens) and spectacular sea cliffs (Wedge-tailed and White-bellied Sea Eagles, Peregrine Falcon, etc.). In the Northwest of the Peninsula a special place is the Coal Mines/Lime Bay State Reserve. Birds abound among little-known convict era ruins, and nearby an ephemeral lagoon can provide thrills for birders. The Peninsula is the best area in the state for year-round hiking, and has superb, often deserted beaches on all coasts.

Number of bird species: 316

Number of endemics: 12
Green Rosella Platycercus caledonicus Tasmanian Native-hen Gallinula mortierii Yellow-throated Honeyeater Lichenostomus flavicollis Black-headed Honeyeater Melithreptus affinis Strong-billed Honeyeater Melithreptus validirostris Yellow Wattlebird Anthochaera paradoxa Forty-spotted Pardalote Pardalotus quadragintus Brown Scrubwren Sericornis humilis Scrubtit Acanthornis magnus Tasmanian Thornbill Acanthiza ewingii Dusky Robin Melanodryas vittata Black Currawong Strepera fuliginosa

There are also four endemic sub-species:
Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor and Wedge-Tailed Eagle Aquila audax Tasmanian Masked-Owl Tyto castanops

Field Guide to Tasmanian Birds

Dave Watts, David Baker-Gabb Paperback - 200 pages (New edition 2002) New Holland Publishers (AUS)
ISBN: 1876334606
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Fieldguides, CDs etc.

For general guides to Australia as a whole please see the Fatbirder Australia page

Nature-based Tourism

http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/
This information is of potential value to Tasmanian tourism operators in tailoring their activities and services towards satisfying visitors' requirements for participating in nature-based tourism and in more effectively marketing this type of travel product...

Birds Australia

Website

Birdwatching in Tasmania - A directory of Tasmanian birdwatching tours, birdclubs, freelance-guides, bird-orientated accommodation and reference information...

Burnie Field Naturalists

Website

Bird observations from a house at Table Cape, for Birds Australia Atlas Record, from October 1999 to 31st July 2001...

North West Bird Club

Website

The North West Bird Club was established in 1972 in our home Town of Wynyard in Tasmania Australia. Club meetings are held on the second Friday during the month of September through to May and we do not meet during the months of June, July and August each year...

Tasmanian Conservation Trust

Website

The Tasmanian Conservation Trust is a voluntary organisation working on conservation issues, especially those that directly affect Tasmania. The TCT was formed in 1968 and aims to foster and assist in the conservation of flora, fauna and important natural, archaeological and cultural features...

Tasmainia University

http://www.utas.edu.au/

Faculty of Zoology...

Tasmania Museum

http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/

The zoology department is due on line...

Inverawe Native Gardens & Nature Trails

Website
Satellite View
If bird watching is your brief, Inverawe is the place to be. Grab the binoculars, slip the field guide into your pocket and hurry on down for some real bird watching. 84 species of birds have been spotted at Inverawe...

Notley Gorge State Reserve

Information
Satellite View
The pristine forest of the reserve is similar to that which faced the early settlers of the West Tamar. About a century ago the Notley forest provided timber for boatbuilding at Rosevears (on the Tamar River) and hiding places for bushrangers...

South Bruny National Park

Information
Satellite View
South Bruny National Park lies at the southern tip of Bruny Island off the southeast coast of Tasmania. The park encompasses all of the coastline and some of the hinterland between Fluted Cape and the southern part of Great Taylors Bay.

Tamar River Conservation Area

Information
Satellite View
The Tamar River Conservation Area stretches through the upper part of the Tamar Estuary from St Leonards to the Batman Bridge. The Interpretation Centre and the boardwalk leading to Tamar Island are just a ten minute drive north from the centre of Launceston on the West Tamar Highway, just north of Riverside...

Tasmania National Park

Information
Satellite View
In the south east of Tasmania, the Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas are an ideal place to stay a while and discover the natural world. Being a peninsula it is almost an island, without the inconvenience of ferry access. With its low altitude and mild maritime climate it is ideal all year for outdoor interests such as walking and nature study...

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service

Website
Tasmania has a rich bird fauna, including several species which are confined to the State (i.e endemic). See our pages on our endemic birds for further details. Tasmania is also home to a number of threatened bird species. To discover more about some of our bird fauna, choose a species from the following complete Tasmanian bird list…

2002 [February] - Gruff Dodd

Report

Two weeks may seem too short a time for such a long-distance trip, but after this experience we would not hesitate to do it again. However, the secret is not to try to cover too big an area – travelling distances in Australia are large and you could easily waste a large percentage of your trip travelling...

2002 [November] - Rob Grimmond - Eastern Australia - Queensland, eastern New South Wales and Tasmania

Report

My wife, Kay, and I were undertaking a trip to Australia and New Zealand. We had four weeks to allocate to Australia so we restricted our travels to Queensland, eastern New South Wales and Tasmania. It was our first trip Down Under.

2003 [February] - Tom & Marie Tarrant

Report

The idea of taking a trip to Tasmania was conceived after our original plans to go to northern Thailand were thwarted by the travel-agency collapsing. This and the possibility of terrorism and war in the middle-east made us turn our attention closer to home and as the Queensland climate can be rather humid and unpleasant in February we made a decision to go to visit the Apple Isle...

2004 [March] - Philip Maher

Report

...more a checklist really...

2009 [December] - Oscar Campbell

Report

This trip report outlines a 9-day trip to Tasmania over Christmas 2009. As the only birder amongst five civilians, it was not organised specifically for birding and some of the key sites in the Hobart area were not visited. Even so, the trip was very successful with 93 species recorded in total, including 11 of the state’s 14 breeding endemics...

Australian Ornithological Services

Guide

Philip Maher was born in Deniliquin, in south-western New South Wales in 1954. His interest in natural history was fostered by his parents from a young age. While Philip is an authority on Australian birds generally, his name is synonymous with the Plains-wanderer, a bird of the open plains in inland Australia. In 1980 Philip was with a party of local birders when they came across the Plains-wanderer. He went on to study the species extensively, banding about 600 birds and has shown the species to great numbers of Australian, American and European birders...

Discover Tasmania

Tour Operator

A number of birding outings listed such as Penguins at Bicheno...

Inala Nature Tours

Tour Operator & Guide

...a family owned and operated company that specializes in designing and organizing personalized wildlife tours for groups such as birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts...

Inala

Accommodation

Accommodation at “INALA” comprises a self-contained, 3-bedroom farm cottage, which is set in idyllic surroundings next to a tree-lined stream in a private setting, with views of the South Bruny Ranges and tall eucalypt forest. The cottage combines modern facilities with old-fashioned comforts, facilities include television, VCR, electric blankets, washing machine, clothes dryer, a bath, a log fire, a slow-combustion woodheater and a microwave oven...

Margate Cottage Boutique Bed & Breakfast

Accommodation

An individual cottage for two, set into a delightful silver birch garden. This elegant accommodation is very quiet and private, and features your own sitting room with a tea and coffee making nook. Take a stroll out the back gate to the banks of a wilderness river for platypus viewing, bush walking, bird watching or just to appreciate the pure Tasmanian air...

Tasmania Mountain Valley Wilderness

Website

Hidden in the lost valley of Loongana amongst the mountains of North West Tasmania. Mountain Valley an eco retreat on a 'Private Nature Reserve', with six cosy log cabins nestled under the majestic presence of Black Bluff Mt ideal for those interested in hiking, flora and unique wildlife experiences. Guided platypus, glow worm grotto, cave or forest habitat tours. There are deep river gorges, cool fern glades, ancient rainforests, glacial lakes, mountain peaks and cascading waterfalls - all easy to explore. We suggest you take a few days to explore this lost valley...

Tasmania Wilderness Lodges

Accommodation

From Tasmania’s wilderness lodges, you can experience ancient ecosystems, cruise to a seal colony, follow your footprints back along the tideline of an ocean beach, climb a mountain peak, visit a vineyard or a salmon farm – and still be home for candlelit dinner at eight...

Birding in Tasmania

Website

Welcome - to a website entirely dedicated to birds and birding in Tasmania. The site is largely still under construction. If you notice an error, would like to make a suggestion or ask a question - please contact me by using the link above - many thanks for visiting...

Endemic birds of Tasmania

Website

Article by Mr D. G. Thomas, President, Bird Observers Association of Tasmania.

Nature Sound - David Stewart

Website

Australian Bird Calls - Tasmania has 12 endemic bird species and a feature of the CD is the presentation of a range of calls for this unique group. The endemic species are the Tasmanian Native-hen, Green Rosella, Forty-spotted Pardalote, Tasmanian Scrubwren, Scrubtit, Tasmanian Thornbill, Yellow Wattlebird, Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Strong-billed Honeyeater, Black-headed Honeyeater, Dusky Robin and Black Currawong. A further 68 species are included and many of these have calls which are different to their mainland cousins and particular attention has been paid to this aspect. The CD contains calls of 80 species...

Penguin Conservation in Tasmania

Website

The Penguin Jumpers Project has now finished. Over 15,000 jumpers were collected, which will be stored in Oil Spill Response Kits around Tasmania. In the case of a major oil spill, these jumpers will be used to help rehabilitate Little penguins (Eudyptula minor) that have been oil affected. Oil clogs the feathers of these tiny seagoing birds, and reduces their insulating and waterproofing qualities. Even worse, the penguins attempt to clean themselves by preening, and rapidly become poisoned...

Tasmania's Endemics

Website

A list with photos and info about the endemics of the Island...

Tasmanian Birds

Website

Tasmania has a rich bird fauna, including several species which are confined to the State (i.e endemic). See our pages on our endemic birds for further details. Tasmania is also home to a number of threatened bird species. To discover more about some of our bird fauna, choose a species from the following complete Tasmanian bird list.

Tasmanian Native Hen

Website

A large, heavy bodied, flightless bird found only in Tasmania. It is similar in shape to the Black-tailed Native-hen Tribonyx ventralia but is larger. The Tasmanian Native-hen has a large yellow bill, a red eye, brown head, back and wings and is slate grey on its underparts....