Annual birding visit to East Trinity Reserve: August 2025
- Denis Walls
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
Denis Walls | Convenor
Our Convenor, Denis Walls, tells the story below of Cairns’ Bird Week’s very successful trip to East Trinity Reserve wetlands across Trinity Inlet from the Cairns Business District. The trip took place on Saturday, 23 August 2025 from 6:30 am to 11:00 am.
BirdLife Northern Queensland (BLNQ) and Cairns Birders’ annual visit to East Trinity is always keenly anticipated. Access is still difficult and it’s hard to know in advance the condition of the dirt roads inside the property.
The 740 ha property is still managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) with engagement from the Traditional Owners, the Mandingalbay Yidinji (MY), who have established an eco-cultural tourism operation there.
A group of around 30 birders met on Yarrabah Road at 6:30 am where, by carpooling, we reduced the vehicles to nine for the trip around the extensive property. It was a stunning day with perfect visibility: cool, cloudless and no wind.
As we drove towards the celebrated Peat Swamp, we stopped to look at a field of around 15 Royal Spoonbills, plus all four egret species together – Great, Plumed, Little and Eastern Cattle: quite the little gathering of the cousins and second cousins!
A little further on was a veritable finch/mannikin/munia banquet of seed from the Guinea Grass. Whatever you think of feral grasses, they do provide good tucker for some of our most beautiful small birds. I don’t think I have ever seen such profusion. Crimson Finches, Chestnut-breasted Mannikins, and Scaly-breasted Munias were in their droves.
Along the bank and open area of Little Halls Creek there were Cryptic, Yellow-spotted, Dusky, Yellow and Brown Honeyeaters, Rufous Fantail, and Shining Flycatcher. Australasian Figbird, Yellow/Green and Olive-backed Orioles, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, and Varied Triller were also present.
Along the Peat Swamp track, Brown-backed Honeyeaters were starting to get active. Little-bronze and Sahul Brush-Cuckoos were calling, and Red-backed Fairywrens were very confiding.
At the lakes area we were spoiled with numerous Sacred Kingfishers dashing back and forth, as was a Little Heron. Torresian Kingfishers were calling loudly.
About 100 m further on, at the Firewood Creek picnic stop the sandflies got the better of us, so we moved on, but not before Mikey scoped an Estuarine Crocodile in the distance. We went on to the Hills Creek area for our morning tea as the day started to warm up and the breezes chased the sandflies away.
Further on, towards George Creek, a few of us had great views of a Mangrove Robin.
However the tide was too far in for us to see any waders at the time. Lovely Fairywrens showed up along with Leaden, and another Shining, Flycatcher. Mistletoebirds were a constant.
We proceeded to the end of East Trinity and the seafront. On the mud, we added another 12 or so species to the 60-plus recorded inside the property. Overhead we spotted Brahminy Kite and Pacific Baza.
At the seafront, we also saw what looked like a juvenile Collared Sparrowhawk: a very unusual sighting in the Cairns area. In fact, it is the first record for East Trinity. Long may we be able to visit this magical place and enjoy its wonders so close to the City of Cairns.
The 74 species recorded were:
Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Silver Gull, Australian Tern, Orange-footed Megapode, Peaceful Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Torresian Imperial-Pigeon, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, Sahul Brush Cuckoo, Australian Swiftlet, Masked Lapwing, Australasian Darter, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Royal Spoonbill, Little Egret, White-faced Heron, Little/Striated Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Plumed Egret, Osprey, Pacific Baza, Collared Sparrowhawk, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Whistling Kite, Rainbow Bee-eater, Laughing Kookaburra, Forest Kingfisher, Torresian Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Rainbow Lorikeet, Lovely Fairywren, Red-backed Fairywren, Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, Cryptic Honeyeater, Yellow Honeyeater, Varied Honeyeater, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Dusky Honeyeater, Brown Honeyeater, Helmeted Friarbird, Rufous Shrike-thrush, White-breasted Woodswallow, Fairy Gerygone, Large-billed Gerygone, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Triller, Grey Whistler, Olive-backed Oriole, Green/Yellow Oriole, Australasian Figbird, Black Butcherbird, Willie Wagtail, Australian Rufous Fantail, Spangled Drongo, Magpie-lark, Leaden Flycatcher, Shining Flycatcher, Mangrove Robin, Golden-headed Cisticola, Mistletoebird, Welcome Swallow, Sahul Sunbird, Crimson Finch, Double-barred Finch, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Scaly-breasted Munia, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin.
