From boardwalks to bush tracks: Discover our new Wet Tropics Birding Guide

Ceri Pearce | Birds With Altitude Project Leader

BirdLife Northern Queensland is delighted to launch a new Birds With Altitude (BWA) Project Guide to Birding Locations in the Wet Tropics Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA). From smooth, wheelchair-accessible boardwalks to rugged rainforest tracks, this Guide opens the door to birding opportunities for everyone.

The Guide features more than 60 locations spread across the Atherton Tablelands, Coastal Wet Tropics, Daintree, Paluma, and Wooroonooran KBAs.

Sites range from wheelchair-accessible paved paths and boardwalks to dirt roads and unformed bushwalking tracks. Each walk is graded, making it easy to choose a location that suits your ability, comfort level and sense of adventure.

There is bound to be a birding site near you. Take a look at the Guide and start planning your next outing.

More locations will be added over time, and participants are encouraged to carry out additional surveys within Wet Tropics KBAs wherever their rainforest adventures lead.

Before you head out, make sure you read the Birds With Altitude Manual, which explains survey methods, and includes important health and safety information, including a Risk Assessment, to help ensure a safe and enjoyable birding experience.

To learn more about the Birds With Altitude Project and access the Guide, Manual and survey resources, visit:

Birds With Altitude

Grab your binoculars, choose a track, and help us put Wet Tropics birds on the map!

Entry to the well-formed Madja Boardwalk: Cape Tribulation section, Daintree National Park (Daintree KBA). At only 15–20 m above sea level, this site is a great location to explore the primitive Daintree forest and look for lowland bird species.

Wooroonooran KBA: the entry to Guwulu Speewah Trailhead, and walk from Djina-Wu to Smith Track, Barron Gorge National Park. At around 350 m above sea level, this site is a good place to look for low to mid altitude birds.

The Endangered Southern Cassowary can be found in many of the Guide's Wet Tropics KBA birding locations. Photo © Dominic Chaplin.

Coastal Wet Tropics KBA: at only 30 m above sea level, the Licuala Walking Track at Mission Beach offers one of few remaining locations to experience lowland fan palm forest and see the birds that live there.

If you are looking for high altitude birds, Wabunga Wayemba Rainforest track in Tully Falls National Park (part of Wooroonooran KBA) is a great place to go.

Paluma National Park: Witts Lookout and Cloudy Creek walking tracks also provide access to high altitude cloud forest (Paluma KBA).

The Endangered Fernwren is a higher altitude endemic species. Photo © Martin Willis.

At around 600 m above sea level, the 4-wheel-drive accessible Maple Creek Road, in the Misty Mountains section of Wooroonooran KBA, is a great place to see mid to higher elevation birds and forest.

The Mountain Thornbill is a small, 5–8 g bird endemic to high-elevation rainforests in North Queensland's Wet Tropics. Photo © Doug Castle 2017 birdlifephotography.org.

The Endangered Wet Tropics subspecies of the Australian King Parrot is most often seen in pairs or small flocks. Each time you record it during a survey, you add an important piece to the puzzle, helping us build a clearer picture of the distribution and population trends of this strikingly beautiful bird. Photo by Peter Valentine.