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Bird Watching Tour | El Questro Homestead

Each day at the Homestead is likely to start with birdsong. Birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts have the opportunity to enrich their Kimberley experience by joining an El Questro Ranger on an early morning excursion to bird watching sites, complimentary to Homestead guests. The variety of ecosystems in the park attracts more than 100 different bird species. Regular sightings of the resident pair of dancing brolgas, colourful rainbow bee-eaters, the endangered Gouldian finch or sea eagles feeding their young. There are the typical northern birds like the lorikeet and jabiru, the pan-Australian birds like the emu, and the visitors such as the channel-billed cuckoo. There are also the flocks of little corellas or budgerigars that are common around waterholes and dams.

The Kimberley landscape varies as much as its weather, from high sandstone escarpments and plateaus to deep, plunging gorges. The coastline is rugged, and tidal ranges are high. The Kimberley is also home to a number of large rivers and as such, mangroves and mudflats are common features providing unique environments for a vast number of flora and fauna. Below are a just a few of the incredible bird species found in the 70, 000 acres of El Questro wilderness park.

Brolgas | Grus rubicunda

Brolgas are known for their dancing and leaping displays. Their croaking and trumpeting calls can be heard at a distance, particularly at night. These tall birds can grow to 1.3 m in height, and weigh up to 7 kg (males are larger than females). Adult birds have feathers in varying shades of grey, and have red – orange cheeks, yellow or orange irises, a greenish bill, and legs in varying shades of black. Brolgas are often quite easy to spot in a variety of habitats, including freshwater swamps, lagoons, claypans and river pools. Egg-laying season extends from December through to March, with a female laying 1 – 2 eggs per clutch.

Rainbow Bee Eater | Merops ornatus

Seen as brilliant flashes of golden-bronze, turquoise and green, rainbow bee eaters swoop and glide in elegant manoeuvres. All their food is captured on the wing. With a bee or wasp, bee eaters will perch and batter it against a branch to know out the sting before swallowing. Some rainbow bee eaters are present all year round. Others move to Indonesia or New Guinea to breed during March – April. Bee eaters nest in burrows along creek banks and in sandy soil. The eggs are incubated for almost a month by all members of the group.

Gouldian finch | Chloebia gouldiae

Also known as the Lady Gouldian finch, Gould’s finch or the rainbow finch, this petit and colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia. Gouldian finches are about 125–140 mm long. Gouldian finches’ heads may be red, black, or yellow. During the breeding season, they are normally found on rough scree slopes where vegetation is sparse. In the dry season, they are much more nomadic and will move to wherever their food and water can be found.

To see an index of the top 20 birds that can be found at El Questro, visit.