It’s easy to understand the appeal of birdwatching, especially in North Queensland. Immersed in nature, you fall quickly into a meditative state, as you learn about the ecosystems nearly half of all Australian bird species call home.
Mt. Mulligan Lodge is calling all twitchers to experience the diversity of habitats as you take the scenic route from Cairns to Mount Mulligan on a guided birdwatching tour with FNQ Nature Tours.
Fusing nature, history, adventure and fine dining, a romantic getaway at Mt. Mulligan Lodge is a ticket to turning up the heat or rekindling the relationship flame.
Birdwatching in Australia’s twitching mecca
Over three hours, as you travel through the Atherton Tablelands, you’ll have the opportunity to spot and identify some of the more than 450 avian species recorded in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, including 13 found nowhere else in the world.
Traversing high altitude vine forests, scattered farmlands – where keen eyes will spy raptors – and beautiful savannah escarpments, this birdwatching road trip is a heady appetiser to the three days that await at Mt. Mulligan Lodge.
The roll-call of potential bird species to tick off your list reads like a David Attenborough documentary – Magpie Geese, Black Swans, Blue Winged Kookaburra, Bee-eaters, Tree Creepers and Pardalotes. Sharp-eyed birdwatchers may spy Bridled and Macleay’s Honeyeaters, the Australian King Parrot, Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Victoria’s Riflebird, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot and many more.
Once you’ve checked in at Mt. Mulligan Lodge, set on a private 28,000 hectare cattle station, your birdwatching moments may come as easily as observing rainbow lorikeets and kingfishers as you sit by the weir, cold drink in hand. The luxury lodge is a refuge for birdlife and on a private three-hour birdwatching tour, you’ll join fellow twitchers in the search for kookaburras and noisy friarbirds, among others.
With binoculars in hand, many of the other included tours and self-guided walks from the lodge provide opportunities for birdwatching at your own pace. But the best part is you don’t have to venture far from the luxury environment to get lucky with your birding list.
