Around Australia 2026 Part 4: The Pilbara of Western Australia

 

Black-tailed Treecreeper (wellsi)

Following our departure from the Kimberley, we headed south for an overnight stop in the Goldfire Rest Camp, a free camp that was a pleasant break from the busy caravan parks we've been staying in. Contrary to expectations following concerns about fuel costs and availability amid the Middle East conflict, remote travel in northern Australia is alive and well this winter. We then overnighted at the Sandfire Roudhouse, famous for once turning up Australia's first Brown-streaked Flycatcher.

Spinifex plains south of De Gray River

Not far from the roadhouse I stumbled upon the remains a bush tucker feast. Two small red kangaroos and I estimate 5-6 Australian Bustards had been consumed . Among piles of feathers and picked bones were dozens of empty beer and spirits cans . I get that indigenous people have a strong attraction to bush tucker but I’ve long been concerned that firearms tilt the balance the wrong way. Indigenous people light fires to attract bustards (they fly in hoping to catch insects etc fleeing the flames) and shoot them.

A feast of bustard

On this road trip, bustards have been surprisingly scarce. I found a male bird (below) not far from the feast – the only one seen on this excursion other than a few in the Katherine area on Manbulloo Station, where they're protected.

Then it was on to De Gray River rest area, another free camp. This spot is very different from what we saw here during our 2014 road trip, with a huge area now catering for dozens of campers. 

De Gray River

The distinctive wellsi race of the Black-tailed Treecreeper showed nicely in the riverside eucalypts.

Black-tailed Treecreeper wellsi

We continued south through a desert landscape that was green and lush following heavy rains earlier this year. We stayed in a beachfront caravan site in the delightful town of Point Samson for 2 nights. The Pilbara mountain ranges combined with coastal estuaries and sand-dunes for some truly inspirational scenery.

Pt Samson - south of town

Pt Samson - town area

The nearby ghost town of Cossack up the road from Pt Samson was an eye-opener. Blue stone buildings 150 years old are in remarkably good condition. The town was established as a bustling pearling centre but fell by the wayside when Broome took on that role.

Cossack bluestone building

The distinctive red-bellied race ferruginia of the Spinifex Pigeon was plentiful. I looked without success for Rothschild's Rock-Wallaby, the type specimen of which was procured in Cossack.

Spinifex Pigeon (ferruginia)

Dusky Gerygone was present in mangroves near Pt Samson.

Dusky Gerygone

So was a pair of Mangrove Golden Whistlers of the subspecies robusta. A distant pair of Beach Stone-Curlews were on the mudflats.

Mangrove Whistler robusta female (above) male (below)

Flowering Sturt's Desert Pea brightened things up.

Sturt's Desert Pea

We moved on to Onslow for our final couple of nights in the Pilbara at another seaside caravan park. Worth a visit.

Desert outside Onslow is a carpet of green

Around Australia 2026 Part 3 – Western Australia; The Kimberley

 

Gouldian Finch

After crossing the Northern Territory, we had 3 nights at the Lily Lagoon Resort caravan park in Kununurra. While nicely positioned on the shore of Lily Lagoon, this indigenous-owned park was expensive, dirty and unsafe – our car was broken into but fortunately they found nothing of interest.

Mirimi National Park

A visit to Mirimi National Park just outside town was in order – its rocky formations are a delightful scenic attraction, turning up the expected White-quilled Rock Pigeon, Sandstone Shrike-thrush and Silver-crowned Friarbird.

Silver-crowned Friarbird

In a lakeside park were good numbers of Red-collared Lorikeet.

Red-collared Lorikeet

A visit to the Hoochery-Distillery 16km outside town was well worthwhile. This has become a known hotspot for the generally scarce Yellow-rumped Mannikin. Quite a few were present along the irrigation channels here.

Yellow-rumped Mannikin (above and below)

Also plentiful were Star Finch and Crimson Finch.

Star Finch

We moved on for a 2-night stay in Wyndham's caravan park, which we enjoyed during our last visit in 2014. A Barking Owl pair was in residence here, as was the case in most of the far northern parks we stayed in.

Barking Owl

The park can be good for finches but widespread rains earlier this year meant plenty of water about, so concentrations of birds at diminishing pools were scarce. However, King River Road not far from town provided the goods, with pools attracting good finch numbers between 6.5km and 8km from the main road. Top bird as usual was Gouldian Finch - about 15 included a couple of red-faced individuals among the more common black-faced and plenty of juveniles. This preponderance of juveniles was the case with finches generally on this trip, indicating a bountiful nesting season in months prior.

Gouldian Finch (red-faced)

Star Finch was again numerous; these striking birds don't disappoint.

Gouldian Finch & Star Finch

Star Finch

Masked Finch and Long-tailed Finch were reasonably common.

Long-tailed Finch

Masked Finch

A flock of 30 Pictorella Mannikins perched up in a dead tree but some distance away.

Pictorella Mannikin flock

Paperbark Flycatchers put on a show.

Restless Flycatcher

Mangroves around Wyndham Jetty turned up Yellow White-eye.

Yellow White-eye

The view over the Cambridge Gulf from the Five Rivers Lookout was as stunning as always.

Views from Wyndham's Lookout (above & below)

We headed south to Halls Creek. The town's caravan park has closed due to problems with break-ins so we drove 16km south to Old Halls Creek Lodge, where a basic and quirky caravan park nestles among what is effectively a ghost town; this is the site of the state's first gold rush, in the 1880s. Black Falcon and Northern Rosella were about the park.

Halls Creek Old Town Lodge (above & below)

Some delightful scenic attractions nearby included Caroline's Pool and the China Wall.

Carolines Pool

China Wall

Heading back to Halls Creek, a nice collection of Pictorella Mannikins showed roadside, these much closer than the earlier birds.

Pictorella Mannikin (above & below)

En route to Fitzroy Crossing, the third Black-breasted Buzzard of the trip was photographed distantly.

Black- breasted Buzzard

We overnighted at the Fitzroy Lodge caravan park. Meals and drinks were very expensive, which seems to be rule these days for everything in many places we're visiting. Diesel continues to be reliably supplied but is also expensive, which we anticipated.

Fitzroy River

We moved on for 2 nights in Derby's Entrance Caravan Park. A visit to the town jetty is a must. The tidal drop of 11 metres here is the biggest in Australia.

Derby mudflats

Just as interesting was a pair of Kimberley Flyrobins in mangroves by the jetty. Regarded as a subspecies of Lemon-bellied Flyrobin, this surely is a good candidate for splitting. I saw it this morning in the same spot where I first found the bird in 1979.

Kimberley Flyrobin (above & below)

Broad-billed Flycatcher was vocal and co-operative.

Broad-billed Flycatcher

A female White-breasted Whistler showed nicely.

White-breasted Whistler

A Black-eared Cuckoo juvenile in the mangroves was being fed by Mangrove Gerygones.

Black-eared Cuckoo juvenile

Around Australia 2026 Part 2 – Northern Territory

 

Northern Shriketit

After traversing Queensland (previous post) we spent our final night in that state on our around-Oz sojourn near the NT border outside Camooweal by the Georgina River (Lake Francis). This was our first free camp for the trip and the most delightful site. 

Camooweal camp (above & below)

We enjoyed the presence of several quite tame Brolga which were feeding on the bulbs of a waterlily that evidently is endemic to the Lake Eyre Basin. Large numbers of juvenile Nankeen Night-Heron were present.

Brolga

The next night was an enjoyable stay at Barkly Roadhouse, followed by another free night on the Barkly Highway at 41 Mile Bore. The arid desert scrub here (below) was in full flourish after heavy regional rains earlier this year.

Banded Honeyeater was surprisingly common this far south, feeding on the numerous flowering grevillea and maleleuca.

Banded Honeyeater

Diamond Dove was abundant. Just one flock of Budgerigar – about 30 birds – was seen.

Diamond Dove

Red-browed Pardalotes were vocal and co-operative.

Red-browed Pardalote

As was Purple-backed Fairywren.

Purple-backed Fairywren

A female Collared Sparrowhawk stood sentinel over a small waterhole, which was attended by hundreds of Zebra Finches.

Collared Sparrowhawk

A dead Spectacled Hare-Wallaby was on the road at the rest area. Another was found 5km to the west the next morning.

Spectacled Hare Wallaby

We continued on to a quirky cheap van park behind the pub at Dunmarra – a pleasant spot, although we had to wait for the publican to fetch some beer up the road at the infamous (horribly crowded and impersonal) Daly Waters pub. This was followed by 2 nights at the Mataranka Homestead van park – another crowded spot, but the hot springs were pleasant as always. It occurred to us that the number of travellers on the road seemed to have increased substantially – people evidently being more relaxed about the fuel security problems unearthed by the Middle East conflict.

Mataranka Hot Springs

A male Great Bowerbird put on a fine display at the back of the van, displaying its normally invisible purple neck feathers.

Great Bowerbird

We stopped at Central Arnhem Road to again unsuccessfully look for Northern Shriketit. I did see plenty of rubeculus race of Grey-crowned Babbler.

Grey-crowned Babbler

Then it was a pleasant 3 nights at Manbulloo Homestead van park outside Katherine. We stayed here before – a delightful spot. The Katherine River was in unusually full flow for this time of year. The resident Bustards were nicely visible as always, with 8 in one flock seen.

Australian Bustard

The distinctive northern (white-quilled) race of Blue-faced Honeyeater was common, this one showing its white quills.

Blue-faced (white-quilled) Honeyeater

We headed 50km south-west on the Victoria Highway to the Vince Connolly Limestone Creek rest area for an overnight stay. It was a short drive from here to the Gorrie/Dry River Road on the property Manbulloo, a new birding hotspot for the NT. The next morning I finally connected with the chief target – the rare Northern Shriketit. I first saw this spec ies near Mataranka in the late-1970s; to see it again and photograph it was a joy. The bird was not calling and with a flock of woodswallows and other birds; the site was a dry gully 13km from the road's intersection with the Victoria Highway.

Northern Shriketit

Other good birds came thick and fast. At least 60 Hooded Parrots in 3 or 4 flocks were seen.

Hooded Parrot

Masked Finch and Long-tailed Finch were common.

Masked Finch

A few Black-chinned (subsp golden-backed) Honeyeaters put on a show.

Black-chinned (golden-backed) Honeyeater

Black-tailed Treecreeper was quite common.

Black-tailed Treecreeper

Little Woodswallows were present, mixed with the more common Black-faced Woodswallows.

Little Woodswallow

Three Antilopine Wallaroos sat nicely on the road.

Antilopine Wallaroo

Also on the road but not so nice were what remained of of a road-killed Northern Nailtail Wallaby, with ID confirmed by the bicoloured tail.

Northern Nail-tail Wallaby

Our final 2 nights in the NT were at the Timber Creek van park. Again, large numbers of vans clearly indicated that northward travels were back in force. The Victoria River and surrounding escarpments were glorious.

Victoria River (above & below)

A Buff-sided Robin was found in creekside scrub behind the van park.

Buff-sided Robin

A large Freshwater Crocodile was sunning itself on a log. These reptiles are fed here.

Freshwater Crocodile

In the morning we visited Nackeroo Monument and Lookout, and Big Horse Creek campground on the banks of the Victoria River, where a pair of Purple-crowned Fairywrens performed nicely in the cane grass.

Purple-crowned Fairywren