sunshinecoastbirds: Around Australia 2026 Part 3 – Western Australia; The Kimberley

Sunday, 12 July 2026

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.