Blue-faced Honeyeater, Mount Molloy, 30 August 2026. Photo: Jon Westaway.
Birding Blitz: a day of photography and birding
Sunday 30 August 2026
Clayton Smith, Lead Guide with David Lyons
Sunday 30 August 2026
Kuranda, Gilmore Rd, Biboohra, Mareeba backroads, Barron River bridge, Lake Mitchell, Mount Molloy, Abattoir Swamp, Kay Rd Mareeba, Kuranda
Dry and overcast through the morning, rain arriving on the drive home.
Clayton Smith · David Lyons
56 bird species recorded (1 heard only)
- •Australian Bustards at first light and again in the cane regrowth at Mareeba
- •A Brolga pair with a juvenile on the Mareeba backroads and at Lake Mitchell
- •Black-necked Stork on the backroads, a female by the yellow eye
- •Blue-faced and Yellow Honeyeaters in the calliandra at Mount Molloy
- •Lovely Fairywrens at Abattoir Swamp, the best photographs of the day
Today's Birding Blitz was a photography-focused tour hosted as part of the Cairns Birders' Festival. The tour was also an opportunity to show our appreciation to local photographer Jon Westaway for his ongoing photographic contribution to Kingfisher Birding, as well as providing hospitality towards Luke, OM System's Australian rep and self-confessed camera geek, who travelled up from Sydney to share his expertise in the OM System, a system a lot of bird photographers swear by.
We departed Kuranda at dawn, arriving at our first-light location around Biboohra, where Australian Bustards stood proudly in the fields. As we stepped out to capture some photographs, Black Kites, Straw-necked Ibis and White-bellied Cuckooshrikes flew overhead, giving us an early opportunity to capture some great birds-in-flight (BIF) images.
Our next stop produced a flyover from a Red-winged Parrot, although unfortunately it didn't give us the opportunity for a decent photograph. We did, however, enjoy excellent views of Forest Kingfishers, Laughing Kookaburras and an abundance of Tree Martins, Magpie-larks and Masked Lapwings, and a Great Bowerbird sat up on a rock long enough for everyone to get a frame.
Continuing north, we captured good photographs of Black-shouldered Kites and a Nankeen Kestrel, as well as a family of Brolgas on the edge of Lake Mitchell. A Black-necked Stork on the backroads was a female, picked by the yellow eye. Further afield, White-necked Herons and White-faced Herons wandered among an assortment of other waterbirds, providing plenty of opportunities for observation and photography.
We stopped in the quaint town of Mount Molloy for morning tea, or as we say in Australia, smoko. As usual, the birds were everywhere. Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Helmeted Friarbirds and Rainbow Lorikeets posed beautifully for the cameras, while Forest Kingfishers and Yellow Honeyeaters moved from branch to branch, giving us plenty of opportunities to pursue that ever-enticing BIF photograph.
Abattoir Swamp was our next stop. It was relatively quiet, but Lovely Fairywrens, Rufous Whistlers and Spectacled Monarchs kept us busy as we followed them through the brush. Our patience was rewarded with some of the best photographs of the day.
Our final stop was back in Mareeba, where once again Australian Bustards wandered carefree among the regrowth of a freshly harvested sugarcane crop.
As we drove back towards Kuranda, we finally hit the rain. It was a fitting reminder of just how fortunate we are to live in a region that provides such an extraordinary variety of habitats for every possible type of weather.
A big thank you once again to Jon and Luke for sharing their knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise, and for their contribution to the appreciation and enjoyment of our remarkable birdlife.
Luke's photos were shot on the OM System OM-1 Mark II with the 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO lens.
More from the day
Species Recorded
Ducks
- Pacific Black Duck. Three on the water.
Megapodes
- Australian Brushturkey. One around the picnic area at Mount Molloy.
Pigeons and doves
- Peaceful Dove. Biboohra.
- Bar-shouldered Dove. Biboohra and the Mareeba backroads.
- Crested Pigeon. Mareeba backroads.
- Torresian Imperial-Pigeon. Flyover.
Bustards
- Australian Bustard. Two at Gilmore Rd at first light, two more at Biboohra, three in the cane regrowth at Kay Rd to finish.
Cranes
- Brolga. An adult pair with a juvenile, on the backroads and again at the north end of Lake Mitchell.
Plovers and lapwings
- Masked Lapwing. Four at each of the first two stops.
Ibises
- Straw-necked Ibis. Overhead at first light, then six at Biboohra and two at Mount Molloy.
Storks
- Black-necked Stork. A female on the Mareeba backroads, the yellow eye giving it away.
Herons and egrets
- Eastern Cattle-Egret. Four in the Biboohra paddocks.
- Great Egret. Two at Biboohra.
- Plumed Egret. One at Biboohra alongside the Great Egrets for comparison.
- White-necked Heron. Backroads and Lake Mitchell.
- White-faced Heron. One at Lake Mitchell.
Cormorants
- Little Black Cormorant. Four on Lake Mitchell.
Ospreys
- Osprey. One overhead.
Hawks and kites
- Black-shouldered Kite. Singles at Gilmore Rd and Kay Rd, both photographed.
- Grey Goshawk. One perched.
- Black Kite. Everywhere. Twelve over Biboohra, the first birds-in-flight practice of the day.
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle. One overhead.
Falcons
- Nankeen Kestrel. Perched on a dead branch at Biboohra, then again on the backroads.
Kingfishers
- Laughing Kookaburra. Biboohra and Mount Molloy.
- Blue-winged Kookaburra. Gilmore Rd and the backroads.
- Forest Kingfisher. Biboohra and Mount Molloy, moving branch to branch through the calliandra.
Bee-eaters
- Rainbow Bee-eater. Two on the backroads, four on the wires at the Barron River bridge.
Cockatoos
- Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo. Over Biboohra.
- Little Corella. Backroads and the Barron bridge.
Parrots
- Red-winged Parrot. Four at Biboohra and four at Mount Molloy, never close enough for the cameras.
- Rainbow Lorikeet. Ten in the Mount Molloy trees.
Bowerbirds
- Great Bowerbird. One on a rock at Biboohra, two at Mount Molloy.
Fairywrens
- Red-backed Fairywren. Biboohra.
- Lovely Fairywren. Four at Abattoir Swamp, followed through the brush for the best frames of the day.
Honeyeaters
- Brown Honeyeater. Gilmore Rd, Biboohra and the Barron bridge.
- Blue-faced Honeyeater. Four at Biboohra and four in the calliandra at Mount Molloy, the photographers' bird of the day.
- Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. One at Abattoir Swamp.
- Cryptic Honeyeater. One at Mount Molloy.
- Yellow Honeyeater. Two in the calliandra at Mount Molloy.
- Scarlet Honeyeater. Present in the canopy.
Gerygones
- White-throated Gerygone (H). Heard on the Mareeba backroads.
Cuckooshrikes
- White-bellied Cuckooshrike. Overhead at Gilmore Rd, again at the Barron bridge.
- Black-faced Cuckooshrike. Kay Rd at the last stop.
- Varied Triller. One at Abattoir Swamp.
Whistlers
- Rufous Whistler. Gilmore Rd and Lake Mitchell.
- Little Shrikethrush. Two at Abattoir Swamp.
Cisticolas
- Golden-headed Cisticola. In the reeds at the turf farm, photographed by both Jon and Luke.
Figbirds and orioles
- Australasian Figbird. Six at Mount Molloy.
Fantails
- Willie Wagtail. Abattoir Swamp.
Monarchs
- Magpie-lark. Ten at Biboohra.
Australasian robins
- Eastern Yellow Robin. Two at Abattoir Swamp.
Swallows and martins
- Tree Martin. Ten over Biboohra.
Starlings
- Common Myna. Fifteen at Biboohra, introduced, noted for completeness.
Flowerpeckers
- Mistletoebird. Abattoir Swamp.
Sunbirds
- Sahul Sunbird. Biboohra and Mount Molloy.
Finches
- Double-barred Finch. Gilmore Rd, Biboohra and the backroads.