What's About
Our weekly birding wrap for Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands.
What's About is our weekly birding wrap for the Cairns region and the Atherton Tablelands, published every Thursday. Each edition covers the week just gone and the week ahead, drawn from public checklist activity across the Wet Tropics.
We don't name observers or pinpoint sensitive sites in our summaries. Photographers, and the finders of a notable rarity, are credited on images where they're happy to be named.
Earlier editions
news30/08/2026 (Mon) · 3 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 24 - 30 August 2026
The Redshank eases as spring migration arrives in force: waders, monarchs, seabirds and a swag of new arrivals across Cairns and the Tablelands.
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news23/08/2026 (Mon) · 6 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 17 - 23 August 2026
The Common Redshank that would not leave: eight days on the Cairns Esplanade and still drawing crowds, as the shorebird season hits its peak.
Read More →news16/08/2026 (Sun) · 4 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 10 - 16 August 2026
The week the Common Redshank arrived: a genuine rarity drew birders to the Cairns Esplanade all day, plus a yellow figbird influx and more flagged records.
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news10/08/2026 (Mon) · 3 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 3 - 9 August 2026
A better week for quality around Cairns and the Tablelands: a rich run of Tablelands rarities, fresh arrivals, and six species flagged as unusual by eBird.
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news03/08/2026 (Mon) · 2 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 27 July - 2 August 2026
A quieter, wetter week around Cairns and the Tablelands: more spring migrants arriving, and five records flagged as unusual by eBird.
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news27/07/2026 (Mon) · 3 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 20 - 26 July 2026
The week around Cairns and the Tablelands: the first returning migrants, a shorebird build-up on the Esplanade, and a few flagged rarities worth watching.
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news20/07/2026 (Mon) · 4 min read
What's About: Cairns & Tablelands Birding, 13 - 19 July 2026
The first of our weekly Cairns and Tablelands birding wraps: early cuckoo arrivals, dry-country birds on the move, and a rare seabird off the reef.
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