Birding, 7 day Specialist course

About the course

The Top End of Australia is one the most diverse bio-regions on the planet and also home to 100’s of migratory and resident bird species found no where else. The Mary River floodplain, where our camp is situated, is one of the most important regions in the Top End, home to millions of nesting Magpie Geese, the mighty White-bellied Sea Eagle, Brolga’s, and Comb-crested Jacana’s.

EcoTraining Australia has developed an educational birding week that delivers a basic understanding of ornithology and develops a deeper knowledge on the specific bird species found in the Kakadu region where our permanent bush camp is located.

Working with our head guides we invite expert birders from Australia and Africa to share their knowledge and intimate experiences with the feathered world.

Location

The course will be run from our Northern Australia camp located on, Swim Creek, a 75,000 acre working buffalo station, amongst the coastal floodplains of the Mary River. This property contains an incredible diversity of habitats including floodplains, savannah woodland, mangrove, paperbark and monsoon rainforest, which attract an amazing array of nomadic, sedentary and migratory birdlife, including Great-billed Heron and White Goshawk.

The property itself is only a stone’s throw away from the world heritage listed Kakadu National Park. At last count this park contains 289 bird species, a number of which are endemic and/or rare including the Banded Fruit-Dove, White-Lined Honeyeater, Gouldian Finch and Hooded Parrot. We will be targeting these and many more species in the three day mobile component of this course.

Activities Include

Anatomy and Physiology

• Habitats and environments
• Bird behaviour
• Eggs, chick development and caring for young
• Food and feeding strategies
• Migration
• Ethics and conservation
• Bird identification

Access to the Northern Territory’s diverse birding habitats will be provided by a combination of:

• Airboat rides
• Bushwalks
• 4wd safaris
• Riverboat cruises
• 4wd camping

By the end of the 7 days you should have identified well over 100 species, be able to identify a few dozen calls, and have a greater appreciation of the need to protect vast tracks of bush in order to preserve Australia’s 883 bird species.

Accommodation

EcoTraining Australia has a purpose built bush training camp.

The camp has 10 twin share large African style canvas tents with single beds, a fully insect screened training room with attached kitchen and shared ablution facilities with hot and cold showers and flushing toilets.

Availability & Prices

In compliance with the UK Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 an insurance policy has been arranged with Travel & General Insurance Company plc to protect customers’ prepayments paid in respect of the ground handling aspects of packages where the customer is responsible for arranging travel to the destination offered in this brochure/literature/document/on this website (subject to the terms of the insurance policy), for:

• a refund of such prepayments if customers have not yet travelled, or
• making arrangements to enable the holiday to continue if customers have already travelled

in the unlikely event of our financial failure