Birdwatching Tropical Australia

Had a great five days at Iron Range NP ably guided by Doug Herrington. Saw and photographed almost all of the special Cape York birds that I was hoping to see, and for the rest - I will have to come back again!

Amazing day spent with Doug. Saw nearly 80 different birds for the day. Doug's knowledge of the birds and the places to find different birds made for a great day. His patience while we took photos really helped as well. His ability to know which birds were in which area and then to be able to call the birds helped to make it a memorable day. Would highly recommend spending a day with Doug if you want to see lots of different birds.

Doug combines an incredible depth of knowledge of the ecosystems of North East Australia with extremely well researched bird sites and a jovial spirit I wish more guides had. We thoroughly enjoyed our one day tour, ticking 77 species including some incredible rarities, and some amazing pictures as well. When we are back in Queensland we will definitely be hiring Doug again!

I booked a full day with Doug while in the Cairns area this year. I would highly recommend him as a guide, as he is professional and knowledgeable of the birds in the area. He found me all the birds on my target list including Golden Bowerbird. Thanks!

I spent a week birding with Doug and he was fantastic. From Cairns to Iron Range National Park, Doug found more than 50 lifers for me as well as getting better photos of many others. His knowledge of birds, their locations and their behaviours as well as Doug's friendly manner resulted in a wonderful and memorable non-stop birding trip.

I visited Mt Lewis and several other locations in the Julatten area guided by Doug Herrington on 28th March 2023. He was an excellent guide, able to show me all my target species including Golden Bowerbird, Blue-faced Parrotfinch and Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher at a time of year when they are by no means guaranteed. He was extremely knowledgeable about the local birds, answering all of my questions, and a pleasure to go birding with. He also thoughtfully provided morning tea up Mt Lewis which was a timely energy boost. I've been birding in many countries over the past three decades, with numerous birding guides, and I have no hesitation in recommending him as an excellent bird guide - Michael Szabo, Wellington, New Zealand.

My wife and I had an excellent private bird photography tour with Doug between Christmas and New Year. We are keen photographers but don’t really know a lot about birds especially where to find them when visiting Nth. Queensland.If we had just gone out by ourselves we would have found very few of the interesting birds Doug found for us - his experience and local knowledge was invaluable and otherwise I’m sure we would have come away thinking there wasn’t much to see.Doug drove us safely in a comfortable Toyota Prado and was good, relaxed company.Good value as otherwise we would have seen very little.And yes, some excellent photos!

Doug is a great guide and I had a fantastic day birding with him. I lived in tropical Queensland many years ago and was already pretty familiar with the bird fauna, so my day was focused on a few birds that I missed the first time around. Doug is very knowledgeable and tracked them all down for me, including my favorite for the day: Golden Bowerbird! We also had a Fernwren singing in the open about 2m from us...so cool!Doug knows the area, knows his, birds, and is also a really affable and fun person to spend a day in the field with.

Doug was a fantastic guide. I came to the Port Douglas area for a conference, but really wanted to learn more about the wildlife and especially the birds. He planned a two day tour - one day focusing mainly on tropical forest species and a second day on savannah species. We saw 75-80 species each day! Doug is very knowledgeable about where to find birds. He’s excellent at identifying them by their calls as well. He was extremely patient with me, helping me find birds that I was struggling to see; repeating names of birds that I’d forget; and giving me all the time I needed to observe particular species. There were so many highlights of the two days. It being my first time on the continent, nearly every bird was a ‘lifer’. We spent a long time looking for a flock of Blue-faced Parrot-Finches. When we finally found them, it was so exciting. I loved watching the Red Tailed Black Cockatoos. We saw some large flocks of them and it was just amazing seeing them swoop across the landscape and land by a pond to drink. One of the last species we saw was a Gouldian Finch, a bird we both deeply hoped to find but knew the chances were slim. We celebrated together when we saw it. It was late on the second day, past time to head back. As if the Gouldian Finch wasn’t amazing enough, as we approached the outskirts of Port Douglas, a pair of Wedge Tailed Eagles swooped across the road and landed in a tree, waiting for us to study them.If you are interested in birding and want an excellent guide, reach out to Doug. Aside from being an excellent birder, he was extremely friendly and we had so many engaging discussions that went way beyond the scope of birds.

My recent birding expedition to Iron Range NP on Cape York Peninsula with Birdwatching Tropical Australia was fantastic. Doug’s tours are well planned and his knowledge of the local areas and birds can be commended. Great company, great fun and great birding.