Our East Coast Australian adventure culminates on the island of Tasmania, where our extension will see us searching for all of Tasmania’s endemic (12 species) and near-endemic species. Our chances of seeing every single Tasmanian endemic and near-endemic is excellent and highlights should include the critically endangered Forty-spotted Pardalote, the rare Scrubtit, Tasmanian Nativehen, Yellow Wattlebird, Green Rosella, Pink and Dusky Robins, Black Currawong, Tasmanian Thornbill, Tasmanian Scrubwren, Yellow-throated, Black-headed and Strong-billed Honeyeaters, Tasmanian Boobook, the beautiful Swift Parrot (currently one of the most endangered species on Earth!), Little Penguin, Sooty Oystercatcher, Black-faced Cormorant and the pure white colour morph of Grey Goshawk. Mammal-wise, we’ll be on the lookout for Tasmanian Devils, Eastern and Spot-tailed Quolls and the endearing Wombat among others.
Top Birds
Little Penguin; Musk Duck; Black-faced Cormorant; Wedge-tailed Eagle; Tasmanian Nativehen; Hooded Plover; Banded Lapwing; Pacific & Kelp Gulls; Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo; Long-billed Corella; Swift Parrot; Green Rosella; Superb Fairywren; Southern Emu-wren; Forty-spotted & Striated Pardalotes; Scrubtit; Tasmanian Thornbill; Tasmanian Scrubwren; Striated Fieldwren; Yellow Wattlebird; Yellow-throated, Strong-billed & Black-headed Honeyeaters; Eastern Spinebill; Flame, Scarlet, Pink & Dusky Robins; Black Currawong; Beautiful Firetail.
Top Mammals
Platypus; Eastern & Spotted-tailed Quolls; Tasmanian Devil; Common Wombat; Common Brush-tailed Possum; Red-necked Wallaby; Tasmanian Pademelon.
Habitats Covered
woodland, wet forest and coastal scrub
Expected Climate
cool in mornings and evenings, warm during the day
Max Group Size
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader
Tour Pace & Walking
easy
Accommodation
comfortable
Ease of Birding
mostly easy
Number of Species Expected
130
Photographic Opportunities
good to excellent
Glen was excellent at finding the birds and keeping track of who had not yet seen specific birds. By the end of the tour there were very few birds not seen by all in the group.
Erik Forsyth is a wonderful guy, so enjoyable to travel with. He is knowledgeable, down to earth and quite humorous! We did New Zealand with Erik a few years ago and would definitely go with him on other Rockjumper Trips in the future. Also, we would recommend Erik to others considering him as their leader.
Erik Forsyth went above and beyond to give personal attention to each participant. How does he do it? Lack of sleep and a packed itinerary would challenge the best guide, but he seems to always be positive and light-hearted. Cracking dry jokes and comments – loved it!
We traveled through strangely beautiful and interesting areas and were able to get great birds – almost all the endemics of the area. Angus was good at finding the birds which often involved traveling to very remote and isolated places for 1 or 2 species. I love Australian birds – beautiful, unique, often loud and delightful. The Lake Argyle cruise was fabulous and the Yellow River cruise was a great break from riding in the van and seeing water birds from a distance.
It was a fantastic trip. Very satisfying and Angus did a great job : he really showed us the birds and took great care that we had everything we wanted and were able to enjoy our tour.