Kakadu Bird Week

Have you spotted the petite rainbow bee-eater or the majestic jabiru? What about a red-winged parrot or a wandering whistling duck?

Pack your binoculars and head to Kakadu National Park for Kakadu Bird Week to tick a few feathered friends off your birdwatching list.

Kakadu is home to a third of Australia’s bird species and was voted the country’s top birdwatching site by Australian Geographic. 

Every year, bird nerds flock to the national park to see some of the diverse bird population.

Here’s a run down of some of the best spots to visit, so you don’t have to wing it.

East Alligator
Spot the rainbow pitta on the Mangarre rainforest walk or the chestnut-quilled rock pigeon on the Bardedjilidji Walk.

South Alligator
The Mamukala Wetlands attract a range of different birdlife each sea-son. Head along the Gungarre Walk and see the change in birdlife as the track passes through monsoon forest, woodlands and billabong.

Jabiru
Illigadjarr Walk is another hotspot with a mix of habitats – catch wetland birds and waders who make themselves at home in the paper-bark swamp or try to spot other birds in the open grassland.

Nourlangie (Burrungkuy)
The soaring escarpment attracts a range of woodland, stone country and wetland birds, including darters, magpie geese and large-billed pelicans. At the end of the Dry the birds seek out the waters of the Anbangbang Billabong.

Yellow Water
Jump on a Yellow Water Cruise to see the snake-necked darters drying their wings or try and spot the tiny azure kingfishers hiding in the foliage.

Mary River 
See some of Australia’s most iconic birds in Kakadu’s south, including cockatoos and galahs at the Gunlom campgrounds, or head to Maguk Falls to see rainbow pittas. If you’re after more of a challenge, the elusive Gouldian finch and the hooded parrot might be spotted near the salmon gums and termite mounds on the Yurmikmik Walks.

SUN 30 SEP – SUN 7 OCT | KAKADU NATIONAL PARK | VARIOUS | northernterritory.com