Firetail Birdwatching Tours

16/10/2024

Our 2024 Mallee Birding and Wildlife tour was a great success. We visited the Grampians NP, Little Desert NP, Ngarkat CP in SA, Murray Sunset NP extensively, Wyperfeld NP, Hattah-Kulkyne NP, plus many smaller reserves in the mallee region, the various wetlands of the Murray Valley from Sea lake down to Swan Hill and Kerang, the Mid-Murray valley and northern plains of Victoria and the box ironbark country around Wedderburn and Inglewood. Quality time spent in quiet and often remote landscapes enjoying the birdlife, animals, reptiles, insects and plant life. We found 180 species of bird with just the Chestnut Quail thrush weirdly not appearing. We enjoyed 3 nights of spotlighting, found 10 species of reptile, 7 sp of mammal, and 7 sp of flowering orchid despite the drier than usual conditions . And we managed not to get bogged once :-) A lovely group to show around, and many great photos taken too. I cannot wait until October 2025 to run this again https://ebird.org/checklist/S198656239

13/10/2024

Last minute spaces have come up for our small group tours of the Western Treatment Plant (Werribee) this weekend. Friday 18th Oct at 1pm has one or two spots and Saturday 19th Oct at 1pm has 3 spots available. $150 per person Lots of action down there currently with spring arrivals and even a national rarity (a Northern Shoveler). Email [email protected] for more information

27/08/2024

Our tours are coming up to a 20 year anniversary ! Our first tour was in October 2004 for 5 days around northern Victoria. I remember a Crimson Chat was a bonus during a tour where we located most of the mallee specialities as well as seeing the critically endangered Plains-wanderer . I am delighted that now in 2024 I am joined by Christian Doerig as my trusted colleague, a great birder and wonderful person. I am so grateful for the support from the birding community, and from the many people who have appreciated our commitment to providing a professional service. Attached are some images from recent tours
We still have space on some small group tours planned for spring 2024. See https://www.birdingvictoria.com.au/group-tours for more details of our October 7 day NW Vic mallee tour and our November 12 day Megatour right around the state ! Happy birding :-)

16/05/2024

We run a variety of tours, tailored to peoples interests. This week was a general birding and wildlife tour visiting a range of spectacular landscapes, with some iconic Aussie animals on the radar. Enjoy.....

21/04/2024

Friday 26th April and Saturday 27th April spotlighting tours targeting Plains-wanderers. based from Pyramid Hill still NOW FULLY BOOKED

06/04/2024

A small number of spots are now available for grassland spotlighting tours in northern Victoria this April and May. Likely to fill quickly. Details at

Since 2004 we have run spotlighting walks in the native grassland reserves of northern Victoria in search of this critically endangered and unique bird which is endemic to Australia. The Plains-wanderer is the sole member of its family Pedionomidae with DNA results revealing its closest living relat...

28/03/2024

Saturday 13th April, tour of the Western Treatment Plant from 7.30am to 12 noon, has had some late cancellations and spaces are now available. These tours aim to give people a taste of this extraordinary site, visiting the best areas at the time of the tour and taking the tides into account. You'll get tips on bird id, and time to soak in the abundance of birdlife. Some excellent photographic opportunities are virtually guaranteed. We might even spot a rarity.
email [email protected] for more information

26/03/2024

Having a great start to the year with around 290 species seen already for 2024 on tours around Victoria ! The rest of the year is looking just as busy. Following a few years of good rainfall, bird numbers remain high throughout the region. We always aim to get the best views possible of the birds we see, and sometimes I am able to record these moments. Here’s just a few, with details in captions. We are gradually increasing our tour options as our availability allows, with small group tour dates being added and private tours still available year around.

12/01/2024

Lots happening here at FBT. We have added a few more dates for shared Werribee WTP tours in April. The year ahead is filling fast, but still opportunities to book private tours when it suits you or shared trips as advertised.
It is a real pleasure and honour running these tours. The new year began with 5 days showing a beautiful young couple from Taiwan around southern and central Victoria, shortly after their wedding celebrations. We were a great team of birders. spotters and occasional photographers. Billed as our maximum bird tour, we did well with 211 species recorded, most of which were lifers for our guests. We also encountered some cool mammals ( Greater Gliders were a highlight ), plus enjoyed the wonderful and varied landscapes we have down here. Attached are a few of many images captured to share the joy. Full checklist here https://ebird.org/australia/checklist/S158422933

31/12/2023

Our annual 12 day group tour in November, right around the state's best birding sites, went extremely well again this year and a full trip report may be easily downloaded at this link https://www.birdingvictoria.com.au/victoria-megatour-12-days
Our next scheduled group tour is sure to be a good one, a week exploring Gippsland's best birding sites in the peak of summer https://www.birdingvictoria.com.au/gippsland-birding-and-wildlife-tour
As 2023 comes to an end I'd like to wish you all a happy and birdy new year. It's been a huge year for us here, and 2024 will start with a bang, a 5 day tour around Southern and Central Victoria.
Cheers from Simon and the team