NT Bird Specialists, Australian Birding & Photography Tours

31/12/2024

🦜🦅🦉🦇🪱🦋🦎🐍🦄🐢🐆🦧🐘🦆

16/12/2024

Borneo 2024 instalment #2 - Gunung (Mount) Kinabalu and Sepilok regions in Sabah.

Arriving in Sabah, we headed for a couple of days of cooler weather and higher altitude birding in the foothills of the World Heritage-listed Gunung (Mount) Kinabalu National Park. Although greeted by a fair bit of rain, we still managed to get some great birds, including the super cute and tiny Bornean Stubtail and a Whitehead's Broadbill.
We were treated to gorgeous mountain views as we left and incredible parasitic Rafflesia flowers in multiple development stages on our way to the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve for our first fix of wild Orangutans (10 for the trip) and fantastic views of canopy and forest floor-dwelling birds.

View our Borneo 2024 eBird Checklists here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/298423

You can join our October 2025 Borneo adventures here:
https://ntbirdspecialists.com.au/tour/borneo-birding-and-wildlife-tour/

All images taken on tour by our guide Luke Paterson

08/12/2024

Our 2024 Borneo exploration was nothing short of amazing. Widdling down 20,000 images to 1,200 or so is no easy task but was awesome to relive so many epic wildlife encounters.

Species highlights from the 16 days included:
* 8 primate species including 10 wild Bornean Orangutan & Bornean Gibbon
* 10 squirrel species
* 4 snake species including Bornean Keeled Pit-Viper
* Various other reptile species including Bornean Forest Dragon
* Flying Squirrel, Flying Lizard & Flying Frog
* Borneo 2024 eBird Checklists: https://ebird.org/tripreport/298423

It would be an injustice to share only a few images so we'll spread our findings throughout Malaysian Borneo in multiple installments.
Hope you enjoy Gunung Mulu's worthy World Heritage flora, fauna & karst systems to start with (all this in just the first 3 days).

Information on our October 2025 Borneo Birding & Wildlife EcoTour can be found here:
https://ntbirdspecialists.com.au/tour/borneo-birding-and-w

All images taken by our guide Luke Paterson

04/12/2024

*Appreciation Post* ‘Some Days Are Like Diamonds’ - A big thanks to guest & artist Wendy Phillips for painting us this beautiful Forest Kingfisher inspired by her 10 Day Ultimate Top End Birding Adventure had with us in July 2024.

Wendy & husband Bob also published this great trip report ‘Some Days Are Like Diamonds’ of the tour in the Birds SA magazine ‘The Birder’.

You can read the article on our website here
https://ntbirdspecialists.com.au/tour/10-day-ultimate-top-end-birding-adventure-tour/

29/11/2024

Our super comprehensive island-wide tour allows time for tracking, observ​ing ​& photographing Sri Lanka's endemic, rare ​& threatened species, while providing guests a truly immersive experience.
Sri Lanka is 3 times the size of Kakadu NP & boasts an incredible 8 World Heritage sites!

The constantly changing habitats ​& climatic zones never fail to amaze us with how many species they sustain within such a relatively small country ​yet home to 20 million people.

The up close viewing & photographic opportunities are breath-taking ​& include some of Sri Lanka’s 440+ bird species (35 endemics), 123 mammal species (16 endemic), over 200 reptile​ species, more than 140 amphibians​ species ​& many thousands of insects.

Some cultural sites ​& ruins date back 3,000 years ​(Horton Plains was home to some of Asia’s early humans dating back over 30,000 years​).

Another mouth-watering highlight is the delicious ​& fresh Sri Lankan curries, local treats ​& tropical fruits generously served ​a​long the way.​ ​

Join our experienced tour leader & photographer Luke Paterson and national​ly-accredited birding/photography/cultural guide & local trackers​ on a mind-blowing wildlife adventure not to be missed.
All experience levels are welcome, plus non-birding and/or photographing partners too. ​

Our Full Board packages provide exceptional value, a hassle-free way to travel and peace of mind to our guests.​

B​ook today​ https://ntbirdspecialists.com.au/tour/sri-lankan-wildlife-and-birdwatching-tours-2/​

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*Images​ taken by Luke Paterson during 2024 tours

20/11/2024

Feast your eyes on these Sri Lankan beauties captured on this year's tour by our specialist wildlife guide Luke Paterson.

There's just a few spots left on our 10th Sri Lanka Birding & Wildlife EcoTour (6-20 March 2025), so join Luke for your chance to discover this biodiverse & culturally rich Indian Ocean island.

Prepare to seek & photograph many of Sri Lanka's 440 birds (35 endemic including Blue Magpie, Serendib Scops Owl & Sri Lankan Spurfowl), Sri Lankan Leopard, Sloth Bear, Sri Lankan Elephant, Rhino-horned Lizard, Greater Flamingo, Woodpeckers and much more.

See how far your ecotourism contributions go to supporting remote & rural communities while protecting wildlife and their habitats.
*NT Bird Specialists are committed to practising and encouraging minimal-impact, responsible wildlife tourism & cultural engagement on our Australian & international tours.*

You'll be in excellent hands with our professional team who'll get you in optimal positions to soak up wild scenes in unexpected locations and stunning UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Our comprehensive Full Board packages provide exceptional value, a hassle-free way to travel and peace of mind for our guests.

Please get in touch for tour details, special offers & extensions.
https://ntbirdspecialists.com.au/tour/sri-lankan-wildlife-and-birdwatching-tours-2/

06/11/2024

Wow, just returned from our incredible 16-day Borneo Birding & Wildlife Tour & still sorting through thousands of images! In the meantime we want to say a big thank you to all of the guests and local guides who helped create this unforgettable adventure. Throughout our journey it was evident how far our eco-tourism contributions go to support local communities & reinforce how valuable forest protection is for sustainable livelihoods in one of the world's oldest and biologically diverse ecosystems. Looking forward to seeing you all again next year!!

https://ntbirdspecialists.com.au/tours/borneo-birding-ecotours-and-wildlife-safaris/

23/10/2024

An old shot of a cool Accipiter photographed flying above Darwin’s industrial area.
captured by Luke Paterson

20/10/2024

You're not seeing double... Our expert birding guide Luke Paterson photographed this pair of locally endemic White-lined Honeyeaters, Territornis albilineata, in a little patch of monsoon forest in the Kombolgie sandstone escarpment of the Arnhemland Plateau, Kakadu National Park.
They’re perched in one of our favourite trees (Carallia brachiata ‘bush currant’) which provides abundant fruit for birds and sweet flowers for moths.
Their melodious, almost eerie calls rolling around the art-adorned rocks is synonymous with our guided birding sessions experienced during our award-winning Top End birding tours.

14/10/2024

The Aussie Bird Count starts today! 🎉🐦
Each count takes just 20 minutes, and you can do unlimited counts until October 20th.

https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/

12/10/2024

Only a couple of hours until I depart for our Borneo Birding & Wildlife Ecotour 2024!! 🦜🦅🦉🦇🦧🐘🐊🐍🐸🕷️🪲🦗

06/10/2024

It’s Spangled Drongo nesting season and every year they vocally take up prominent residence in our garden.
They’re super interesting to have around and we love knowing they feel so comfortable in our shared home environment. We’ve watched them hunting & eating Double-barred Finches & Chestnut-breasted Mannikins, listen to their mimicking calls and love to photograph them at close range. If you look closely you can see our house reflection in this one’s eye.
I’m sure we’ll be adding this species to our BirdLife Australia next week.

29/09/2024

This immature male shining flycatcher was captured confidently calling from his perch on the rail of the boat we were cruising on in Kakadu during a private tour.



Www.ntbirdspecialists.com.au

18/09/2024

Kakadu Bird Week kicks off next week. Hope to see you all out there for another year of birding delights.

Swooping into your feed to remind you that Bird Week is taking flight in one week! ✨

Next Wednesday, 25 September, at 7.30 pm ACST, Luke Paterson from NT Bird Specialists, Australian Birding & Photography Tours will be giving an insightful presentation into birding and Kakadu National Park's biodiverse habitats at the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel. 🐊

Grab a drink, meet other bird enthusiasts and see what’s instore for Kakadu Bird Week 2024. 🐦

Book now at the link! 🔗 https://brnw.ch/21wMLlv

📸 Partridge pigeon ©️ Luke Paterson

17/09/2024

Had a great day today, even with the rain around 🌧️. Had to revert to ‘plan B’ but still got some great results including Red Goshawks, Partridge Pigeon, Little Curlew and a nice shot of a Green (Yellow) Oriole. Got to love Top End surprises 🩷🦅

The Bark Hut Inn

31/08/2024

Quite often becoming a main star of the show, the spectacular ⭐️ Star Finch 💫 have been seen in great numbers in flocks of around 200 during our recent Finch Frenzy missions. The female pictured here isn’t as brightly coloured as the male, however still ornately plumed and a treat for bird appreciators nevertheless.