Birding Southwest

09/05/2025

I was sitting enjoying a cup of tea on a cool autumn morning recently and in the short length of time it took me to get to the bottom of it, I counted 10 different species of Parrot. It got me thinking - is WA and the Southwest a parrot hotspot?

There are 30 species of Parrot (the order of Psittaciformes) across the massive expanse of Western Australia and depending on where you put your bounds for the 'Southwest', 17 of those are found down this way. Importantly, 5 of them are endemic!! Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that is the highest level of parrot endemism for any region in Australia!

Of course we have our introduced birds too. Despite causing alot of trouble, they are still undeniably beautiful and cripplingly photogenic as exemplified by the attached photos of Rainbow Lorikeets. The endemics aren't bad either shown by this Baudin's Black Cockatoo ;)

I wrote a short blog with lots of photos about the parrots of WA. You can have a peruse at the link below. Let me know what you think :)

https://birdingsouthwest.com.au/journal/waparrots

13/04/2025

A few shots from the Southwest on recent trips of particularly difficult birds!

I have 2 spaces left on a Southwest endemics trip in November this year. If you'd like to see or photograph these birds and many more, comment below or check out the itinerary at the link below.

https://birdingsouthwest.com.au/southwest-endemics

30/03/2025

This trip was already well worth writing a little report on and then I got through processing the photos and it needed to be done! All southwest endemics, all western splits and specialties and some bounus seabirds and cetaceans in a 12 day loop.

Click through below for more shots and a detailed trip description.

https://birdingsouthwest.com.au/journal/nullarbormarch25

I have one person interested in a version of this trip later this year with a significant focus on photographing Naretha Bluebonnets. They are looking for one or two more people to join them. Let me know if this trip sounds good to you and if you would like to join us!

06/02/2025

Settling nicely into the new year while reflecting on some of my favourite moments from last year that were captured on video.
Clips like this one below and the stories to go with them in the link. 😄

I've been taking a lot of audio recordings over the past year or so and am now back into taking photos. But consistently, my favorite captures are videos. It might be because I'm getting both audio and images, or it could be because they tend to gain much more engagement from those reading and viewi

10/01/2025

A Big Year Summary. Lists in the links on the website. Have a look and see if you think this records stands up!

Well. That's a big year in the books. I saw, audio recorded, photographed and videoed more bird species than I ever have before within the bounds of a calendar year. I also spent a large majority of that time showing those birds to other people while establishing myself in a new business ve

18/12/2024

Another month of the year, another blog! Bremer Bay this time.
Don't forget to scroll to the bottom for that list!

Two days later we'd have a similarly grey passing, albeit much closer. Barau's Petrel have been seen with increasing regularity off the Southwest coast and many of those sightings have been during trips to see the Orcas. John Edmond nailed one ripping down the port side on our return journey to ligh

04/12/2024

Western Bristlebird

Not often seen singing from the top of the heath. On a cool morning nearby Cheynes we had a trio engaging in some call and response behaviour!! This one sat up for an extended period giving everyone a chance to not only see one of the Three Skulkers very well but get their fill of photos too!

27/11/2024

I've returned from Ashmore Reef with a few more ticks for WA, my WA year list and a few for Australia!
Read below!

Well, I’ve hit that magic 440 mark. Just took 10 days on a boat to Ashmore Reef and back to top that list on up. I’d given myself a ridiculous two and a half day turnaround from a 16 day east coast tour featuring Dan Terrington, Blue-faced Parrotfinches and Regent Honeyeaters to get up to Broome...

29/10/2024

Its been a big year so far and has the chance to be a record breaking one! Have a read below to see if I might be able to break the WA Big Year record.

I’ve had a very busy year of work so far. It has been a wonderful start to taking over Birding Southwest and guiding on as much of a full-time schedule as is possible. I’ve just about covered the entirety of the huge state of Western Australia during this year so far and have seen a huge majorit...

02/10/2024

After a little break with some holidays (read: birding reccys) packed in, I've been absent from the blog. Click the link below to find out a little bit of what I've been up to - its been fun! There'll be more blogs with a lot more of an Australian and Western Australian birdwatching focus coming soon!

Prior to that dream trip, I was over on the Mentawai islands off of Sumatra. This is another dream trip but one dreamt about by surfers more so than birdwatchers. I was over there with my surfing hat well and truly on, or at least a whole load of zinc smeared over the tips of my ears to make sure th

06/08/2024

George Swann of Kimberley Birdwatching and Rohan Clarke have organised a trip to Ashmore Reef from the 1st-9th of November and there are still a few places left!

This trip will move through WA waters stopping at various islands including Browse Island and the Lacepedes on the way out and back from Ashmore Reef. Ashmore itself is a hotspot for vagrants and rarities in Australia and should be visited by all Australian birdwatchers at least once. Browse and the Lacepedes have had their fair share of rarities show up too. All of these islands boast massive seabird colonies and host nesting turtles amongst idyllic tropical settings.

The waters in between have a unique diversity of marine life with many interesting and rare cetacean, turtle and sea snake species being seen on previous trips. Of course, there are many rare seabirds to see as well.

I’ll be on board, you should be too!

If you want to book contact George Swann on 0429 706 800 or via [email protected]

Photos below from my first trip to Ashmore. More photos of rarities at the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/718576241555767

Cheers,
Louis

03/08/2024

I've just returned from a massive three weeks of guiding including some fun in the Southwest!
Thinking of home and how much I enjoy sharing it with visitors, I wrote the below. It focusses on Dryandra and all its wonders and formalises the private custom trips I do down to the Wandoo in a new addition to the tours page on the Birding Southwest website.

As the golden light cracks over the treetops a diverse and wonderful soundscape is triggered as fifty odd species of birds sing from that remnant Wandoo to start their day. Mornings wandering the wandoo where fifty, even sixty species fill the list in a rapid flurry of calls and colour are the norm.