The biodiversity of Ku-ring-gai Chase, Australia’s third most biodiverse region after the Daintree and Wet Tropics, is the perfect environment for more than 160 bird species to call home.
To celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity (22nd May), Sydney OutBack list five favourite birds, as chosen by recent guests, that live year-round in the incredible landscape of Ku-ring-gai Chase, located 45 minutes north of Sydney CBD:
– One of Sydney’s most protected habitats for the world’s smallest penguin can be admired from West Head lookout: Lion Island, an island reserve since 1956 that is prohibited to people in an effort to preserve its Fairy (or Little) Penguin colony which remains under threat despite its isolation.
– Australia’s smallest black cockatoo is a special sight in Ku-ring-gai Chase where it is under threat of local extinction. Spotted only a handful of times on Sydney OutBack tours, always in pairs, the Glossy Black Cockatoo’s habitat in the National Park is protected; nonetheless, it is becoming increasingly rare. Visitors are stunned at the simple reasons why… (Discover why for yourself on our blog, click here).
– No prizes for guessing how this chirpy beauty got its name, the Rainbow Lorikeet is one of the more common local birds because its preferred habitat and food source, the eucalyptus tree, spans both urban and wilderness areas (Learn what makes the eucalyptus a preferred home to the lorikeet at our blog, click here).
– Australia’s iconic laughing bird, famous for its dawn and dusk chorus which echoes through the bush, is the largest member of the Kingfisher family; a serious meat-eating predator that hunts venomous snakes, lizards, rodents and small birds or marsupials, as well as insects and bugs for its nutrition and hydration – it never drinks water or eats fish! Many Australians can tell a lively tale of a Kookaburra swooping to steal an expensive steak or sausage hot off a BBQ or picnic table during lunch!A Sydney OutBack tour by land and water is the best way to experience this beautiful coastal habitat for such diverse birdlife and try your luck at spotting some of Australia’s best known bird species that are year-round residents in the Park. To learn more about Sydney OutBack’s Wilderness and Aboriginal Explorer Tour and Cruise, just click here.
Our tours are part of Tourism Australia’s Indigenous Tourism Champions Program (ITCP), recognizing that we offer a quality experience that that meets the needs and expectations of international visitors.
Read more about why this region is one of Australia’s biodiversity hotspots, by reading our recent blog, click here.