O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat

Check my birding map for specific location.

This post relates to my 2024 visit to Lamington National Park. I have visited before and the post relating to that trip can be found here.

We stayed in the caravan park rather than the lodge and I much preferred it. Each morning and afternoon Crimson Rosella and Australia King-Parrots would look for food on the ground right outside the campervan. When we were really lucky the parrots would come and sit on our shoulders. It is a little disconcerting that the birds at O'Reillys are so tame but you can't help but enjoy getting so close to them.

Above campsite I could hear a new call, regularly repeating. It took me a while to track it down but I was very rewarded when I did. A male Rose Robin was singing and singing. It was present the whole time we were there and this is my best shot.

Rose Robin

Throughout Lamington NP are Albert's Lyrebird and while it cannot be guaranteed that you will see them, it is so worth looking for them. One morning we found one, just scratching away on the ground in front of us. The rusty colours were so vibrant and its tail feathers spectacular.

Albert's Lyrebird

As well as a huge number of birds in the area, there are also plenty of marsupials, lizards and other creatures. We were lucky enough to find some very interesting lizards including the Angle-headed Forest Dragon, a relation to the Boyd's Forest Dragon frequently seen in Far North Queensland.

Angle-headed Forest Dragon

There is a great walking track out to Python Rock which gives incredible views of the area. It is also a beautiful walk through the forest where you can find a variety of birds and animals. Our favourite sighting was of several Land Mullet, Australia's largest skink. 

                               

Land Mullet

The forest floor is also somewhere to keep a close eye on. Eastern Whipbird and Australian Logrunner work the leaf litter for food. I particularly liked the logrunner as they scraped away using the feet in a lateral motion. The females have an orange breast and the males are white. As they skulk around in the undergrowth, they are very difficult to photograph. As we sat still for a while, we managed to get close to a pair. 

Australian Logrunner

Eastern Whipbird

There are several bottlebrush trees around the O'Reillys compound and the Eastern Spinebill can often be seen feeding there. One sunny afternoon I came across a young bird basking in the light. I took about 50 photographs, it was just stunning with such different colours to the adults.

Eastern Spinebill

We went out spotlighting a couple of times and were thrilled with what we found. Even on our way back to the campground, we came across a gorgeous small possum sitting just munching on leaves. It allowed us to get quite close, possibly as curious as we were!

Ring-tailed Possum

One of my favourite sightings was the White-headed Pigeon as I had only seen them once before and didn't have any decent photos. Although we saw lots of them, they were always flying high up and pretty fast. Then, one morning right in front of the campervan, one sat beautifully for me. The photo doesn't really do it justice, they are stunning birds.

White-headed Pigeon

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Springbrook National Park

Check my birding map for specific location.

Springbrook National Park is up in the McPherson Range west of the Gold Coast. It is an incredibly diverse area with lush rainforests, waterfalls and lots of interesting wildlife. There are several campsites in different areas and we chose The Settlement campground which was in a small rainforest clearing. Whipbirds, robins and parrots were all around, calling and dashing about. 

My first success was to find a male Australian Logrunner. They have a white breast, while the female's are orange. I found a pair of them squawking noisily as they scratched around in the undergrowth. They are related to the Chowchilla found in Far North Queensland and you can see and hear why! 

Male Australian Logrunner

As well as birds, there were lots of butterflies and moths around and I was particularly taken with this vivid blue butterfly that was sucking something (moisture?) up from between the stones on the tracks. 

Common Bluebottle Butterfly

Adjacent to the campground was a more open field with lots of grass and shrubs. Fairywren, firetails and parrots were all feeding here and my favourite sighting was the Crimson Rosella. They were comically teetering on grass stalks to get to the seeds.

Crimson Rosella

All around the area were groups of pademelon. They were reasonably tame if approached quietly as they fed on the grass in the clearings.

Red-necked Pademelon

Spotlighting was difficult as it drizzled a lot after dark and it was on a mad dash back to the campervan when I spotted this frogmouth sitting, rather forlornly on a post. Trying to protect my camera, I walked slowly towards it and to my surprise, I got within touching distance of this remarkable creature. I didn't attempt to touch it, fearing the loss of a finger in that huge bill. 

Tawny Frogmouth

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Lamington National Park

Check my birding map for specific location. 

Lamington National Park is an interesting place. Most people (including me) only really know one place in it, particularly for watching wildlife. And that is O'Reilly's holiday park. I think it is the only such place in Australia. There is a long history and story about how it came to pass that a National Park has a holiday village in the middle of it. But here it is and it offers easy access to an amazing rainforest and the animals within. 

It is a long, windy uphill road to get there and once at the top there is nowhere else to go but O'Reillys. I was grateful to find it welcoming and not too expensive. Unfortunately, I was there in the school holidays so it was quite busy. Noisy children and bird photography do not generally mix. So, I was up before light every day and into the forest. I loved listening to the dawn chorus and having bats whizzing past my face in the gloom. Everything was heightened at that time of day. Even the rain was atmospheric and brought the place alive. 

Most of my time was spent in the forest and the most sought after birds were the bowerbirds. Both the Satin and Regent were common here, depending on the season. I was fortunate to find the bower of a male Satin Bowerbird early on and spent many hours sitting at a distance watching him repair and decorate it. Every now and then a ray on sunshine would sneak through the canopy and light him up. 

Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)

There were not too many Regent Bowerbirds present in the early springtime that I was there but I still found the male and female. The gold on the back of the male was another one of those times that the glowing plumage of a bird outshines the photograph. I liked the female too. She was a variable brown colour and every bit as interesting. 

Regent Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus)

One of the most distinctive sounds in the forest was the Eastern Whipbird. Unsurprisingly, the bird is named so because the call sounds like a whip cracking. It is one of the most wonderful sounds in Australia. Unfortunately, they are very secretive and do not readily pose for photographs. So I was thrilled not only to catch one out in the open but also to photograph it in the process of unleashing that whipcrack. I also saw juveniles who hopped around on the verge of the forest and so were a bit easier to see. 

Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus)

Another rainforest skulker is the Australia Logrunner. A very pretty bird (both male and female) with striking plumage but often difficult to spot as they spend their time scratching around in the leaf litter. I found it very beneficial to just sit quietly and wait. It paid off as I found a pair, watched their routine and was able to return to them several times. 

Australian Logrunner (Orthonyx temminckii)

The biggest surprise for me was that there were Albert's Lyrebird wandering around the camping car park. Seemingly unconcerned about humans, they just went about their business looking for bugs in the soil and allowed me to watch, follow and photograph them.

Albert's Lyrebird (Menura alberti)

One of the most popular visitors to O'Reillys was the King Parrot. Common in the trees and feeders, they could often be seen landing on people's shoulders and heads. Something as a professional birder I disapprove of severely but I must admit I loved it when they landed on me!

Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis)

Other notable mentions are the Eastern Spinebill, Paradise Riflebird and Golden Whistler, all of which could be seen with a little patience in the area. Such terrific birds and great photo opportunities.

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)

Paradise Riflebird (Ptiloris paradiseus)

Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis)

The real highlight for me was when the most experienced guide took me into the forest to find a Sooty Owl. I doubted we could find it and even more that I would get a decent photo. But we did and I did. I couldn't believe that I only took half a dozen shots in semi-darkness and managed to get it in focus. A magical moment for sure. 

Sooty Owl (Tyto tenebricosa tenebricosa)

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