Inala's King Island Bass Strait Small Group Tour 6th - 9th Nov 2023

Trip Report – King Island November 2022

Guided by Catherine Davidson

Day One - 8th Nov
Our first morning on beautiful King Island dawned bright and sunny. We grabbed some breakfast from the busy wee Currie Bakehouse and took it down to the wonderfully quirky ‘Restaurant with no food’ boat shed to eat next to the harbour.

After our breakfast we started birding along the shore front of Currie and started off with Australian Pipit, European Goldfinch & Greenfinch, Chestnut Teal, Pied Oystercatcher and the King Island endemic Superb Fairywren subspecies.

We drove out past the Kelp processing farms and started towards Pegarah Forest, passing a large flock of wild Turkeys on route.  At the forest, we made several explorations through the beautiful trees, spotting a great selection of birds including Flame Robin females, King Island endemic subspecies Yellow Wattlebird & Green Rosella, Black-headed Honeyeater, Satin Flycatcher, Tasmanian Thornbill and Golden Whistler.

Departing the forest after we could go no further due to a fallen tree, we spotted a White-bellied Sea Eagle high in a Eucalypt.

As we went through the lovely west coast township of Naracoopa the sea fog had rolled in in thick clouds which was wonderfully atmospheric, but did make looking for birds along the coast impossible. The cuckoos compensated by putting on a great show and we spotted both Fan-tailed and Pallid Cuckoos several times throughout the afternoon, both on power lines and close to the road on trees.

Sea Elephant was beautiful and after lunch overlooking the inlet, we walked the trail yet could only spot Black Swans out amongst the mist on the waters.

Driving back out from the lagoon there were several buff Wallabies beside the road and a Nankeen Kestrel sitting high in a tree.

Making our way back to the East we dropped in to Little Porkies Beach and had great views of White-fronted Chat along the seafront and a pair of Red-capped Plover on the beach. After dinner at the Currie Hotel we had another fabulous King Island sunset.

Day Two - 9th Nov
Today we headed south. Our first shop was Millers Bay where we saw a large group of well camouflaged Australian Shelducks on the beach, Little Pied Cormorants on the rocks and a flock of Hooded Plovers that unfortunately took off and hid behind the rocky outcrops where we could not see them.

Walking to the bridge where the river entered the bay, we had a fantastic view of a male Olive Whistler. Next stop was the calcified forest, a remarkable landscape where calcium carbonate has over centuries built up around the roots of trees and plants, then when the trees had died and the sand had eroded, the wonderful and unique structures remain upon the surface. The temperature was by now very hot for birds and while a few were calling, very little was showing with only a few brief glimpses of Crescent Honeyeater, Tasmanian Thornbill, Superb Fairywrena and Grey-shrike Thrush. We did get to see a lovely Blotched Blue-tongue Lizard as he departed the track up in front of us.

Morning tea at the little pavilion was followed by a trip to the view point at Seal Rocks with utterly spectacular views in both directions along the cliffs and a stunning blue and white swirling ocean as it pounded the rocks below us and whirled the bull kelp into spirals. An Australasian Pipit gave us great views and was on track to become one of our most seen birds on King Island.

Driving back north we made our destination the King Island Cheese Factory where the lovely lady provided us all with a tasting platter which was enormously enjoyed by all and many purchases were made in the gift shop. With appetites whetted we had lunch down on Little Porkies Beach and spotted our friend the Red-capped Plover. Walking round to Porkies Beach was beautiful and we were rewarded with a Hooded Plover close by on the waters edge. Heading a little further north we stopped at Shag Lagoon which was mostly full of Black Swans, but we did also see Cape Barren Geese, a single Great Cormorant and some Chestnut Teal.

After an unsuccessful hunt for banded Lapwings we returned to our rooms for an hour before making the drive to Grassy for dinner. We had pushed the boat out and had booked a five course degustation menu at Wild Harvest, where each delicious course was introduced by the chef and the ingredients were explained and we were told if it was grown on the island, caught in the waters around the island or foraged from the land. Between courses we enjoyed watching several Wallabies on the front grass of the restaurant, one of whom had a wee joey poking out of the pouch.

After a delicious and memorable meal, we went down to the foreshore to spot some Little Penguins coming ashore and were immediately rewarded with several groups popping out of the ocean and making their way up the boat ramp to their burrows. We sat in the van with the door open, using it as a hide and getting excellent views as the groups waddled past us.

Traveling the 45 minute journey back to Currie in the dark we saw possibly hundreds of Bennett's Wallaby, one Tasmanian Pademelon and one Brush-tailed Possum before we tumbled into bed after a big day.

Day Three - 10th Nov
Knowing that the rain was coming today we set off with great efficiency after a lovely breakfast out in front of Boomerang Motel and headed north making our first stop for the day the reed beds where Golden-headed Cisticola are known to live. We could hear several calls as soon as we got out of the van and eventually one came to check us out and perched up on top of a bush giving us great views of its beautiful golden plumage.

Heading further north we went to Yellow-Rock and walked alongside the lovely inlet down to the beach. Brown thornbill and Grey-shrike thrush called to us on the way down and on the windy beach itself there was a small posse of Great Crested Terns. Hunting the water edges on our return to the carpark and we spotted amongst the Black Swan and The Cape Barren Geese, one wee Black-fronted Dotterel. And a Nankeen Kestrel rose in front of us and hovered overhead.

As the sky got progressively darker and more foreboding, we travelled the final northern stretch to Cape Wickham lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere. Perhaps half a dozen Swamp Harriers were seen as we drove north, often being chased by Ravens or Lapwings and at the lighthouse itself two were hunting in the grasslands around the golfcourse. We enjoyed the views and walked up to above the lighthouse to look over the expanse of land and sea and imagine what it must have been like to live there in isolation in the 1800’s.

The rain began as we made our way to Martha Lavinia Lake , sadly the water was too high for shorebirds to be found on the edges, but we did get a fantastic view of a stunning male Flame Robin. A little further round to Penny's Lagoon were we had a late morning tea / early lunch and several Grey Shrike Thrush, Yellow Wattle birds and Black Currawong passed by throughout. Stepping out to look at the Lake itself we had fabulous close views of a male Musk Duck floating low in the water.

With our final hour while it was now pouring rain we tried a few back roads to look for Califorian Quail and the elusive Dusky Robin. Sadly not much was showing in the weather conditions, but we stopped for an Olive Whistler who was singing loudly and mournfully from a bush but refused to give us more than glimpses as he moved around.

Swinging past Currie for fuel we then went down to the harbour for a final view of the picturesque scene before heading for the airport.