Southern Eyre Peninsula Birdwatching

Day 1: Lincoln National Park & Mikkira Station

Your ornithological adventure starts at the small coastal hamlet of Tulka where waders, Black Swans and numerous Seabirds can be seen from the bird hide. This is another known location for Southern Emu-Wrens near a well first dug by Captain Matthew Flinders when he explored the area in 1802.

Traversing through to the Lincoln National Park, the rugged cliffs provide an opportunity to view Osprey and White Bellied Sea-Eagles and to keep a look out for Whistling Kites and Swamp Harriers.

Heading towards Taylor's Landing we may encounter birds such as the rare Mallee Fowl, Purple-Gaped Honeyeaters, Striated Pardalotes, Spiney-Cheeked Honeyeaters, Dusky Wood swallows, Australian Pipits, Western Yellow Robins, Blue Breasted Wrens, and White-Browed Scrubwren. Whilst at Taylors Landing you will have a delicious lunch with more opportunities to stop and watch the birdlife.

In the afternoon we travel to Mikkira Station for a late afternoon Koala and Bird Walk. Mikkira is a privately owned working farm, Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary. In the cool of the evening Koala's start to wake from their afternoon sleep and move around to feed.

Western Grey Kangaroos come out onto the flat to graze and an abundance of birdlife can be seen. The area is home to a range of bush birds including Port Lincoln Parrots, Golden Whistlers and an occasional Scarlet Robin, Blue-Breasted Wrens, Western Yellow Robins, White-Browed Babblers, honeyeaters, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes and Emus. We will then return to Port Lincoln with an evening free for various dinner options within walking distance.

Overnight Accommodation: There are various levels of accommodation available including the Port Lincoln Hotel (4 star) or South Point Private Beach House.

Day 2: Port Neill & Tumby Bay

After a morning pickup, we head further up the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula towards Port Neill where we look for many diverse sea birds on the eastern coast of the Eyre Peninsula. Along the way we stop at known bird locations like Point Boston, on the lookout for Diamond Firetales and Rock Parrots, Louth Bay we look for the majestic Osprey and Kingfishers and in Tumby Bay we talk a short walk along the Mangrove Boardwalk for a selection of shorebirds, again more opportunities to spot the Osprey & White Bellied Sea Eagles.

Heading off the main road and onto an access track we stop at Rogers Beach before visiting a Crested Tern colony at Lipson Cove. From here we divert inland to Mallee Scrub terrain where we find an assortment of bush birds, and on the way home we visit another unique location for ducks and waterbirds. A picnic lunch on the beach will provide an opportunity to stop and watch the birdlife.

Overnight Accommodation: There are various levels of accommodation available including the Port Lincoln Hotel (4 star) or South Point Private Beach House.

Day 3: Big Swamp & Coffin Bay

First stop on the third day is Billy Lights Point, where a small fringe of coastal mallee and sheltered bays provide habitat for both waterbirds and bush birds. Pied, Little Pied and Black Cormorants, Grey Teal and Chestnut Teal Ducks, Osprey, White-Bellied Sea-Eagle, Sooty Oyster Catchers, Pied Oyster Catchers, Striated Pardalotes, Western Yellow Robins, Superb Blue Wrens, Blue-Breasted Wrens, White-Browed Babblers, New Holland Honeyeaters, Brown-Headed Honey Eaters and Rock Parrots can all be found on this walk.

The next stop is at Big Swamp where a bird hide is available for viewing Black Swans, Grey Teal Ducks, Chestnut Teal Ducks, Pink Eared Ducks, Musk Ducks, Black Winged Stilts, Banded Plovers, Cape Barren Geese and migratory Common Greenshanks in summer.

We head further up the highway to beautiful Coffin Bay, the home of the renowned Coffin Bay Oysters. The area is of outstanding beauty, world famous Oysters and is home to a variety of important species of flora and fauna. There are no other comparable systems of bays and inlets in such compact form anywhere on the coast, which is why this area is classified as a maritime wilderness area.

We will take a 1.5-hour tour with an oyster farmer, learning about the Pacific and the Native Angasi Oystey, before enjoying a cruise into the beautiful bays and inlets direct to the oyster farms. Fresh out of the rack, you get to sample these magnificent Oysters, before getting back to lunch in Coffin Bay at 1802 Coffin Bay Oyster Bar & Grill.

Following this we meander out to the Coffin Bay National Park, which offers some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in South Australia, ranging from ancient granite, limestone and sandstone cliffs to long beaches bordered by white sand dunes.

There are plenty of lookouts for spectacular views; there is an abundant of birdlife (150 different species in the park) and wildlife, four-wheel driving tracks as well as a sealed road for more comfortable conditions. There are plenty of stops for photographic opportunities and you get to breath in the fresh aromas of sea air and stretch out on one of Eyre Peninsula’s best and picture perfect, golden sandy beaches.

Within the park there are several active Osprey Nests and White-Bellied Sea-eagles can often be seen fishing along the cliffs and sandy white beaches. The area is also home to Caspian Terns, Hooded Plovers, Red Capped Plovers, Red Necked Stints, Golden Whistlers, Masked Lapwings, Emu, Wedge Tailed Eagle. Guests will stop along the way at a known location for Southern Emu-Wrens and look for a small remnant flock of Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo.

After a magical three days of birdwatching across the Southern Eyre Peninsula, the tour returns to Port Lincoln in time for a late airport departure. 

Tour details

Group Size: Minimum of 2 guests, maximum of 4 guests
Pick-up and Drop Off Point: Port Lincoln Airport or Port Lincoln accommodations

Pick-up and Drop-off Time: Upon arrival or 9:00am - Upon departure or 5:00pm.
Inclusions - touring with professional, local and experienced guides, airport transfer and all transport in luxury 4WD Land-Cruiser, Oyster Tour & Tasting, all National Park & other entry fees, Daily Continental breakfast, Daily lunches, beverages, local wines & beer, birds of Southern Eyre Peninsula Pocket Guide book
Private Touring: Available at additional cost - please enquire with your group size & interests.
Languages: Translation services for private tours available in Mandarin.

How you'll be making a positive impact

Citizen Science with Australian Coastal Safaris

Australian Coastal Safaris contributes observations of flora & fauna via iNaturalist, the world’s leading global social biodiversity network. This platform allows our team to create research-quality citizen science data that enables a more detailed picture of our national biodiversity, and assists bodies such as the CSIRO, ecologists and other decision makers to deliver better outcomes for the environment and our species.

Our guides record observations with iNaturalist Australia by using the iNaturalist app on mobile phones or desktop computers. An observation records an encounter with an individual organism at a particular time and location on the Eyre Peninsula. We require photos to be attached to observations for them to become research grade and added to the Atlas of Living Australia.

This is where you can greatly assist us in capturing images out in the field! Although we make broader observations that we think are valuable to the local scientific community, we have identified the following species to track when we are exploring the Eyre Peninsula by vehicle, e-bike or on foot.

Key species we're looking out for include:

• Koala (outside of Mikkira Station)
• Short-beaked Echidna
• Rosenberg’s Goanna
• Malleefowl
• Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
• White-bellied Sea-Eagle
• Osprey
• Bush Stone-curlew
• Hooded Plover

Tracking the Eastern Osprey of the Eyre Peninsula

Australian Coastal Safaris guide and award-winning photographer, Fran Solly, has been watching birds across the Eyre Peninsula for over 35 years. In recognition of her contribution to the birding community through citizen science observations and development of the regional field guide for birds, Fran had an Osprey chick named after her (Solly) in 2020. 

In November of that year, Solly was the first Eastern Osprey to be fitted with a solar powered tracker as part of the Osprey Recovery Project in South Australia, being the first time this had been undertaken in Australia.

Fran has worked alongside lead researcher, Ian Falkenberg, in developing the tracking capability, which provides data several times a day on the bird’s location before falling off cleanly at about four years of age, when the bird is ready to find a nest and a mate. The team expected the bird to range about 20-40 kilometres after leaving its nest, but were stunned when the Solly flew 400 kilometres within the first week. This project is a critical component in providing important information on how Osprey are using coastal habitats in the region, especially with the estimated population decline of up to 26 per cent over the last ten years.

Unfortunately, Solly the Osprey was killed in November 2021, when she was electrocuted by a power pole in Streaky Bay, prompting a call to work with electricity companies to reduce the risks to these endangered raptors.