Let’s Toughen Up This Beamer

We took a BMW X3 to Iron Range National Park. That’s right. A BMW. A beamer up some questionable roads to get to the Northernmost portion of Australia. We laughed when a “luxury vehicle” was the car that Avis gave us knowing what was in store for it. At the airport Ross tried to get the rental car personnel to give him something else. Anything else. But they didn’t have anything else so we just took it and figured it might be fun to toughen this BMW up a little bit. According to the Queensland government’s parks department, the road to Iron Range is suitable to four-wheel drive vehicles only.

As we were driving in on the dirt road Ross looked over to me and said, “I wonder what all these 4x4s think of us driving into Iron Range in a BMW.” I immediately responded with something like, “probably that we look like a joke.” But Ross, after thinking it over, quipped back, “but are we the joke or are they?”
Australia has surprised me in many ways, most of all surrounding what qualifies as a bad road. We might have crossed a shallow stream a few times and driven in on gravel or dirt, but the roads to Iron Range were well-formed. All I know is that these dirt roads in Australia have proven to be much more manageable than I had expected. You know, even a BMW could do it.

We had a long list of targets ahead of us, plenty of birds that are only found in this region and others that would be good to get now so we didn’t have to look for them when we got back to Cairns. As we birded Iron Range National Park, it felt like we had left Australia and ventured into the tropical rainforests of Indonesia, which, in a way, we kind of had. The Cape York Peninsula in far northern Queensland is very different than the rest of the continent given it’s geography. The flora and fauna, along with the warm temperature and high humidity is more reminiscent of parts of Indonesia than anywhere else on the continent of Australia.

The low pressure system that appeared to be rolling through the area brought with it comfortably cool temperatures which actually made for very enjoyable mornings in the park. The only annoying thing was the wind that rolled through as well. Wind is without a doubt the worst condition to be birding in, but thankfully the wind would calm between gusts and we still had a very productive morning scouting out our targets. Since it’s usually very hot and humid, these perfectly comfortable temperatures were much welcomed. We were told by a friend that Black-eared Catbird, a split from Spotted Catbird, can be really difficult. Another friend told us it wasn’t too tricky and we shouldn’t have problems with it. In the end we figured they both were right. It’s a hard bird, sure, but if you specifically search for it early morning you’ll have a good chance. As it turns out Black-eared Catbird was one of the very first birds we had. It was still quite dark, with just the first few colors starting to dance in the sky. That’s why I think this normally secretive bird perched up in a completely bare tree. (Although we didn’t see it perched in the bare tree until it flew! Oops!) Unfortunately the bird flew rather distantly and we couldn’t relocate it. The following morning just before dawn we tried again, and this time we were able to chase after the sounds into the forest. It can be quite frustrating chasing after a bird and then only seeing a blur wiz by, which is what seemed to keep happening. But with a bit of persistence, eventually we had great views of two Black-eared Catbirds and Ross managed a few passable photos. In the end, we concluded hearing Black-eared Catbird can be easy, but tracking one down is a bit of a different story. (Keep in mind we only heard the birds at the very first sign of light, after that they went quiet for the entire day!)

Prior to going in to the park, we made a list of birds we wanted to see. Some were specialists of the new climate we were in and others were just country ticks. Still the list of birds we wanted to see was quite long, but during our two full days in the park we managed to cross nearly all of our expected targets off the list. From our main targets (endemics) like Frill-necked Monarch, Northern Scrub Robin, and White-streaked Honeyeater, to secondary targets aka Australia birds for us because they are only found in this area, like Black-eared Catbird, Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Chestnut breasted Cuckoo, and Palm Cockatoo. And then there’s birds like Magnificent Frigatebird, Bridled Tern, and Brown Booby seen at the beach while scanning the ocean.

We spent our 2.5 days mostly birding along the road, but also made a few short trips down trails along the campgrounds within the National Park. We stayed at Greenhoose, a nice family run lodge situated at the edge of the park. We highly recommend staying here as they have a great trail system and the family running it is very friendly/helpful. With the high winds we would spend the morning birding and the then spend the majority of the day hanging around Greenhoose where Roger enjoyed playing with the couple’s two little girls. At night we ventured out seeing both Marbled and Papuan Frogmouths but unfortunately the cooler weather kept the green pythons from coming out to play! We were sad to dip such a neat snake but the weather really made it impossible. Trails near the campgrounds produced fantastic views of Northern Scrub Robin, Lovely Fairy Wren, Trumpet Manucode, and Yellow-billed Kingfisher. In the more open heathland we tracked down White-streaked Honeyeater, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, and at a nearby dam we saw Spotted Whistling Duck. We did quite well to see all of the birds we hoped to see although, oddly, Yellow-legged Flycatcher gave us a good bit of trouble. On our last day just as we were driving out, we found a very cooperative pair at one of the last possible spots before leaving the forest!

In addition to the many unique birds of the tropical rainforest of Cape York, during the drive up, you have the opportunity to see another very range restricted Australian endemic, Golden-shouldered Parrot. During our drive up we arrived at Artemis Station, a conservation minded cattle farm that has been working with researchers to ensure the continued survival of the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot. The station is owned by Sue Sheppard who is extremely accommodating, allowing birders to stop and enjoy the parrots. There’s a few feeders on the property where the parrots will come to get food during the off season when wild food is harder to find. When we arrived at the station late morning, the parrots hadn’t made a visit yet, but after getting a nice little educational tour of the area, we finally managed to see a nice group of Golden-shouldered Parrots visit the feeder area, including a single stunning adult male! In addition to the parrots, there’s a Red Goshawk nest only about 30 minutes away. Although we had just seen Red Goshawk in the top end a few days prior, who could pass up another Red Goshawk?!?!?!?! Luckily we decided to visit this nest because as we watched the male sitting on the nest, the female flew in with food. We got to see both birds at extremely close range as they hung around the nest (which we assumed had eggs). Awesome!

Every year getting in to the Iron Range gets a little easier (not to say it was hard when we went, clearly we managed just fine in a BMW) but every year they are paving more and more of the road. Every year it gets more and more accessible. Our BMW made it no trouble, but I can’t say I liked being *that* person. We are not fancy car people. I’d take an overlanding vehicle over a “luxury” car any day.

This birding occurred on 25-28 August 2023
Here’s a sample eBird checklist: Iron Range day 1, Iron Range day 2, Artemis Station