August 2005 - Heritage Bird Week

Do you fancy enjoying a hearty country breakfast while magnificent riflebirds display their iridescent body colours on the next table, or taking a moonlit walk to discover lesser sooty owls hiding among the beauty of the north Queensland's rainforest?

16 August 2005

WILD detective leads bird tour

Do you fancy enjoying a hearty country breakfast while magnificent riflebirds display their iridescent body colours on the next table, or taking a moonlit walk to discover lesser sooty owls hiding among the beauty of the north Queensland’s rainforest?

Well, it’s easy – just join renowned bird expert and wildlife cinematographer John Young on a specialised eight-day tour during Heritage Bird Week in late October/early November.

John is a loveable larrikin known as “The WILD Detective” because of his extensive knowledge of wildlife, particularly birds. He is an acknowledged expert and has personally located and photographed more than 600 of Australia’s 750 known species of birds.

He discovered the first nests ever found for several species including the lesser sooty owl, the red boobook owl and the green-backed honeyeater. In more recent times, he has worked with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to locate nine nests of the near-extinct eastern bristlebird.

John will be the guide and leader on the Heritage Bird Week tour, which begins in Townsville on 30 October 2005 and moves up the Paluma Range behind Townsville, passing by Crystal Creek before making headquarters at the township of Paluma.

The Paluma area – the southern gateway to the famous Wet Tropics World Heritage Area – is home to more than 250 species of birds. Many of these species feed in the gardens of the historic Ivy Cottage, where the tour group will be based for five days.

Among the species likely to be seen during the tour are some of Queensland’s most unusual birds including the endangered Southern Cassowary, Red Goshawk, Double-Eyed Fig-Parrot, Barking Owl, and Victoria's Riflebird

For more information:
Iain McIndoe, John Young Wildlife Enterprises, ph (07) 3870 4308 or 0409 347 150
(Broadcast quality digital images of John Young and rare bird species available)