We’ll be traveling with Inala Tours, a Tasmanian-based tour company, to see the highlights of this unique island. These include twelve endemic bird species (you’ll have an excellent chance to see them all) as well as all four robin species and raptors such as the Tasmanian subspecies of the mighty Wedge-tailed Eagle and the ghostly white morph Grey Goshawk. Mammals we’ll be seeking include Eastern quoll, wombat and platypus, echidna, and—with some luck—the Tasmanian devil, endemic to Tasmania. 

The trip will begin with a visit to Maria Island off the east coast that will give us a chance to see Cape Barren Geese, Flame Robin and Swift Parrot. It’s also home to eleven of the twelve Tasmanian endemics, including one of the rarest, the Forty-spotted Pardalote. Mammals we should see include Forester Kangaroos, Bennett’s Wallaby, and Common Wombats.

Next we’ll do a pelagic trip on the Southern Ocean; Tasmania is famous for its pelagic birding and our targets include a wide variety of shearwaters, petrels, storm petrels, albatrosses, and the Fairy Prion. 

We head back south where we’ll visit another endemic-rich island, Bruny, where we’ll be staying at “Inala” a 1,500-acre wildlife sanctuary where our tour company is headquartered; all twelve of the endemics can be found on the grounds here. We’ll visit a variety of habitats on Bruny and look for shorebirds, raptors, and endemics, of course, including four honeyeater species and the Green Rosella. We’ll have a chance to see the Tasmanian sub-species of Short-beaked Echidna, one of Australia’s two egg-laying mammal (monotreme) species. On an evening walk we’ll look for nocturnal mammals (including the Eastern Quoll, the Tasmanian Pademelon, and, with luck, the Long-nosed Potoroo) and birds (Tawney Frogmouth and Tasmanian Boobook.) 

Heading north, we’ll visit the Mt. Field area where our target will include Tasmanian Native Hen, Black Currawong and Yellow Wattlebird (all Tasmanian endemics). We’ll have our first chance to look for the bizarre Platypus (when members of London’s Royal Academy saw their first dead specimen, they thought it the greatest fake they’d even seen because they couldn’t find the stitches that held its disparate parts together). 

We end our trip in the Cradle Mountain area, another fabulous place to see endemic birds and mammals. In addition to great birding, we’ll view endemic Tasmanian rainforest flora with ancient Gondwanan connections such as Pencil and King Billy Pines, Myrtle and the famous Tanglefoot Beech which is Tasmania’s only deciduous tree. Here we’ll do another night drive where we’ll have chances for both quolls—Eastern and Spotted-tail—and another opportunity to encounter the Tasmanian Devil. 

At the end of the tour if time permits , we’ll visit a wetlands where there is a chance to view Australasian Swamphen, Spotless Crake, Australian Shelduck, Black-fronted Dotterel and Little Grassbird. You’ll have the option of catching a flight to mainland Australia from Launceston or returning to Hobart and flying from there.

Please note: We know that many Americans who travel all of the way to Australia would like to bird the Australian mainland as well as Tasmania. To accommodate those travelers, we’ve worked out the dates of this trip so that those who wish to do another birding trip have two excellent options to choose from, both of which are also run by Inala Tours. If you’ll like to visit Western Australia before the Tasmania trip, check out South-Western Australia – Birds and Wildlife of the Coral Coast & Outback Northern Wheatbelt which runs from October 15 to 22. The other option, which follows the Tasmania tour (November 8–18) is South East Australia – Birds & Wildlife. This latter trip includes more iconic species: Koalas, Superb Lyrebird, and the elusive Plains-wanderer.

Price

6-8 pax     $8,690AUD per person, twin share

9-10 pax    $8,620AUD per person, twin share

11-12 pax   $7,855AUD per person, twin share

Single supplement: $1,500AUD

Please note the prices are in Australian dollars—the exchange rate is very good so that the pricing for the Inala tours is very competitive with market rates. Click here for today’s currency rate.