11th October 2012 The strong south-east wind blowing off the Antarctic this morning ensured two things: cold and breezy conditions, and potentially sensational seawatching. Our admirable guide Chris Baxter (affectionately known as Kangaroo Island's "Bird Man")...

10th October 2012 This morning we did the quick hop, appropriately enough, over to Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia. It's a half hour flight from Adelaide, on one of those excitingly small planes powered by propellers. It turns out that half an hour...

9th October 2012 Gluepot is a fleshpot of extremely rare birds. The names “Scarlet-chested Parrot” and “Striated Grasswren” send shivers down the spines of birding geeks, and I have to confess to great excitement at the prospect of this visit. The area, named after...

7th October 2012 The schedule mysteriously spoke of a "Wombat Muster" for today and tomorrow. But what is a Wombat Muster? Read on and you'll find out. The flat country around the Murray River north-east of Adelaide is home to a rare animal known as the Southern...

Coorong National Park is a place of big skies and big birds. The salty, shallow waterways play host to large numbers of pelicans, spoonbills, terns and all of Australia’s five species of cormorants. Our first appointment in South Australia was a boat cruise here...

Many a visitor would admit that Australian garden birds are weird and exotic, but they might not realise that this applies to their life histories, too. You only have to go for a short walk encounter the Noisy Miner, for example. This bird lives in possibly the most...

I am here in Australia on a press trip to cover the wildlife wonders of South Australia and Tasmania. Two others of the team are shown here on our stopover at Singapore Airport. Mike Unwin (left) is editor of Travel Africa magazine and a prolific wildlife author, who...

Wednesday Oct 1st: Australia has garden birds, but not as we know them. For those who have never been to the Sydney area, these Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are everywhere, looking exotic, unreal and, bizarrely for a true native bird, out of place. They wander the...