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Join award-winning birdwatching & photography tours skillfully guided by Luke Paterson, one of Australia's best bird guides & owner of NT Bird Specialists. Our world-class birding & ecotourism experiences are created with 35 years local expertise, immersing you in northern Australia's ancient wilderness (Northern Territory, Kimberley, outback Queensland) & Sri Lanka.
We tailor to all birders, nature/bird photographers, film-makers & naturalists during unique small group tours & private birdwatching itineraries. World birders, listers & non-birders alike highly recommend our professional combination of specialist guiding, 400+ bird species (finding rare & endemic Australian birds like Gouldian Finch, Grasswrens & Red Goshawk), exquisite landscapes & bird photography, private photographic cruises, bushwalking, rock art & more.
Our Top Tours
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6 Night Top End Birds & Wildlife Photographic Workshop Immersion
Join our breath-taking bird & wildlife photography tour with Jay Collier in Kakadu’s World Heritage sites. Limited availability in 2021 & 2022. Maximum 8 guests. 2 Tour leaders.
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8 Day Australian Outback Birdwatching Tour, Darwin (NT) to Mount Isa (QLD) OR Alice Springs (NT)
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17 Day Northern Australia Outback Birding Tour, Darwin (NT) to Cairns (QLD) via Mount Isa
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Wild Kakadu Nature & Landscape Photographic Expedition 2021
Join our exclusive photographic expedition through the heart of Crocodile Dundee country. 29 August – 2 September and 4-8 September 2021. Limited availability.
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10 Day Ultimate Top End Birding Adventure Tour
NT Bird Specialists’ ‘Ultimate Top End Birding Adventure’ tour discovers some of the most remote and impressive landscapes and targeted bird and wildlife species in one fowl swoop!
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15 Day Sri Lankan Birdwatching Tour plus Wildlife 2022
Join NT Bird Specialists on a 15 day ‘Wild-Life’ Adventure through the biodiverse and culturally rich lands of Sri Lanka in February 2022. ‘Immerse yourself in World Heritage wilderness and ancient cultural sites while searching for unique and endemic birds and wildlife off the beaten track. Sri Lanka – the Wonder of Asia, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.’
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7 Day North Australian Finch Frenzy Tour
Join NT Bird Specialists on a Grass ’Finch Frenzy’ of the best birding sites for Gouldian Finch, Star Finch, Pictorella Mannikin and up to 200 bird species spanning the Top End, Northern Territory. Start & finish in Darwin.
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9 Day Tropical Outback Top End Bird Photography Tour
Embark on our 9 Day ‘Tropical Outback’ Top End Bird Photography Tour to photograph an incredible range of colourful and unique northern Australian birds and wildlife in beautiful landscapes.
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5 Day Top End Birding and Wildlife Tour
Our 5 day ‘Top End Birding & Wildlife Experience’ provides fantastic chances to view many Top End specialty birds and wildlife, including Banded-fruit Dove (endemic), Rainbow Pitta, Hooded Parrot (endemic), Gouldian Finch and many waterbirds.
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4 Day Kakadu Birdwatching Tour ‘Djagarna Jaunt’
Our 4 day Kakadu Birdwatching tour ‘Djagarna Jaunt’ explores a 1200 kilometre circuit along the Arnhem, Kakadu and Stuart Highways, in the Top End of the Northern Territory.
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3 Day Kakadu Wildlife Tour ‘Ragul Run’
For those with a less time to visit the Top End, our 3 Day ‘Ragul Run’ wildlife tour presents a taste of Kakadu in two nights.
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2 Day Pine Creek Birdwatching Tour ‘Parrot and Finch Paradise’
10 species of parrots, including the (locally endemic) Hooded Parrot, Red-winged Parrot, Cockatiel and Northern Rosella, rightfully makes the historic gold mining and railway township of Pine Creek the ‘Top End’s home of parrots’.
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1 Day Kakadu Birdwatching Tours
Our 1 day Kakadu bird watching tours start and finish in the heart of the World Heritage Kakadu National Park.
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1 Day Darwin Birdwatching Tour ‘Sticky Beak’
Darwin’s urban landscapes retain an array of habitats for birds and wildlife to flourish in.
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Kakadu Bird Week Tours 2020
Get a fantastic taste of Kakadu’s birding highlights when Luke guides you to the best sites during Kakadu Bird Week 2020. Enquire and book Kakadu Bird Week tours today [email protected]
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About Us.
We have a united passion and experience in working for sustainable tourism businesses and conservation projects in northern Australia and SE Asia.
You can rest assured with our award-winning team, as we combine over 28 years experience in the Northern Territory and Kimberley regions when packaging our genuine small group and custom ecotours, so you have more time to view wildlife and soak in your surroundings in comfort.
Our services in special-interest nature tourism are amongst the best on offer. Come and experience it for yourself.
Reviews
My eyes were opened to this ancient landscape through the lens of watching birds - what a fabulous way to have ones eyes opened. Our guide Luke Paterson provided a superb blend of knowledge, skill and enthusiasm. His people skills and patience were as well developed as his bird knowledge - exceptional at times and breath-taking. this is a holiday to be remembered for the rest of our lives - a stand out!
I have been on many guided tours throughout the world and this one was absolutely stunning an outstanding in comparison. Luke was friendly; endlessly obliging; his ability in bird-spotting was amazing; everything was well organised; attention to detail extraordinary and food excellent and abundant. Luke's kindness and thoughtfulness in making sure everyone was ok and seeing the birds (and we saw way more than expected) was great. Luke was endlessly knowledgeable but modest in sharing his expertise and a great sense of warm humour. I would recommend this tour to anyone!
The expertise and patience of our guide was excellent. The choice of sites seemed (to a novice birder) very good, and beautiful as well. I loved the most active pieces of the daily schedule, along with the sightings.
We spent two days with Luke & Sarah in Kakadu and had a great time as well as being a successful birding outing. They are so friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and willing to go the extra mile to satisfy their client's wishes. They are obliging - Luke & Sarah constructed a tour to meet our time constraints, preferred locations, and particular birds we were after. The food was top quality, generous and well presented. Luke's birding skills are impressive and they both have so much knowledge of the cultural significance of the area and the history and all the wildlife and plants.
We booked because we found the package listing attractive. Luke is a very passionate, knowledgeable, considerate guide and the most pleasant company during the tour. He spared no pains to make our visit to the NT memorable and set and met goals way above our expectations. Well catered too. Luke was not only a kind, friendly person, but also patient and able to keep varying levels of backgrounds and ability engaged and enjoying the experience at an appropriate level. We enjoyed covering so much ground not only birds but also such a wide and varied range of NT so that one is eager to return and keep enjoying the NT experience.
Just sending a quick note from Peter & myself thanking you for an experience we will continue to talk about for a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the birds over half of which I would have completely missed had I tried to observe them by doing the walks solo. One of my highlights was definitely the Rainbow Pitta. I was also wrapped with the Black Bittern and Pete got a good photo of this on the Yellow Water morning cruise. We are putting the photos together now and my favourite keeps changing. Peter is still joking about the elusive Yellow Chat ... we were hoping that one may have jumped in our suitcase for a free flight to Sydney but alas this wasn't the case. The whole trip culminated in winning the helicopter ride which Pete kindly gave to me. For a laugh I've attached a photo....zoom in on Pete's pocket if you can... LOL. Thanks again for a fabulous time and we will keep an eye out for other up and coming "NT Bird Specialists" tours. All the best.
3 Day AIPP Kakadu Photographic Workshop led by Peter Eastway
Coronavirus Updates & Hotspot Travel Restrictions for the Northern Territory
Effects of Australian bushfires on birdlife & birdwatching tours
Australian Geographic comes to Kakadu Bird Week
Australasian Ornithological Conference Darwin (AOC) 2019
The Urban Birder films Darwin and the Top End
Past Newsletter Highlights and Touring Specials
New Ownership for NT Bird Specialists
15 Day Sri Lankan Birdwatching & Wildlife Safari 2022
Delicious Sri Lankan food for lunch
Birdwatching in Bundala National Park
Guesthouse in Sinharaja
For those of you who join our 15 day Sri Lankan Birds & Wildlife Tour in February 2022, we will be travelling in a small group with a max 10 guests and 2 NT Bird Specialist tour leaders (Luke Paterson and Sarah Burgess), along with a professional nationally accredited naturalist guide and a driver in a coach or mini bus.
The tour includes several private jeep safaris, short walks in varied tropical habitats ranging from wet tropics, savannah grasslands, arid zones, remote villages, montane zones, white sandy coastlines and tropical food forests. We practise and encourage a minimal impact style of wildlife ecotourism the whole way.
We embark on whale watching boat cruises (one of the best places to view Blue Whale!, Spinner Dolphins and Sperm Whale). We stay in a range of hotels and guest houses selected due to their convenient location to birdwatching hotspots in Sri Lanka.
This tour is FULL BOARD (includes all accommodation, meals, park fees, transport/driver and community guide gratuities) plus more. Flights, driver and National Guide gratuities, travel insurance, drinks and alcoholic beverages, extra tours and excursions are excluded.
We are more than happy to recommend suitable flight routes and book your pre and post tour activities in Sri Lanka, Maldives and India.
See TOUR INCLUSIONS here & contact us for detailed itinerary & trip notes: 15 Day Sri Lankan Birds & Wildlife Tour enquiry
Some of Sri Lanka’s key species include:
Over 440 species birds (with 33 endemics and many migrants):
Sri Lankan Scimitar Babbler, Serendib Scops Owl (only recently been described back in 2004), Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Sri Lankan Green Pigeon, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Indian Pitta, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Shikra, Chestnut-backed Owlet, Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot, Sri Lanka, Grey Hornbill, Yellow Bittern, Yellow-eared Bulbul, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Indian Peafowl, Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Greater Flamingo, Asian Openbill, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Lesser Goldenback.
Rare & endemic Serendib Scops Owl
Bird hide in village house Singharaja
Tricky to photograph Sri Lankan Spurfowl
So happy to find Indian Pitta in Sri Lanka
Lesser Adjutant Stork Bundala National Park
Sri Lanka’s smallest KF – Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
123 species mammal (16 endemic, including 28 cetaceans):
Sri Lankan Leopard, Blue Whale, Sperm Whale, Sloth Bear, Asian Elephant, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, Loris species, Jackal, Sambar Deer, Chital Deer, Spotted Deer, Purple-faced Langur (endemic), Red-faced Macaques, Tocque Macaque, Giant squirrel, Golden Palm Civet, Wild Boar, Spinner Dolphin.
Wild Sri Lankan Leopard in Wilpattu NP
Sloth Bears in the wild
See Asian Elephants in Yala NP, Sri Lanka
Stripe-naped Mongoose at Horton Plains
Photographing Grey Langur
See mighty Blue Whales on a cruise in Mirissa
Over 200 species reptile:
Water Monitor, Mugger Crocodile, Vine Snake, Rat Snake, Olive Ridley & Loggerhead Turtle, Common Green Forest Lizard, Agama Lizard species.
Over 140 species amphibians and many thousands of insects.
Common Garden Lizards
Ancient cultural sites in Anuradhupura
Sigiriya Rock Fortress in distance
Our safari explores key sites over 2 wildlife-filled weeks:
- Colombo
- Katunayake
- Kalpittiya
- Willpattu National Park (Ramsar site)
- Mannar
- Sigiriya Lion Rock Fortress (World Heritage site)
- Polonnawura
- Minneriya National Park
- Nuwara Eliya
- Yala National Park (Ramsar site)
- Bundala National Park (Ramsar site)
- Tissamaharama
- Horton Plains/World’s End (World Heritage site)
- Sinharaja Forest Reserve (World Heritage site)
- Mirrisa / Tangalle
Sights and sites including:
Rural and village life, water storage ‘tanks’ reservoirs /wetlands, tea plantations, plantations, spice gardens, Sigiriya ‘Lion Rock’/Fresco paintings, temple ruins, community fishing villages and more
Fresh treacle from palm trees
Asian water buffalo farmer in Bundala NP
Happiness is farm fresh local vegetables
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The Team:
Sri Lankan National Guide: We use the best birding guides who have National Guiding accreditations while touring in Sri Lanka.
NT Bird Specialists Tour Leader Profiles: Luke Paterson Dp. Natural Resource Management and Sarah Burgess Bsc. Science & Ecotourism, Owners and Directors of NT Bird Specialists, Darwin, Australia
Learn more about Luke and Sarah on ‘Our Team‘ pages: (Luke Paterson) (Sarah Burgess)
We sighted all 33 endemic birds of Sri Lanka in 10 days 🙂
Luke & Dhammi appreciating how tropical food forests attract many birds
We employ professional services from Sri Lankan Park Rangers
Recommended field guides for Birds of Sri Lanka:
- ‘Birds of Sri Lanka’ (Helm Field Guides) Deepal Warakagoda; Carol Inskipp; Tim Inskipp; Richard Grimmett and
- ‘A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka’ (Oxford) John Harrison, Illustrations by Tim Worfolk
Read our ‘Sri Lanka Tour Trip Planning Info/FAQs’ page here:
See Sri Lanka Tourism’s official webpage here:
Birding with NT Bird Specialists in Sri Lanka
Our local guides & Luke will guide you through Sri Lanka’s birds & wildlife
Birdwatching to find Sri Lankan Spurfowl
