Join our award-winning birdwatching & photography tours skilfully guided by Luke Paterson, one of Australia's best bird guides & owner of NT Bird Specialists. Our world-class ecotourism experiences are created with 39 years local expertise from our home base in Darwin, Australia's Northern Territory and are uniquely designed to immerse you in northern Australia's ancient wilderness areas (Northern Territory, Kimberley, outback Queensland) plus the biodiversity hotspots of Borneo & Sri Lanka, while seeking some of the county's most sought after and rare birds and wildlife.
We tailor to all birders, nature/bird photographers, film-makers & naturalists during unique small group tours & private photography and/or birdwatching itineraries.
World birders, listers & non-birders alike highly recommend our professional combination of specialist guiding, 400+ bird species, finding and photographing rare & endemic Australian birds like Gouldian Finch, Grasswrens & Red Goshawk, plus the exquisite cultural landscapes, private photographic cruises, helicopters, bushwalking, rock art & more.
Our Top Tours
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Photographic Workshop: Top End Birds & Wildlife Immersion
Join our breath-taking bird & wildlife photography workshop with Luke Paterson & Jay Collier in Kakadu’s World Heritage sites. Limited availability. 2 Expert Tour leaders. Special offers available.
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Borneo Birding & Wildlife Tour: Hornbills, Trogons & Orangutans
Borneo is a naturalist’s dream & a breathtaking destination for NT Bird Specialists’ guests to experience incredible accessible birding & mammal viewing in deluxe style.
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5 Day Kakadu – Top End Birding, Wildlife & Nature 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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9 Day Australian Outback Birdwatching Tour, Darwin (NT) to Mount Isa (QLD)
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Wild Kakadu Nature Photography Expedition 2025
Join our exclusive photographic expedition through the heart of Crocodile Dundee country. 12-17 June 2023. Special offers available.
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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 & Wildlife Tour
Join NT Bird Specialists on a 15 day Wildlife Adventure through the biodiverse and culturally rich lands of Sri Lanka in March 2024 and 2025. ‘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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8 Day Tropical Outback Bird Photography Tour
Embark on our 8 Day ‘Tropical Outback’ Bird Photography Tour to photograph an incredible range of colourful and unique northern Australian birds and wildlife in beautiful landscapes.
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4 Day Kakadu Birdwatching Tour ‘Djakarna Jaunt’
Our 4 day Kakadu Birdwatching tour ‘Djakarna 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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4 Day East Kimberley Bird Photography Tour
Join our tantalising bird photography adventure in the East Kimberley. Photograph finches, local speciality birds and reptiles in gorgeous boab-clad landscapes with million star astro views.
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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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1 Day Wild Kakadu Wildlife & Rock Art Tour
Only have a day or two to spare? Join our 1 Day Wild Kakadu Wildlife & Rock Art tour for a glimpse of the World Heritage wildlife and rock art at home amongst the mighty South Alligator floodplains and Ubirr rock art sites adjacent to the East Alligator River.
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Kakadu Bird Week Tours 2024
Get a fantastic taste of Kakadu’s birding highlights when Luke guides you to the best sites during Kakadu Bird Week 2024. 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 37 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.
Sri Lankan Birding and Wildlife Tour: Species Highlights & Trip Notes with NT Bird Specialists
Unique Gift Vouchers – Gift Something Wild They’ll Truly Love!
3 Day AIPP Kakadu Photographic Workshop led by Peter Eastway
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
We’re super pleased to have John Gitsham joining the NT Bird Specialists’ Guiding Team from 2023.
With over 40 years of experience as a dedicated conservationist, naturalist, birder, and bird photographer, John Gitsham brings a wealth of knowledge to our team at NT Bird Specialists.
John is a seasoned professional whose experiences include 25 years in the Conservation Industry (Head Park Ranger for the famous Coorong National Park in South Australia, Wildlife sanctuary roles – Earth Sanctuaries, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, National Parks & Wildlife SA, Nature Guide, Wildlife Manager, Fleurieu Swamps Project Officer & Wetlands Manager for the Murraylands in SA).
John first met Sarah through their University studies in Ecotourism at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia & naturally, he hit it off with Luke sharing their birding passions.
John is the past President & Committee Member of Birds SA & has been on BirdLife Australia’s Gluepot Bird Reserve Management Committee (in South Australia’s Riverland) for the past 20 years.
During this time, John has been the Facilitator/Head guide of many birdwatching walks, birdwatching events, lectures & Birdwatching Courses & operated his own Birding/Bird Photography business.
As an accomplished Nature Photographer of Birds & Landscapes, John’s Professional Photography was recently published in two of his black and white landscape photography books.
As we do, John firmly believes in “Conservation through Education” when working with guests & communities, so you can see why we’re excited to welcome John to our team!
Come and meet John on our Darwin and Kakadu tours, or at his presentations at the 12th Australasian Ornithological Conference (AOC) in Brisbane November 2023 and attendance at the Australian Birdlife Photography Conference in Adelaide March 2024.
