Inside BirdLife Australia & AWC's reserves: 8 days, 200+ outback birds 🦜

From outback Queensland to the South Australian mallee in pursuit of Australia's rarest birds.

This email was sent

June 5, 2026 6:00pm EDT

Is this your brand on Milled? Claim it.

Matte tone:

Gluepot Reserve and Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary are two of Australia’s most significant private conservation properties.

On this eight-day birding safari through outback Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, your expert bird guide will take you across mallee scrub, gibber plains and Murray River woodlands in search of more than 200 species, from the elusive grey falcon to the dazzling scarlet-chested parrot.

VIEW ITINERARY

Tour highlights

Eight days of birding across two of Australia's most significant private conservation reserves
Discover the diverse birdlife of Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, where more than 200 species have been confirmed, nine of those threatened species
Explore BirdLife Australia’s Gluepot Reserve, home to 18 nationally threatened bird species
Search Sturt National Park for the cinnamon quail-thrush, gibberbird, flock bronzewing and orange and crimson chats

BOWRA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

Two days on the AWC's outback refuge

Bowra is one of Australia’s premier inland birding sites. Two full days at AWC’s sanctuary near Cunnamulla (a former conservation-minded sheep station now managed across woodland, shrubland, grassland and riparian habitat) give time to search for the pink cockatoo, plum-headed finch, Hall’s babbler, Bourke’s parrot and red-browed pardalote. Watch for the grey falcon and join the evening “Bird call” session with your AWC host to log the day’s sightings for research.

Spotted harrier (Circus assimilis)

INTO THE OUTBACK

Sturt National Park and the Gibber Plains

The journey south crosses 500km of true outback. Birding stops along the road bring opportunities for the inland dotterel, flock bronzewing, Australian pratincole, budgerigar and uncommon raptors such as the black-breasted buzzard and black falcon, before a full day exploring Sturt National Park’s vast NSW outback habitat. Target the cinnamon quail-thrush, gibberbird, orange and crimson chat among the gibber plains; watch for Bourke’s parrots arriving at a waterhole as the day comes to an end.

Orange chat (Epthianura aurifrons)

SILVER CITY HIGHWAY

From Gibber to mallee and the Murray

Each day brings a new vegetation community and a new set of species to chase. The Silver City Highway runs from gibber plains through mulga scrub and into mallee with a spinifex understorey, watching for the pink cockatoo and bluebonnet along a morning drive. At Wentworth, the convergence of the Darling and Murray rivers brings waterbirds and a first chance at the beautiful regent parrot, before a comfortable overnight at Berri sets up the journey's mallee finale.

Pink cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri)

GLUEPOT RESERVE

BirdLife Australia's mallee stronghold

Gluepot is one of Australia’s great conservation success stories. A sheep station until 1996, Gluepot’s 54,390 hectares were purchased by BirdLife Australia to protect the black-eared miner and five other nationally threatened species. Spend a full day searching its ancient mallee for the shy heathwren, crested bellbird, jacky winter and hooded robin, with a final morning chasing the mallee emu-wren, striated grasswren and red-lored whistler.

Scarlet-chested parrot (Neophema splendida)

BOOK NOW

Australian Geographic acknowledges the First Nations peoples of Australia as traditional custodians, and pays its respect to Elders past and present, and their stories and journeys.

View in Your Browser

No longer want to receive these emails? Unsubscribe.

Manage Preferences

Australian Geographic 52-54 Turner Street Redfern, New South Wales 2016

Inside BirdLife Australia & AWC's reserves: 8 days, 200+ outback birds 🦜

From outback Queensland to the South Australian mallee in pursuit of Australia's rarest birds.

Recent emails from Australian Geographic