Broome

Overview

Broome is located on Roebuck Bay in Western Australia's north-west. The weather is tropical, and only two seasons are recognised - The Wet (November to April) when it is hot and humid and often rainy, and The Dry, when it is warm and dry. In September hundreds of thousands of migratory waders end their journeys from Siberia here, to feast on the smorgasboard offered by the most macrobenthically diverse mudflats in the world. Most of these waders leave in March and April, but the young stay in the bay for a few years before commencing their migration to breeding grounds in Asia.

There are various habitats around Broome - Tidal mudflats, rocky shorelines, mangroves, grass plains and inland lakes. Because of this, over 300 species can be seen in the area. Due to it's position, many vagrant birds also blow in.

Birds

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Brown Quail, Magpie Goose, Black Swan, Plumed Whistling-duck, Wandering Whistling-duck, Australian Wood Duck, Pink-eared Duck, Grey Teal, Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck, Green Pygmy-goose, Australasian Grebe, Brown Booby, Darter, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Pied Cormorant, Australian Pelican, Lesser Frigatebird, Great Egret, Little Egret, Eastern Reef Egret, White-faced Heron, Rufous Night Heron, Striated Heron, Royal Spoonbill, Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Black-necked Stork, Brolga, Osprey, Brahminy Kite, Black Kite, Whistling Kite, Little Eagle, Black-breasted Buzzard, Wedge-tailed Eagle, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Spotted Harrier, Swamp Harrier, Black-shouldered Kite, Letter-winged Kite, Collared Sparrowhawk, Brown Goshawk, Nankeen Kestrel, Australian Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Brown Falcon, Grey Falcon, Purple Swamphen, Black-tailed Native Hen, Eurasian Coot, Spotless Crake, Baillon's Crake, Australian Spotted Crake, Australian Bustard, Red-backed Button-quail, Little Button-quail, Ruddy Turnstone, Pin-tailed Snipe, Latham's Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, Australian Painted Snipe, Asian Dowitcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Curlew, Whimbrel, Eastern Curlew, Spotted Redshank (vagrant), Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Nordmann's Greenshank (vagrant), Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff (vagrant), Red Knot, Great Knot, Grey-tailed Tattler, Sanderling, Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Comb-crested Jacana, Bush Stone-curlew, Beach Stone-curlew, Banded Stilt, Black-winged Stilt, Red-necked Avocet, Australian Pratincole, Oriental Pratincole, Pied Oystercatcher, Sooty Oystercatcher, Pacific Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Red-capped Plover, Lesser Sand-plover, Greater Sand-plover, Oriental Plover, Black-fronted Dotterel, Red-kneed Dotterel, Masked Lapwing, Banded Lapwing (vagrant), Silver Gull, Franklin's Gull (vagrant), Black-headed Gull (vagrant), Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Caspian Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Black Tern, Flock Bronzewing, Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Diamond Dove, Bar-shouldered Dove, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Little Corella, Cockatiel, Galah, Red-collared Lorikeet, Varied Lorikeet, Red-winged Parrot, Budgerigar, Pallid Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo, Black-eared Cuckoo, Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Little Bronze Cuckoo, Pheasant Coucal, Barking Owl, Southern Boobook, Tawny Frogmouth, Fork-tailed Swift, Red-backed Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher

Other Wildlife

Agile Wallaby, Northern Nail-tailed Wallaby, Snubfin Dolphin, Hermit Crab, Flame Fiddler Crab, Ghost Crab, Soldier Crab, Land Crabs, Blue-spotted Mudskipper, Mangrove Mudskipper, Bearded Mudskipper, Pop-eyed Mullet, various other fish, dozens of macrobenthic invertebrates, Frill-necked Lizard, Northern Bluetongue, Asian House Gecko, Spotted Dtella, "Gehyra Australis", Black-headed Monitor, Gould's Monitor, King Brown Snake, Orange-naped Snake, Moon Snake, Black-headed Python, Stimpson's Python, Mangrove Snake

Site Information

History and Use

To do

Areas of Interest

Broome Bird Observatory

While eating your meals in the shadehouse, be sure to watch the bird baths just outside. The Shadehouse itself acts as a kind of luxury bird hide. Common birds to be seen from here are Brown Goshawk, Great Bowerbird, Long-tailed Finch, Double-barred Finch, Bar-shouldered Dove, Peaceful Dove, Diamond Dove, Crested Pigeon, Rainbow Bee-eater, Little Friarbird, Brown Honeyeater, Singing Honeyeater, Rufous-throated Honeyeater and Torresian Crow.

Access and Facilities

The best place for birdwatchers to stay in Broome is at the Broome Bird Observatory, located on the northern shore of the bay, about 25km out of the town. If you are bringing your own car you will want a 4WD. The road into the Observatory is sandy and quickly becomes badly corrugated. In the wet season it becomes a muddy river.

The Observatory offers a self-contained chalet, donga bedrooms and unpowered camp sites. The camp kitchen or "Shadehouse" is the meeting place for people staying at the Observatory and a great place to eat your meals while watching various birds and Agile Wallabies at the bird baths just outside. Every night there is a "bird call" where all observations for the day are compiled - you're not obliged to participate, but it's fun and a great way to get an idea of what birds are around.

Activities

Cannon Netting Migration Watch Shorebird Disturbance Monitoring Surveys

Contact Details

To do

External Links

Broome Bird Observatory
Kimberley Birdwatching
Global Flyway Network