South west corner of Western Australia - bird watching

Are you looking to hire a camper and travel around the south west corner of Western Australia?

Some of our clients have a specialist interest in nature or bird watching. If that is you, and you are renting a motorhome from us to explore south of Perth, you may find this information useful to find some hot spots for bird watching in Western Australia.

While this area is not as well-known as other areas in Australia, you may be surprised to know approximately 500 bird species have been recorded including 16 endemic species, like Baudin’s black cockatoo, the red-capped parrot and the western thornbill. If you are travelling during the summer months when it is not as popular to head to the northern reaches of WA, because of the wet/cyclone season, sticking around the southern part of WA, you’ll still see incredible birdlife, but at comfortable temperatures and with safe driving conditions.

If you look at our website, we have some great information about that region, here: Perth South Western Circuit Travel Route. If you liked, you could easily adapt this to create your own bird-watching loop.

There are some excellent bird watching areas near Perth (especially early summer) like the Swan Coastal Plain and the Mandurah and Pinjarra regions, where you’ll find a chain of estuaries and lakes that run from Perth to Bunbury providing a habitat for up to 100,000 water birds!

Heading south from Perth past beautiful coastal resort of Yallingup and the Margaret River region (not as well-known for birds, but that’s made up for with stunning scenery and top-quality wine) you could then head to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin to see the seabirds and migratory waders.

From there continue along the coast to the stunning Waychinicup National Park, home to some of the rarest animals and birds in Australia, such as the endangered noisy scrub-bird which was for a long time thought to be extinct. This park forms the most westerly part of the ‘Two Peoples Bay and Mount Manypeaks Important Bird Area’, which continues around to Albany and Two Peoples Bay and the Bald Island Nature Reserves beyond.

The Fitzgerald River National Park is another popular bird watching destination. If you wanted to cut back to Perth from here, across the middle of the state via Norseman and Narembeen, you could see a totally different type of habitat – heathlands and dry eucalypt forest.

The Dryandra Woodland and Great Western Woodlands (the world’s largest remaining temperate woodland) are home to lots of rosellas and many species of honeyeaters…and if you’re lucky, you may even spot some forest red-tailed black cockatoos in the Marri trees, munching on ‘honky nuts’! Alternatively, you can continue further along the coast to Esperance and nearby Cape Le Grant National Park or take a boat out to pristine Woody Island, part of the Recherche Archipelago Nature Reserve and a significant site for nesting birds.

Last but not least, no serious birdwatcher would travel through this region without a visit to the excellent Eyre Bird Observatory!

If you are serious about bird watching or getting off the beaten track you may prefer to travel in one of our 4WD campers that can drive on the unsealed roads, remember the 2WD motorhomes need to stick to sealed roads. The only exception with some of our motorhomes available for hire in Western Australia is up to 12 km on a well-maintained road to a recognised campground.

If this is something you are interested in, then get in touch with us and we can put together a personalised quote for you and ensure you get the best vehicle to suit your needs. You can also check out our other Travel Routes that we’ve tried and tested for more inspiration on planning your journey across this magnificent country.