Birds can be seen almost anywhere in Queensland – cities and towns, rainforest, farmland, the arid interior, and coastlines. Many areas offer superb opportunities for bird-watchers.
Birds Queensland has produced several publications which assist in finding birds by identifying specific areas which have an abundance of birds, across a range of habitats.
Birds Queensland maintains a list of good bird-watching places in Queensland. It is in two parts, one covering south-east Queensland south to the border, west to Inglewood, and north to Landsborough. UBD references are provided to assist in the location of the sites, where possible.
The second part covers other sites in Queensland. Some of the sites have clickable links which may provide more detail. Please email Birds Queensland if you have additional information on any of the listed sites, or have other interesting sites you would like to see added.
“Bird Places” brochures
Birds Queensland and Birdlife Southern Qld, in association with local councils and other bodies in South-East Queensland have put together a series of brochures highlighting locations that are good for birdwatching.
The latest in the series covers the Southern Darling Downs.
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Bird Places of Ipswich
Get A4 size pdf (2.42 MB) Get DL size pdf (6.60 MB)A collaborative project between Birds Queensland, Birdlife Southern Queensland and Ipswich City Council, this brochure can be obtained from Birds Queensland, the collaborating organisations, or can be downloaded below.
Revised October 2024.
There are two formats available for download: an A4 page size, for viewing on wide screens; and a DL page size, which is better for viewing on mobile devices.
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Bird Places of the Southern Downs
Get A4 size pdf (1.77 MB) Get DL size pdf (4.50 MB)This covers 35 sites in the administrative region of the South Downs Regional Council: from Cunningham’s Gap, through Warwick to Karara, South to Stanthorpe and the NSW border, and as far S-W as the Glenlyon Dam.
A collaborative project between Birds Queensland, Birdlife Southern Queensland, Granite Belt Sustainable Action Network and South Downs Regional Council. This brochure can be obtained from Birds Queensland, the collaborating organisations, or can be downloaded in electronic form here.
There are two formats available for download: an A4 page size, for printing or viewing on wide screens; and a DL page size, which is better for viewing on mobile devices.
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Bird Places of the Gold Coast
Get A4 size pdf (2.79 MB) Get DL size pdf (7.57 MB)This was initially produced in conjunction with Birds Queensland, BirdLife Southern Queensland, Federation Walk, SEQ Catchments, National Trust Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Gold Coast City Council.
We now have a 2024 revision.
A copy can be obtained from the above organisations, Birds Queensland, or can be downloaded here.
There are two formats available for download: an A4 page size, for printing or viewing on wide screens; and a DL page size, which is better for viewing on mobile devices.
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Bird Places of Brisbane
Download pdf (6.12 MB)Our brochure was updated in September 2023 and gives details of 45 places in Brisbane, including: addresses; GPS coordinates; UBD references; lists of the facilities available; details of track conditions and accessibility; and notes on which birds could be seen. Highly recommended sites are marked with a yellow star. A paper copy can be obtained from Birds Queensland, or a pdf can be downloaded here.
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Bird Places of Somerset Region
Download pdf (11.54 MB)This brochure, produced in conjunction with the Somerset Regional Council, gives details of 39 places in the region, including directions, GPS coordinates, lists of the facilities available, details of track conditions and accessibility, and notes on which birds could be seen. A printed copy can be obtained from the Council or Birds Queensland, or the PDF can be downloaded below.
This initial version is designed for printing, so you might have to do a bit of zooming and scrolling to find what you need. The map with key numbers is towards the end.
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Bird Places of Logan
Download pdf (2.38 MB)A collaborative project between Birds Queensland, Birdlife Southern Queensland and Logan City Council. This brochure can be obtained from Birds Queensland, the collaborating organisations, or can be downloaded in electronic form here.
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Bird Places of Moreton Bay Region
Download pdf (885.85 KB)A collaborative project between Birds Queensland, Birdlife Southern Queensland and Moreton Bay Regional Council. This brochure can be obtained from Birds Queensland, the collaborating organisations, or can be downloaded in electronic form here.
Bird Places of Redlands
In addition, BirdLife Southern Queensland has produced a Bird Places of the Redlands brochure. You may be able to access and download a copy at their web site (although it was not available when last checked)
Specific bird trails
A number of local authorities and other organisations have developed Bird Trails for their areas, listing sites or routes which provide good birdwatching opportunities. Such information may be available from the following links, or from town information centres.
- Bowra (Western Qld)
- Coombabah, Gold Coast (PDF, 2.4 MB)
- Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast (PDF, 1.0 MB)
- Noosa bird Trails (PDF)
- Crows Nest area
- Oxley Creek Common Brisbane, Australia (PDF, 2.7 MB)
North Queensland
- BirdLife Australia – Northern Queensland lists a number of bird-watching sites in North Queensland, and provides brochures on the birds of each site.
- Bird Trails of Tropical Qld provides various bird trails between Innisfail and the Daintree.
