Links to Other Segments and to Related Galleries

Expedition to Tasmania (Segment 1)

Expedition to South Australia (Segment 2)

Expedition to Queensland (Segment 3)

Expedition to Northern Territory (Segment 4)

Expedition to Western Australia (Segment 5)

Bird Species List and Bird Gallery Links for the Entire Expedition to Australia

Landscapes & Scenery of Western Australia

Logistics for the Great Pouched Critter Safari of 2025

Master Species List for the Entire Expedition

Rottnest Island

I arrived Perth from Darwin to Perth (Virgin VA1438, 5:40 PM–8:10 PM) and once again had to sleep in the airport. With no rental offices open late, I had to wait until 7:30 AM to get my rental car from East Coast Rental.  With the amount of times I had to sleep at airports on this expedition, I would reconsider East Coast Car Rentals as a viable option.  I definitely lost days in the field as a result of their “bankers hours”.

August 10

Once I picked up the rental car early (7:30) and drove to Fremantle to catch the ferry to Rottnest Island from the B-shed terminal. Rottnest Ferries have two options each with different hours of operations.  I originally had my bookings made at B Shed Rottnest Express terminal.  After finding out their return leg was not very convenient for my need to get to Dryandra NP the same day, I opted for the Northport Terminal of the same company which was offered a preferrable time of return.  The change was very simple but I suggest that you do your research on timings better than I did originally. 

There is one target only at Rottnest – the Quokka.  There is no need to feel nervous about if you are going to see one or not – you will.  Now, that is assuming the ferries are running.  They days before I got there the ferries were cancelled due to severe weather conditions.  It was raining pretty good when I arrived too but the Quokkas were out and about in force. Mainly at the Bakery but as the rain subsided they were all over the public areas in and around the bakery and the rental cabins. 

I did some trekking to the interior of the island and found Quokkas throughout – it was actually nice to see them in more natural settings outside of the village.  I spent about five or six hours on the island which is more than enough time if your only goal is the Quokka.  I did see some nice ducks in the interior ponds but the birding was not as good as I’d hoped, due mainly to it being winter I suppose.  And since I’d already seen all the pinniped species Australia has as residents, I did not bother to go to the far sides of the island where fur seals and sea lions hang out on the beaches.

Dryandra National Park

I got back to my car from Rottnest in the mid afternoon – just enough time to bolt out of Perth and head east to the amazing place called, “Dryandra”.  The drive was nice – loads of rural scenery, much of which was covered with yellow mustard flowers.  The agricultural land ended directly on the national park boarder and all of the sudden I was in the wilderness of Dryandra, home to Numbats! (I hoped)

Dryandra is a very special place – it is one of the last remaining scrubland habitats suitable for Numbats in Western Australia. Dryandra is a Western Australian woodland habitat characterized by open eucalypt forests of wandoo and powderbark, with scattered mallee, heathland, and sheoak thickets. Located in the semi-arid Wheatbelt, this area provides crucial conservation for threatened species, including the numbat, in a Mediterranean climate with a warm, dry season  It has the largest population in the country and is home to I want to say approximately 200++ individuals with more added every year.  The conservation success is quite good there and in other fragmented patches in Western Australia. While there is only one official breeding center (Perth Zoo), natural recovery has shown to be very successful with the main reason being predator control.

I spent four days in Dryandra searching for my main targets – Numbats.  My first morning I saw two very quickly near the western edge of the forest system there.  Both times they were very fast and the skittish critters and did not give me any time for an image.  It wasn’t for my fourth day when I returned to Dryandra for another try that I actually had a cooperative individual that gave me some quality photo-ops.  What an awesome little termite eater. 

Are Numbats easy to see?  Well, no.  Even though I saw two very early on in my search, I saw no more for two full days.  And even if you see one, the likelihood of it being still long enough for photography is low.  Now with that in mind, if you look at the Australian Mammalwatchers Facebook group, it seems like folks are getting amazing images there nearly every day!  Not sure how they manage that but there are loads of great pics out there of these little beasts.  Perseverance with a whole lot of luck I think is the combination necessary. One person advised, if you see one, slowly stop your vehicle (which should never be moving faster than 10 kph max), leave your car running and wait for the critter to show its intentions. If you turn off the car, they will run for sure. Opening the door or a window - bye bye Numbat! I think this advice is as good as anything else and it eventually did work for me.

Dryandra is good for several species though.  Tamar Wallabies are often seen there too – I saw mine at the Gnaala Mia Campground as were the Black-gloved Wallabies (Western Brush Wallaby).  I saw several Western Short-beaked Echidnas in many locations while there too.  And as I write this report in the month of September-October, I am seeing more and more reports of these spiny critters in the groups online.   Western Grey Kangaroos are numerous in the grasslands and agricultural fields of the reserve. 

Perhaps the mammalian highlight of Dryandra is not the wild animals but the critters that can be seen in the red-lights (ugh) of Barna Mia.  Five species of rare and endangered marsupials are being cared for in fenced off habitat – predator proof pens.  The Greater Bilby, Boodie, Quenda, Mala, and Woylie are all very easy to see and spend time with in the pens of Barna Mia.  There are online rumors of the Western Barred Bandicoot as well but I did not see or hear of any while I was there. The area around Barna Mia is good for Numbats and Mardo too.

Of course these are captive, and only one species (the Quenda) is officially breeding in the pens, seeing these nearly impossible-to-see species at all is a treat and I highly recommend the experience.  Having a Bilby bopping around your feet – I mean, come on!  Who wouldn’t love that!  See the gallery below for some black & white pics of the species at Barna Mia.

I did quite a bit of spotlighting while there.  Quenda were common but the most common species was the Western Common Brush-tailed Possum by far.   I did see a Chuditch (Western Quoll) very briefly near the Lions Dryandra Woodland area.  I tried very hard for Phascogales at the Sheoak forest mentioned in trip reports but was only able to get a very distant thermal spot that may have been one – too small for anything else and it did move like I would expect it, but I did not list it.  I did get a good look of a sprinting Mardo (Yellow-footed Antechinus) while searching for Numbats on the Barna Mia road.

Stirling Range National Park is known for its diverse plant communities, including mallee-heath, woodlands, and unique montane flora found on the peaks. The park is a global biodiversity hotspot with over 1,500 plant species, including many found nowhere else, such as banksias, eucalypts, and orchids. Although I did not explore the park other than several view stops, I suspect it would definitely be worth a night or two. There was absolutely no one here and the remoteness makes it ideal for searching for wildlife I suspect. The Canola (mustard family) fields, although agricultural in nature, provide for a stunning sight that I cannot remember seeing the likes of anywhere else on earth. Absolutely stunning!

Cheynes Beach & Albany

From Dryandra I headed south to Albany and Cheynes Beach by way of Stirling Mountains National Park, perhaps one of the more beautiful places on my routes.  The mountains surrounded by the massive fields of yellow mustard were sublime.  I did not see wildlife there with the exception of some Western Grey Kangaroos and several Emu.

Albany was mainly a lunch stop with some birding at Lake Seppings.  Good spots for both!  My main goal was to spend some time at Cheynes Beach to get a Honey Possum on the Banksia bushes there.  The area is very scenic and Banksia, specifically Scarlet Banksia (Banksia coccinea), is everywhere.  The problem was, most of it was post-bloom – loads of dead flowers and very few in full bloom with loads of nectar.  I did finally locate a stand that was deep inside the bush that required some trekking – not far but thick with vegetation.  I staked out the area for hours with no luck.  Thermal monocular came up cold time and time again.  There were some night time action with Quenda (Western Brown Bandicoots) at the Caravan Park but not much more. Western Greys were everywhere and Quokka are supposedly common in the caravan park too. The winds were epic so I am sure that had a lot to do with my lack of luck.  My second day however, the winds had subsided a bit in the early morning and I did get a very convincing heat signature on the bushes near the caravan park – got one!  Now I ever so gently tried to approach for photography – nope!  Dropped to the ground and it was gone!  I tried for some more time but eventually decided to move westward.

Here I saw more Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus melanops) with the white spots on the forehead, a rare trait that evidently only Western Greys have and only in Western Australia. These range from a simply largish white triangle to multiple spots like this individual has at Cheynes Beach.

Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk and Boranup Forest

I decided to take the longer scenic route to Brusselton, my next destination.  In doing so I saw some of the most spectacular forest systems I’d seen since Lamington National Park in Queensland.  The Valley of the Giants was especially outstanding.  The size and age of the trees was spectacular.  I did not take the canopy walk but it is an option for those with the time and interest.  I did check out some of the old watch towers that still exist in the park, although they no longer allow people to climb up.  That would be insane!  (I actually have a colleague who saw my pics and told me he actually climbed it!)

The Valley of the Giants in Western Australia features a unique plant community dominated by ancient, endemic red tingle trees, which are unique to this region and date back to the Gondwana supercontinent. The flora also includes other eucalypt species like yellow tingle, marri, and karri, with a lush undergrowth of wildflowers, ferns, and mosses. This ancient red tingle forest, part of the Walpole Wilderness, is characterized by its towering trees and unique fibrous root systems, creating a diverse and ancient ecosystem

Brusselton Possum Spotlighting Trails & Mandalay Caravan Park

I made it to Brusselton and found my way to the Mandalay Caravan Park whose claim to fame is having the largest population of Western Ringtail Possums (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) anywhere in Australia!  And they are not exaggerating.  As night approached I spotted over 25 of them with minimal effort.  I could have easily doubled or tripled that number if I wanted to as they were in nearly every Peppermint tree (Agonis flexuosa) in the park!  They are well watched after in the park.  The park is a literal forest island in the middle of suburbia so the future of that park is not assured for sure.  Habitat loss is without a doubt the major issue for these critically endangered animals. There is no corridor or mechanism that I can see that allows any movement or genetic drift beyond the caravan park.

I did also trek the Brusselton Possum Spotlighting Trail further north and saw several other individuals as well as Grey Kangaroos and Western Common Brush-tailed Possums.  This is a very nice trail network near a major wetland that gave my my final Australian duck species (Pink-eared ducks) as well.  Brush-tailed Phascogale are known to be seen along the trails as well. I searched hard for those but no luck. The fact that Australia has trails where spotlighting is actually encouraged is awesome. In fact, I did spotlighting all over the country and never once felt I was going to be pulled over or harassed by law enforcement like I’ve had happen in many countries around the world.  On the way north I made a quick stop at Clifton Lake to see the awesome display of Thrombolites there.  We owe SO much to these little circular clumps of Cyanobacteria!

Lake Clifton Thrombolites

Thrombolites are ancient, living rock-like structures formed by microbial colonies, primarily cyanobacteria, that grow by trapping and cementing sedimentary grains and precipitating calcium carbonate in shallow water, creating a distinct clotted or honeycomb-like internal texture rather than the layered structure of stromatolites. These microbial ecosystems are some of the earliest forms of life on Earth, dating back billions of years, and their photosynthetic activity produced the oxygen that led to the planet's transformation and the evolution of complex life Located along the lake's eastern edge, these ancient formations are one of the world's largest thrombolite reefs, serving as a living example of early Earth life and supporting a unique ecosystem within Yalgorup National Park, Western Australia. 

Pinnacles Desert

My last couple days were spent in Perth and further north.  I did some urban birding in Herdsman Lake and a couple other spots to search for my final species of Spoonbill – the Yellow-billed Spoonbill.  I drove all the way to Pinnacles Desert Center a few hours north of Perth for scenery mostly – wow was it worth it!  While there I ventured to Cervantes to Thetis Lake to see the Stromatolites and was treated to quite a bit of avian life.  The views and habitats along this northern stretch of road were outstanding.  I’d highly recommend going further north of Perth for the scenery alone.  One day I’d love to try to get up to Shark Bay…hell I’d love to do the entire route one journey completely! 

The Pinnacles are a desert landscape in Nambung National Park, Western Australia, composed of thousands of limestone calcarenite pillars up to 5 meters tall, formed from ancient marine shells deposited when the sea receded, leaving hardened limestone beds that were subsequently shaped by aeolian (wind) and karstic (water) processes over ~100,000 years. Wind and water erosion gradually exposed the harder pillars from the surrounding sand, creating the iconic desert formations.

The images below are of Pinnacles Desert Center to Cervantes and more:

Cervantes Beach and Thetis Lake Stromatolites

Very close to Pinnacles is the town of Cervantes, a coastal community with an interesting Don Quixote theme. I was mainly going for the Stromatalites at Lake Thetis, an truly ancient pool that still has some of the earliest forms of photosynthetic life forms thriving in its waters. In a matter of a couple short days, i’d seen both Thrombolites and Stromatolites, pretty cool!

Lake Thetis in Western Australia hosts stromatolites, which are layered microbial structures built by communities of cyanobacteria and other microorganisms. These ancient living formations, found in hyper-saline waters, are living fossils that record early Earth life, trapping sediment and precipitating minerals like calcium carbonate to form their characteristic layers. The Lake Thetis stromatolites are noted for their unusual, narrow, columnar branching, a rare form in modern stromatolites.  The primary builders are cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), a form of photosynthetic microorganism. Other microorganisms, such as sulfate-reducing bacteria and other algae, also contribute to the growth and structure.  Photosynthesis by the cyanobacteria depletes carbon dioxide in the surrounding water, leading to a less acidic environment that causes calcium carbonate to precipitate.  The microorganisms secrete sticky layers of mucilage, which traps these precipitated minerals along with grains of sediment, building up the stromatolite layer by layer. 

On the way back to Perth, I decided to act on some intel I received from a person on an Australia bird photography group regarding White-winged Fairywrens in Mindarie, a coastal town about an hour north of Perth. The spot they sent me was precise to the bush! Took me less than a minute to see a gorgeous bluer than blue male White-winged Fairywren in. And did he pose well! For as long as I wanted he went from one beautiful perch to the next. Very enjoyable. All in all I got great views of three species of this awesome group of birds throughout the expedition. I would like to return one day for the Splended FW as well.

Birding in Urban & Suburban Perth

My last day in Australia was bittersweet.  OF course I missed my partner and daughter and son tremendously, but I was also feeling a bit sad to be leaving such an amazing country.  I netted over 109 taxa of mammals during my expedition – well over 220 species of birds too.  Countless habitats and experiences in my two month journey.  Australia is simply a cut above so many places both in terms of the nature, the habitats, the people, the infrastructure and much more.  I’ll be back!

Great Pouched Critter Safari of 2025 Species List

Marsupialia

Macropodidae

1. Western Tammar Wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii derbianus) WA

2. Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus melanops) WA

3. Quokka (Setonix brachyurus) WA

4. Rufous Hare-wallaby or Mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) Captive WA

Peramelemorphia (Bandicoots, Bilbies)

5. Southwestern Brown Bandicoot or Quenda (Isoodon fusciventer) WA

6. Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) Captive WA

Phalangeriformes (Possums, Gliders)

Tarsipedidae

7. Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) WA

Phalangeridae (Possums)

8. Southwestern Brushtail Possum or Koomal (Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus) WA

Pseudocheiridae (Ringtail Possums)

9. Western Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) WA

Potoroidae (Bettongs and Potoroo)

10. Boodie or Burrowing Bettong (Bettongia lesueur) Captive WA

11. Woylie or Brush-tailed Bettong  (Bettongia penicillata) WA

Myrmecobiidae

12. Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) WA

Dasyuromorphia (Marsupial carnivores)

Dasyuridae

13. Western Quoll or Chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii) WA

14. (Western) Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes leucogaster) WA

Monotremata (Monotremes)

15. Western Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus acanthion) WA

Cetacea

16. Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) TAS, WA