21 August 2026

Queensland June/July 2026

34 days, 9400 kilometers – Lamington to Cooktown mostly along the coast on the beaten track, then a loop through Karumba, Winton, Carnarvon and Girraween – 70 species, 56 lifers.

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JE-Queensland-2026

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JanEbr
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9 Comments

  • 21 August 2026
    Jon Hall

    Well done! That’s an impressive list

    • 21 August 2026
      JanEbr

      Thanks! I believe we are tied for the most species just in Queensland (there are some reports with more, but they are contaminated by other states). We were really looking hard for another species to claim total victory, but failed!

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  • 23 August 2026
    Frank Fundel

    Great report, and perfect timing, as I’ll probably be in Queensland for two weeks in December!

    I’m mainly hoping to see possums (especially Striped, ring-tailed and pygmy possums), bats of any kind, and some gliders, as well as echidna, koala, platypus and tree-kangaroos. Do you think two weeks would be enough to cover most of these? And would you recommend a guide for any of them, or are the sites generally doable independently?

    • 23 August 2026
      Asanoth

      If you cut koalas, you can see all that and more in Atherton Tablelands. 5 days there and 9 more to go wherever you please 🙂 . Such as Magnetic Island, I have not been there, but koalas are resident.

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    • 23 August 2026
      JanEbr

      Yeah in two weeks you can see a lot. We have not seen Pygmy Possums and from what I gathered from reports, most people see them with a guide. But in summer they should be a bit easier, I would just spend some nights in Hypipamee and try. Koalas are truly trivial on Magnetic Island and that’s not far from the other northern sites. Striped possums seems tricky, they are possible at many sites but never guaranteed. Echidna is tricky – in 5 weeks we only saw one – we were not looking for them, but it shows that they are not common at all. But apparently they could also be quite easy on Magnetic Island if you go there for Koala anyway.

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    • 23 August 2026
      Jon Hall

      Striped possums were very easy in the Cairns Botanic Gardens a year ago. I saw several in a couple of hours. Long tailed Pygmy possums are much easier if you have a thermal. Look for flowering bumpy satin ash trees on the atherton tablelands

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      • 24 August 2026
        Frank Fundel

        Thanks for all the responses! I will then definitely stay a few days in Atherton Tablelands, probably also visit Chillagoe for some bats and maybe go to Magnetic Island. If everything fails I will definitely also try Cairns Botanic Gardens at the end.

  • 23 August 2026
    Asanoth

    I was looking forward to this report 🙂 . Sounds like a nice trip.
    Interesting that you chose Little Red Flying Fox of all species, I saw them in a interspecial colony in Redcliffe not far from Brisbane and I believe(d?) they are quite common.

    • 23 August 2026
      JanEbr

      What do you mean by choosing them? I use them as an example of missing info on iNaturalist – because they have so very few recent observations. And we have checked quite a few spots and only the very last had them. I don’t think they are very easy!

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