RED MILL HOUSE
Daintree Birdwatching Accommodation at Red Mill House Daintree Village
Red Mill House in Daintree Far North Queensland, has been the accommodation of choice for visiting birdwatchers for many years. Well known as birder friendly accommodation offering local advice, bird checklists and maps to birdwatchers visiting Daintree. Owned and operated by Andrew and Trish Forsyth, two keen birders, who happily provide good up-to-date advice and information about Daintree birds and birdwatching in the Daintree area.
Red Mill House consists of an historic old Queenslander-style building with communal lounge and wildlife and nature library, computers for downloading photos etc, and large decks for breakfasts and birdwatching. Binoculars, spotting scope and the full range of Australia’s bird field guides are all available on the deck. Added to this is a modern building with four spacious, ensuite, air-conditioned rooms with large verandas overlooking the garden. Rated 4 Star by AAA and recently refurbished, the rooms allow the space and comfort to enjoy birdwatching in style. A two bedroom family unit is also available downstairs in Red Mill House.
The gardens of Red Mill House are known for Daintree birdwatching with 1.5 acres of mixed tropical gardens including a large natural pond and tracts of newly planted fruiting rainforest species. Common visitors to the garden (depending on the season) include Azure Kingfisher, Little Kingfisher, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Forest Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Macleay’s Honeyeater, Spotted Catbird, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Emerald Dove, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Gould’s Bronze Cuckoo, Lovely Fairy-Wren and many more. The garden attracts over 30 bird species a day. You can also see a range of other Daintree wildlife in the garden with Northern Brown Bandicoot, Spectacled Flying Fox, a variety of tree frogs, numerous butterflies including the huge Ulysses Butterfly and Cairns Birdwing, assorted skinks and lizards, Boyd’s Forest Dragon, several species of spiders and the occasional snake.
Daily sightings are recorded for the garden and a weekly list of the region’s birds are recorded and posted on the website. Our area bird checklist is also able to be downloaded from the Daintree Birdwatching website.
Located in Daintree Village, Red Mill House is convenient for exploring the region and for nature based activities. The Daintree River is within walking distance and the Daintree National Park is a short drive. There are also excellent opportunities for birdwatching in the varied habitats of the Daintree Valley via the local roads, and we have information printed on all these Daintree birdwatching locations. The Daintree River is well-known for target species such as Great-billed Heron, Black Bittern, Little Kingfisher, Papuan Frogmouth, Sacred Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher and it is not uncommon to see 50 species on an early morning birdwatching river cruise. Rainforest birding, while frustrating at times, can be very productive and Southern Cassowary, Victoria’s Riflebird, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Pied Monarch, Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher can all be found in the Daintree National Park and our local rainforest. Local Daintree swamps and wetlands can give a range of waders, Magpie Goose, Royal Spoonbill, Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, Great Egret, Black-necked Stork, Nankeen Night Heron, Black Bittern and many others.
Our local bird guide Ellen Terrell is available for full day’s guiding from Red Mill House, either locally in the Daintree Valley or further afield. Her knowledge of North Queensland and particularly Daintree birds, mammals, plants and the varied ecosystems is excellent. Please contact us if you interested in some guiding.
RATES
April 1 2012– March 31 2013
All rates include a full breakfast. Laundry and FREE WiFi is available.
CONTACT RED MILL HOUSE
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Andrew and Trish Forsyth are foundation members of the Bird Trails Tropical Queensland and are proud to be associated with Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism Queensland. Both these organisations have given valuable support to birdwatching in Queensland's Wet Tropics Region.
Red Mill House is a member of the Tourism Daintree Region
