Explore the Shoalhaven’s diverse bird life with 12 walks identified in colaboration with Birdlife Shoalhaven. From healthland to estuaries, there are plenty of species to tick off your bird watching bucketlist!
Pack a picnic and head to Bangalee Reserve, about a 15 minute drive from Nowra, on the Shoalhaven River. Peaceful and a little remote, the jetty is a great spot to dangle the feet or jump in for a swim. Explore the 5km of walking tracks which wind through a variety of habitat on the lush river flats and up onto the sandstone escarpment. Bowerbirds and lyrebirds nest in the forest and honeyeaters and fairy wrens flit in the low shrubs. You can even bring your dog along.
Like a little hidden Garden of Eden, the Bomaderry Creek Bushwalk is only metres from the Princes Highway. The cool creek gully is home to some beautiful small birds, including the Rockwarbler – found only in these sandstone cliffs surrounding Sydney, where they build their hanging nests. Look out for spotty little pardalotes, cute thornbills and petite fairy-wrens.
Dogs on leash are welcome and there’s a popular picnic area to relax in after you’ve explored the 5km of tracks.
About a ten minute drive south of Ulladulla is the picturesque village of Burrill Lake, known for its great fishing, boating, and windsurfing. A good spot to see the critically endangered Hooded Plover is near the lake entrance, where other shorebirds like oystercatchers and plovers forage on the tideline. Nearby Lions Park is a great spot to ride bikes with the kids and picnic under the huge fig tree. When it’s fruiting, the koels, bowerbirds and figbirds go ape!Â
