Tracks Birding & Photography Tours

Tracks Birding | Darwin, NT Australia

Tracks Birding and Photography Tours run small group and private Birding Tours and Photography Tours throughout the Northern Territory (NT), these cater for all aspects of birding including professional photographers who want high quality photographs, serious birders and listers who are looking at ticking some of the more difficult birds off their life lists and the entry level nature / bird lover who want to come out on a trip to learn more about the NT along with get some great photos along the way.

Enquire about tours interstate including Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and the Central Deserts.

Tracks Birding is a fully licensed Tour Guide Business, we have all required permits, insurance, qualifications and Tour Vehicle Plates required to run a legal Tour Business here in the Northern Territory, Australia.

TRACKS BIRDING - PERMITS, LICENCES and ACCREDITATIONS:

Parks and Wildlife NT Tour Operator License

Kakadu Knowledge for Tour Guides

Kakadu Land-based Tour Licence

Commercial Passenger Vehicle (CPV) Accreditation

Tour Vehicle (TV Plates) fitted to Vehicle

20 Million Public Liability

A BIT ABOUT MYSELF

My name is Laurie Ross and I'm the owner and guide at Tracks Birding and Photography Tours, after many years of working in an office job I decided to follow my heart and start sharing my passion for Birding and Photography and this is why I started Tracks Birding & Photography Tours. So now I am offereing the opportunity to join me on one of my Tours around the Territory, not only do you get a knowledgeable Bird Guide you also get a Professional and Published Photographer.

I've been finding and photographing birds in Australia and the Northern Territory for the past 10 years and have extensive knowledge of the Northern Territory (NT) and include Darwin and surrounds, Katherine, Kakadu National Park, Victoria River, Timber Creek, Tennant Creek, Barkly Tablelands, Alice Springs, Barrow Creek and the Simpson Desert including some amazing spots, where without local knowledge, you wouldn't see.

I am also a professional bird photographer, my photography website www.laurieross.com.au showcases all of my bird and animal photos from Australia and around the world, including over 490 Australian bird species alone. I hope in my lifetime that I have the opportunity to photograph them all with only 300 or so to go.

I have been fortunate enough to visit and photograph wildlife in many countries around the world including New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and throughout US. There's nowhere else like Darwin and I am always happy when I arrive back home to the Northern Territory.

I look forward to hearing from you if you have a good sense of adventure and a passion for bird and wildlife, I promise you will have a tour that you will never forget and I will do whatever it takes to find your target bird or get that perfect photo.

BIRDING PROFILE:

Along with being a Professional Photography Guide and Birder am also serious ebirder and in 2016 got ebirder of the year in Australia and also smashed the Northern Territory Bird Year record by 23, with a total of 330 Birds seen in the 2016 Calendar Year.

If you're not on ebird you should check it out. It is a great way to keep track of your life list and it helps researchers and fellow birders find birds.

eBird Profile | http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/profile/NjM0MTk3/world

2016 NT Bird Year List | http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/top100?locInfo.regionType=subnational1&locInfo.regionCode=AU-NT&year=2016

2016 Australian eBirder of the Year | http://ebird.org/ebird/australia/top100?locInfo.regionType=country&locInfo.regionCode=AU&year=2016

"Best birding guide in Australia!"

Reviewed by MDbirders

We have birded with a good number of guides over the years, including some very well known ‘stars’. Laurie tops them all easily. We spent two weeks with him in Alice Springs, Kathrine, Kakadu, Darwin, Cairns and the Tablelands. He is everything you would hope to see in a bird guide: very knowledgeable about birds in general, knows where to find them, recognizes bird songs and calls fantastically, knows how to approach them and how to show them to us in a way that would make it easy to obtain great photos. He has great relationship with many local birders and has used those relationships to get tips on where rare birds could be found. As an example, he would hear a bird call while driving on the highway at 130 km/hr, would be able to notice that bird camouflaged in a bush, and turn around in time to show it to us. In addition, Laurie was a pleasure to spend time with. He was friendly, interesting, and knowledgeable about insects, reptiles, fauna and local history. As a nature photographer, he provided us with great photography tips. Thanks to Laurie, we have exceeded all expectations to find and photograph birds by over 50%!

"My best bird photography trip to date"

Reviewed by AlecNB

I was looking for 4 days of birding photography in NT and made an inquiry of Laurie. He made some recommendations and we agreed on an itinerary. From then on he did all the organisation, from picking me up from my hotel in Darwin to dropping me at the airport. I have done quite a few of these sorts of trips. Step one is to find the birds but you then need to work through how to get a decent photograph. This requires all of the knowledge and skills of a top photographer like Laurie. The results speak for themselves. I got a lot higher proportion of good images with Laurie than I had previously achieved with a bunch of other guides, all of whom had excellent birding skills. Apart from these absolutely core skills, the bonus is that he likes good coffee and good wine and he is good company.

Visited May 2017

"Wonderful experience"

Reviewed by Anne C

We recently spent some time with Laurie in an attempt to find a long sought target species. While it was a very late request, Laurie very generously made time in his busy schedule to meet help locate the species. His response to our request was very timely and clear, and he maintained contact prior to meeting to ensure all went to plan. It was a pleasure to meet and spend time with Laurie, he was very knowledgeable and a very good communicator. We look forward to spending more time with him on one of his tours in the future and would very happily recommend his services.

“132 Photo Lifers in 7 days with best guide in town”

Reviewed by Lim880

We had a great fortune to meet up with Laurie as the 1st Guinea Pig on his week long photo Safari .He to great length to make I had what would make a great photo. Was not the least disappointed. He was always on time,15 mins before. Had all the snacks in the refrigerated cooler. Had great food under the desert conditions. Had bird guides in all 7 continents and none can match his skills and care. Will be going back with him next year in Queensland for more endemics.

Visited August 2016

join one of Australia's leading bird finders and professional bird photographers on a trip of a lifetime

BIRDING & PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

ABOUT TRACKS BIRDING

TOP END - TARGET BIRDS

CONTACT ME / BOOK A TOUR

GUIDES - WHERE TO FIND BIRDS

GRASSWREN & THEIR HABITATS

LAURIE ROSS - BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY

TOP END BIRD CHECKLIST

Northern Territory Map

A map showing some of the areas we visit on tour

Tracks Birding | Darwin, NT Australia

A BIT ABOUT MYSELF

Your Guide | Laurie Ross

BIRDING PROFILE: