BIRDING & PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

I cater for all levels and types of birding including all levels 0f Photographers, Birders and Listers. I offer a full range of Birding and or Photography Tours from Darwin, Alice Springs, Cairns, Brisbane and Iron Range from the casual day trip to a once in a lifetime 19 day Northern Australia trip. Enquire about trips anywhere else in Australia and the Northern Territory

ABOUT TRACKS BIRDING

Everything you need to know about Tracks Birding & Photography including about me (Laurie Ross), my Birding Profile, Tour Vehicles and Gear used 

LAURIE ROSS - BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY

Aside from guiding I am also a Professional Bird Photographer, here the link to my Photography website which showcases well over 1000 species of birds from around the world. These include 450 Australian Birds, 150 Thailand Birds, 160 South American Birds and 240 North American Birds.

CONTACT ME / BOOK A TRIP

Contact me if you have any questions about any of my Birding or Photography, this is also where you go if you would like to book a tour or ask me about anything to do with birds or my photographs. Please note all my trips can be modified to target specific birds so please contact me for options.

FINE ART PRINTS

High quality fine art prints available for sale (Framed & Un-framed), all prints are of the highest quality and can be posted around Australia. All prints are printed on ilford paper and are sourced and framed locally so purchasing a framed print you support three local businesses at once.

GRASSWREN'S & THEIR HABITATS

A page all about Australian Grasswrens including information on all surviving subspecies. Here you will find high quality photos of the birds, habitat photos, maps and information on where to find and photograph them.

Northern Territory Map

A map showing some of the areas I guide

About Tracks Birding & Photography Tours:

Tracks Birding and Photography run small group and private Birding Trips and Photography Workshops throughout Northern Australia. I cater for all aspects of birding from the professional photographers who want extremely high quality photographs, serious birders and listers who are looking at ticking some of the more difficult birds off their life lists to the entry level nature / bird lover who loves birds and nature.

I run tours throughout Northern Australia including Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, Victoria River, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Timber Creek, Mount Isa, Winton, Birdsville, Bedourie, Cairns, Cairns Tablelands, Lockhart River, Cunnamulla, Bowra and Brisbane

Tracks Birding is a fully licensed Tour Business, we have all required permits, insurance, qualifications and Tour Vehicle Plates required to run a legal tour business throughout Northern Australia.

TRACKS BIRDING - PERMITS, LICENCES and ACCREDITATIONS:

Parks and Wildlife NT Tour Operator License

Queensland Parks & Wildlife Permit

Kakadu Knowledge for Tour Guides

Kakadu Land-based Tour Licence

Commercial Passenger Vehicle (CPV) Accreditation

Tour Vehicle (TV Plates) fitted to both vehicles

20 Million Public Liability

BIOGRAPHY :

Laurie is based in Australia’s Northern Territory, where he now calls Darwin home. He has traveled across every state and territory in Australia over the past 13 years and has forged a name for himself as one of Australia's leading bird finders and photographers, both locally and nationally. Laurie gave up a lucrative career in the sales industry, to follow his passion for birds, and now spends the majority of his time showing visiting photographers and birders the best local and endemic species that make this part of Australia so unique. Laurie is equally at home with the demanding bird photographer or targeted birder. He is renowned for having razor sharp birding skills and an endless drive to get that perfect photo, Laurie also holds one of the most stunning photographic collections of rare Australian birds which you can seen here: Laurie Ross Photography.

When Laurie isn't guiding he is usually in the Outback somewhere looking for and photographing Australian Grasswren's, Grasswren's are famous for being some of the most difficult birds to find and especially photograph. He has one of the biggest collections of Grasswren photos in the world and is also passionate about documenting their habitats and locations, his project can be found here http://www.tracksbirding.com.au/grasswrens/

Laurie's other passion is food so another advantage with his tours is you will dine out in some of Australia's best cafes and restaurants, not typical of your normal birding tour.

He uses Canon Camera Gear & Swarovski Optics

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

Your Guide | Laurie Ross

Top End Birding Video – By Tim Siggs (Came on tour June 2019)

"Treat yourself"
Reviewed by Paul Priestley
Treat yourself to the experience of your life, just book a tour. The best decision I have made. So if you want to experience birds, make it yours.
 Visited August 2018

"What an amazing birding experience!"

Reviewed by Nic Barlow

What an amazing birding experience! Thanks a million Laurie. Certainly up there with the top guides in Australia with no doubt the sharpest ears and eyes possible! As for the photography tips - what can I say. Changed my photography world totally. I’m not usually one to sing praises or write reviews for that matter but very well deserved Laurie - truly magical day and I would recommend you at the drop of a hat any day.
Visited July 2018
"Great day birding the Top End"
Reviewed by Gold207
Money well spent. Laurie is incredibly knowledgeable and his passion for birding really shows. This guy is the real deal! He is very engaging and my wife and I truly enjoyed our time with him. We learned so much and the best part was the fact that we ticked about 7 birds off our bucket list...all in a single day. Highly recommended. We will book again and, time permitting, would love to try an extended tour.
 Visited June 2018

 

"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%!
 
Visited October 2017
 
 
"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.

Visited June 2017
 
 
“Brilliant”
 
Reviewed by R B
 
Laurie seems to have super human hearing and eyesight. I owe at least seven Life Birds to him. The man knows his stuff! He is also an incredibly gifted wildlife photographer,
 
Visited August 2016
 
 
 

 

“An amazing day of birding in Darwin”

Reviewed by Jon P

Our day with Laurie Ross was wonderful, far exceeding our expectations. He really knows the birds, their call, their locations and their natural histories. He also took good care of his birders. He kept a bird list for us and provided a constant supply of cool water, as well as morning tea, lunch and restroom stops. On this very memorable day we saw 79 different species of birds.

Visited October 2016
 
 
“Tick tick tick”
 
Reviewed by Haggisthewonderdog
 

Laurie took me around the best spots to find the birds I was after in Darwin and he did not disappoint. I saw (and photographed) all the species I wanted plus more! Super organised, friendly and professional - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him for your birding trip. Thanks Laurie!

Visited August 2016
 
 
 
“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

 
“Prompt and informative ”
 
Reviewed by Edward S
 

I have been liaising with Laurie via emails to arrange a place on a grasswren tour. Laurie replies promptly and always provides sufficient info. I look forward to joining his tour group.

Reviewed 12 December 2016

 

 

 
“Excellent guide, just perfect.”
 
Reviewed by DanielleBel
 

For almost a month Laurie was our guide. He finds every bird and was excellent company. He also knew the best places to eat which was a big bonus for me!

Visited November 2016

Contact Us:

Phone numbers:
Australia +61 476 110 084 / 0476 110 084
E-mail:
[email protected]
Postal:
Head Office (Darwin):
Tracks Birding & Photography Tours
5/17 Dinah Court
Stuart Park 0820
Northern Territory, Australia
Photo Website:
www.laurieross.com.au

 © Tracks Birding and Photography Tours, Australia | Helping guests find birds since 2016

 

All rights reserved | Website design and all content including photos by Laurie Ross