Mardugal Campground

Visited: late dry season

Recommendation: Set close to the river, these campgrounds are a great place to begin exploring Kakadu but are also really good places to find wildlife. Peaceful, shady and very pretty - I loved it here.

The Mardugal (also known as Mardukal) campgrounds are attractive camping spots with lots of wildlife. Close to Cooinda, they are great bases for wildlife spotting and day trips to the Jim Jim and Mary River regions. Agile Wallabies are abundant during the day, and large colonies of bats can be seen in the evening. Birds and lizards can be found around the grounds and crocodiles stalk the creeks.

I visited the area in October and there were distinct advantages and disadvantages. Late in the dry season, the temperature had already started to climb and didn't drop below 30 degrees day or night. The biting bugs were vicious, leaving me with very sore welts. However, the plus side was that there were very few other people here. Most sensible travellers visit Kakadu and the wider Top End between May and September when it is cooler.

Below are some of the birds I found here.

Sahul Brush Cuckoo (Cacomantis variolosus)

Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)

Bar-breasted Honeyeater (Ramsayornis fasciatus)

The Bar-breasted Honeyeater is endemic to northern Australia. Its range extends across a significant portion of the tropical north of the continent.

Western Australia: From the Kimberley region.

Northern Territory: Throughout the Top End, including areas like Darwin and Kakadu National Park.

Queensland: Along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria and extensively throughout the Cape York Peninsula. It also extends down a strip along the eastern coast of Queensland, reaching approximately to the Tropic of Capricorn (around Rockhampton).

Considered nomadic, they move to follow the flowering cycles of their preferred nectar-producing trees, making seeing them a real treat.

Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea)

Dusky Honeyeater (Myzomela obscura)

Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)

Northern Fantail (Rhipidura rufiventris)

The Rufous-banded Honeyeater is very attractive and reasonably common across the Top End. It is often described as one of the most common small bird species, even in suburban areas. Studies in Darwin have noted its abundance and high breeding success.

While widespread across northern Australia (Western Australia's Kimberley, Northern Territory, and coastal Queensland), it does have a preference for certain habitats like mangrove forests, paperbark swamps, and woodlands near water. If you're in these specific habitats within its range, you're very likely to encounter it.

So, if you're in the right part of northern Australia and in suitable habitat, you should have no trouble spotting a Rufous-banded Honeyeater.

Rufous-banded Honeyeater (Conopophila albogularis)

The Shining Flycatcher is locally common in suitable habitats across the Top End. They have a strong preference for wet, tropical forests, especially vegetation along watercourses and in mangrove forests. The Top End, with its extensive river systems, floodplains, and coastline, provides ample ideal habitat for them. Additionally, the Shining Flycatcher is a resident species in the Top End.

Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto)

Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela)

White-gaped Honeyeater (Stomiopera unicolor)