Exmouth

Visited: late dry season

Recommendation: Exmouth is a stunning town and is the gateway to the Cape Range National Park and the Ningaloo Reef. It should be on any bucket list and if you do visit, plan to stay at least a week.

Exmouth is a small, remote town located on the tip of the North West Cape in Western Australia. It's a gateway to the stunning Ningaloo Reef, a World Heritage Site renowned for its diverse marine life, including whale sharks, manta rays, and turtles. It is a popular base for exploring the Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park, and the surrounding coastline. Visitors can enjoy snorkelling, diving, swimming, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and more. 

Visiting here so close to the wet season meant that it was very hot but also very quiet. I started at the marina but couldn't find any sea or shore birds but there were some of the usual suspects hanging around the place. It was lovely in the sunshine.

The Australasian Osprey is a versatile and efficient hunter. While found globally, the Australasian Osprey has a range that includes Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Australasian Osprey (Pandion haliaetus cristatus) 

Next, I visited the local water treatment plant. You can walk the perimeter and on one long side there are quite good views inside. I didn't see anything fantastic when I visited and the scorching heat meant I didn't stay long. There were ducks and pigeons along with lots of Little Corella. 

As I was leaving the area, I spotted a family of Banded Lapwing. Unlike their Masked cousins, they are very uncommon but quite spectacular. The juvenile was very shy and I didn't see them again.

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolor)