Bird trail opens at Byron resort

BYRON Bay resort Elements of Byron has opened a self-guided bird trail giving guests the chance to explore four distinct habitats across its 50-acre site.

The trail winds through littoral rainforest, wetlands, eucalypt forest and coastal dunes, with each landscape home to its own birdlife.

Eastern Whipbirds, Azure Kingfishers, Tawny Frogmouths and Ospreys are among the species visitors may encounter.

Elements of Byron naturalist Alastair Oakman said the walk built on the property’s changing landscapes.

“The Northern Rivers is the third most ecologically diverse region in Australia, after southwest WA and Queensland’s tropical north,” he said.

“While our guests often know us for our beaches and rainforest, many don’t realise that within our 50-acre site, the landscape changes dramatically every few hundred metres, from littoral rainforest to wetlands to eucalypt forest to coastal dunes. This new bird-spotting trail is a rare opportunity to experience that diversity in a truly intimate way.”

The trail extends the resort’s existing nature program, which includes a guided rainforest walk led by Oakman.

“While many travellers will go out of their way to seek popular wildlife encounters on holiday, guests at Elements of Byron can step straight from their villa into a living classroom,” he said.

“Along the way, they might learn to identify animal tracks, distinguish between different bird calls, and even spot swamp wallabies grazing quietly in the undergrowth.”

According to the resort, only 10 per cent of the site has been developed, with the remainder restored as a wildlife corridor that now supports more than 250 bird species, including threatened species such as the Eastern Osprey and Black-necked Stork.

Guests can collect a map at reception and follow interpretive signs at their own pace.

“Our new trail isn’t just about spotting birds,” Oakman said.

“It’s about slowing down enough to notice. You hear the change in the calls as you move from one habitat to another, you feel the air shift, the light change. It’s about noticing the way each landscape tells its own story and how the local wildlife fits in.”

Complimentary guided bird-trail walks with Oakman will run each Saturday at 11am from September 13.