I won't say these birds were rare, but while living in Darwin, Australia, my wife and I took a vacation to Cairns. We signed up for a rain forest 4x4 eco Jeep trip. It turned out that only 4 out of a possible 11 seats were booked - the other 2 by a couple of German guys.
Our guide asked if we were alright with him deviating from the "script". We collectively answered, "No worries!" He was happy because he wanted to check out an area where he'd heard a certain bird was. Both my wife and I said that we had JUST started birding and that was fine with us. The 2 German guys immediately chimed in that they were both birders!! So, what we got was a personal birding tour!
The focus of this trip was the Golden Bowerbird. We got to see him, as well as, his nest. He had lined the "runway" through his arch with white and purple objects. Fascinating - has to be one of my all-time faves.
We also saw: Large and Blue-Winged Kookaburras (my wife's favourites for their laughing calls), Comb-Crested Jacanas (walking on the lily pads), Forest and Sacred Kingfishers (love Kingfishers), Tawny Frogmouths (so cool), and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos (in the wild and not in a pet store!!).
Our big disappointment was finding a trail of Cassowary dropping, but not actually seeing the bird. Mind you our guide was just fine with that, as he said they are one of the most dangerous birds alive.
Cheers! Rory
