Lorikeet Feeding at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary: Times and What to Expect

TL;DR: Wild lorikeet feeding happens twice a day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, at 8am and 4pm. It’s included in general admission, you don’t need a ticket to stand and watch, and feeding the birds yourself is by gold coin donation.

In 1947 a Currumbin flower grower named Alex Griffiths got sick of wild lorikeets wrecking his crop. His solution was to feed them, on the theory that birds with an easier meal available would leave his flowers alone.

It worked. Then word got around, then people started turning up to watch, and eventually the thing Alex Griffiths built to protect his gladioli became Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Nearly eighty years later the same birds come back to the same patch of ground at the same two times a day, and it’s still the reason most people walk through the gate.

What happens at feeding time

Feeding runs twice daily, at 8:00am and 4:00pm.

Staff and volunteers bring out trays of nectar. The lorikeets arrive on their own schedule, which is to say all at once, in numbers, loudly. Rainbow lorikeets are not shy birds. They’ll land on your hands, your arms, your shoulders and your head, and they will fight each other over a tray while standing on you.

It lasts around 20 to 30 minutes depending on how many birds turn up.

Two things about cost, because they’re different:

• Watching is free. No entry ticket needed. You can stand and take photos without paying anything.
• Feeding is by gold coin donation. If you want a tray in your hands, put a coin in. For anyone already inside the sanctuary, it’s included in general admission.

The timing catch nobody mentions

The sanctuary is open 9am to 4pm daily. The feedings are at 8am and 4pm.

Read that again, because it’s the detail that trips people up. The morning feeding happens an hour before the sanctuary opens, and the afternoon feeding starts as the sanctuary closes. Both are at the edges of the day rather than in the middle of it.

That’s fine, because you don’t need a ticket to watch. But it does mean you can’t wander in at 11am and catch a lorikeet feeding, and it means planning your day around one of the two windows rather than assuming it’ll happen while you’re there.

The 8am session is the better one. Fewer people, better light, and the birds are hungrier.

Where to stand

The feeding area is marked G16 on the sanctuary map, near the main entrance. It’s about 30 seconds’ walk from the gate, which makes it easy to get to for the 8am session even if you’re not planning to spend the day.

Arrive five or ten minutes early and stand toward the edge of the group rather than in the middle. The birds land on whoever’s holding a tray, so if you’d rather photograph than be perched on, keep your hands empty and stay back a few metres.

What else is nearby

If you’re already at Currumbin for a feeding, two other things are worth building the visit around.

The Free Flight Raptor Show puts eagles, owls and kites in the air over an open arena with handlers explaining what you’re watching. It’s the other headline experience at the sanctuary and it’s on a scheduled time, so check the day’s show board when you arrive.

The Conservation Aviary is the quieter counterpoint to the chaos of the wild feeding. It’s home to Little Lorikeets and Musk Lorikeets, both smaller and less familiar than the rainbow lorikeets outside, and it’s a good place to actually look at a bird rather than have one land on you.

Planning a Gold Coast day around it

An 8am lorikeet feeding is one of the easiest free things to build a Gold Coast morning around. You’re in and out by 8:30, the sanctuary opens at nine if you want to keep going, and you’ve got the rest of the day.

If you’d rather have the driving and the timing handled, our Gold Coast City Tour & Surrounds covers the coast’s main sights with hotel pickup from inner-city Gold Coast accommodation. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary isn’t a scheduled inclusion on that itinerary, so check the current tour page for the day’s stops, but the tour is a straightforward way to see the region without a hire car.

Frequently asked questions