BIRDWATCHING AND TOURISM IN AUSTRALIA

 Birdwatching is an important tourist industry in Australia – both for Australians and also for international tourists.

In the year to June 2024 international tourists spent $2.6 billion on travel that involved birdwatching according to Tourism Research Australia.  Over the same period domestic overnight tourists spent $636 million which was a 53 per cent increase from 2021.

These figures include money spent on transport, accommodation, food and activities by birdwatchers, many of whom chase rare species long distances across the country.

Australia is considered the “holy grail” of birding.” according to Murdoch University conservation scientist Dr Rochelle Steven.  As the home to the second highest number of endemic bird species in the world, it attracts birdwatchers from across the globe.

“For someone from the other side of the world, seeing a common rainbow lorikeet is a huge thrill,” she said.

She pointed out that birdwatching as a tourist attraction remains largely overlooked in Australia in comparison to countries such as the UK where they understand the economic value of birdwatching.

Australian companies conducting birdwatching tours are well aware that they are part of a growth industry. David Mead, owner of Great Northern Birdwatching Tours, said his group tours across Cape York, The Gulf of Carpentaria, western Queensland, the Simpson Desert and parts of SA and WA are often booked out a year in advance.

“Far North Queensland is huge for birding – about half of Australia’s bird species can be found here,” he said.

As well as being a major drawcard for tourists, birdwatching is helping support conservation efforts. 

Birdlife Australia CEO Kate Millar said, “Almost one in six Australian birds are threatened with extinction, so recognising the economic value of bird tourism could drive more investment in conservation.”

“If people don’t know or care about our birds, then it’s hard to get the resources to protect them in the future.”

If you want to find out about our local birds, obtain a copy of the Clarence Valley Birdos’ comprehensive “Bird Routes” brochure which is available online and in some tourism outlets.

-        Leonie Blain

 Originally published under the title "Birdwatching and Tourism" in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent ,26 February, 2025.

SPACE INVADERS - Living in the bush

 Living in the bush, as we do, comes with an expectation that you will be required to share your home with a variety of critters, some more welcome than others. Snakes are among the less welcome, and over the years we have evicted everything from non-venomous Carpet to the more dangerous Red-bellied Blacks.

Once, we discovered, not one, but two slightly venomous Brown Tree Snakes who had gained access to the bathroom through an air vent after insect-proof netting had become dislodged. Fortunately, Pat is a trained snake handler, so we didn’t need to resort to calling on emergency services. 

 The roof and wall cavities are a haven for possums and microbats, five different species of the latter, as we discovered after setting up an ultrasonic call detector. No doubt these, and the large and very vocal Green Tree Frogs, also long-time residents, are what attract the snakes.

Our frogs live in the top of sliding glass doors, climbing up the glass using ‘suction pads’ on their toes, leaving muddy footprints in their wake, incredibly entering through a gap barely bigger than my finger.

Microbats are well-known for helping control mosquito numbers, reportedly consuming their body-weight nightly, and therefore welcome, as are the Velvet Geckos which are the reason why we haven’t seen a cockroach for decades. These beautiful little creatures, with their brown and black patterning and fat tails, live behind pictures and cupboards, and only venture out after dark in search of insects.

Our latest invader, a Brown Antechinus, is a small rodent-like critter about the size of a mouse, with a long, pointed nose. They are clearly not wholly nocturnal, as we see them foraging through the shrubbery in broad daylight.

One has recently taken up residence in my office, a quintessential “man cave”, filled with clutter and mess, and has become quite tame, hopping all over in search of a tasty silverfish or spider while I work.

Living close to nature may not be for everyone, but we’ve invaded their environment, so it’s only fair that we share.

-        John Edwards

 

Originally published under the title "Space Invaders" in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent , 19 February, 2025.