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.

BIRDWATCHING AND TOURISM IN AUSTRALIA

Bird and Nature Tourism in Australia by Dr Rochelle Steven, published recently by Birdlife Australia, highlights the growing importance of birdwatching to the tourist industry and its associated benefits for communities and conservation.

In a recent article about the report Dr Steven pointed to the huge diversity in our birdlife which made birding such a fascinating activity for many people.  However, many non-birdwatching Australians are unaware of this diversity or the existence of fascinating and relatively common birds like the Striated Pardalote, Metallic Starling, Satin Bowerbird and Crimson Finch.   Dr Steven remarked that when one of these birds “is presented to a new or non-birder, they never fail to illicit a reaction of surprise and wonderment - if only I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the words ‘how did I not know this bird existed?’”

Dr Steven believes that one of the most significant changes to Australian birding and the travel sector occurred during the last two years because of the pandemic. 

“For some, especially those who spent significant funds and time travelling around the country and the world, it clipped their wings for at least the first 18 months of the pandemic. The silver lining, however, was the huge uptake of birding at a more local and immediate scale, with people taking a keen interest in birds near their places of residence.”

With travel now back on the agenda, it was appropriate for an examination of the value of birding to tourism, the economy and conservation.  This examination included a well-supported survey of birder tourists and access to data from Tourism Research Australia which since 2019 has listed birdwatching on its National Visitor Survey.

Two of the report’s key findings, highlighting birding’s economic importance, are that over half a million Australians incorporate birdwatching into their travel each year and that bird tourism contributes around $283 million to Australia nationally, with negligible government investment in marketing or infrastructure. The report is available from Birdlife Australia on www.actforbirds.org .

It will be interesting to see how much birding tourism will grow.

-        Leonie Blain

 

Published in the "Voices for the Earth" column in The Clarence Valley Independent , October 5th , 2022.   

 

 

NSW 2015 TWITCHATHON - CLARENCE VALLEY'S BLACK-NECKED STALKERS' REPORT

There were 32 teams (104 participants) from around the state participating. The Clarence Valley Twitchathon team, the Black-necked Stalkers, began their bird quest at Warialda west of  Inverell and finished on the Clarence Valley coastline. 

For general information on the Twitchathon see our earlier post: 2015 Twitchathon

The local Twitchathon team, the Black-necked Stalkers, supported by the Clarence Valley Birdos, once again competed in the NSW Twitchathon.  The aim of the Twitchathon is for teams to see or hear as many bird species as they can in a twenty four hour period.  Teams also gather sponsorship money to assist with bird research and conservation.  The funds raised this year will be going towards the Powerful Owl project in the Sydney area.

The Black-necked Stalkers (Greg Clancy, Gary Eggins and Russell Jago) started their 2015 attempt at Warialda, as they have done in the past two years.   Unlike the past two years the weather was cooler and cloudy.  Before leaving Warialda the team had notched up 60 species, including such gems as the Plum-headed Finch, Spotted Bowerbird and Pale-headed Rosella.  By the time the team reached the Gibraltar Range and had a four hour break the tally was 107 including the nocturnal Barking Owl, Sooty Owl, Barn Owl, Southern Boobook and Tawny Frogmouth.

The next morning the rainforest and granite country species were searched for and most were found, including the Superb Lyrebird, Paradise Riflebird, Green Catbird and Southern Emu-wren making the tally 148 by the time the team reached the bottom of the Gibraltar Range, where a Grey Goshawk flew across the road and perched in a roadside tree.  The team moved on to Grafton where they saw the recently fledged Brahminy Kite and then headed out to Coutts Crossing.  The Marsh Sandpipers were still present and a number of other waterbirds were ticked off.  Driving through Southgate and down to Lawrence interesting species such as the Azure Kingfisher, Eastern Osprey and Brolga were added.  The expected Freckled Ducks at Lawrence were nowhere to be seen and the terns on the local sandbar were also absent.  After all is was a Twitchathon day when species regularly occurring in an area play hard to get.

The coastal areas at Brooms Head and Sandon provided sightings of migratory shorebirds and the rainforest at Iluka was expected to add a number of species.  The rainforest was disappointing only allowing the Regent Bowerbird and Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove to be ticked while other regular species were sheltering from the wind and heat. 

The Twitchathon ended at 4 pm on Sunday at which time the team had recorded 218 different species, 4 more than in 2014 and 3 less than in 2013.  The team members all agreed that it was a very enjoyable 24 hours and that they had observed a great array of beautiful and in some cases, rare birds.

Eighteen threatened species were recorded (Black-necked Stork, Eastern Osprey, Brolga, Comb-crested Jacana, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Sooty Oystercatcher, Greater Sand Plover, Little Tern, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, Little Lorikeet, Barking Owl, Sooty Owl, Rufous Scrub-bird, Brown Treecreeper, Hooded Robin, Grey-crowned Babbler, Paradise Riflebird).  

- Greg Clancy

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