All a-flutter for weekend of wildlife wonder

Bruny Island Bird Festival is much more than birdwatching, writes Bob Graham

THIS weekend the fifth biannual Bruny Island Bird Festival is on. The festival is a celebration of the birdlife of Bruny Island and Tasmania as a whole. It has become a major event for the local community and for the many visitors to the island who appreciate the richness and diversity of the island’s birdlife.

Bruny Island is one of the few remaining places in Australia where the habitats that support our native birdlife are relatively intact and where the threats to birds are fewer than many parts of Australia. Its birdlife is of global importance. The festival is much more than birdwatching. There are art and photography exhibitions, expert talks, a community market, pelagic boat trips, literary events and many bird watching activities. The event is strongly supported by the local community, Bruny Island School, Bruny Bowls Club, Kingborough Council and by many businesses on the island and throughout southern Tasmania. People and organisations from around Tasmania and interstate have contributed.

The festival was established by the Bruny Island Environment Network (BIEN) in 2010 as part of its aim to take an island-wide approach to environmental stewardship. We had no idea whether or not the festival would be a success. It turned out to be what has been described as “a triumph” with hundreds of people attending from throughout Australia. This year’s festival is sponsored by BIEN, Inala Nature Tours and Birdlife Tasmania.

Following the original triumph it was decided to add a literary stream to the 2012 festival. The literary works were accompanied by artworks inspired by Bruny’s birdlife. We wanted these to be available to a wider audience, and this was the genesis of Birdsong, a two-year effort to publish a collection of the works. The book has sold 1500 copies and the proceeds have supported the Bruny Island Cat Management Strategy.

As well as a success in their own right, the festivals have been a catalyst for a heightened interest in the wildlife and environment of the island. Activities to protect threatened species, including the hooded plover, forty spotted pardalote and swift parrot have been established. Programs have included lobbying to protect swift parrot habitat from logging, protection of hooded plover nesting sites, nesting boxes for swift parrots and forty spotted pardalotes, wildlife monitoring and academic research into the threats to these birds. Bruny Island School, the local men’s shed and Bruny Island Community Association have all supported these programs.

Whilst threatened species have been a focus of many of these activities, other birds and animals benefit from increased interest and awareness of the importance of the island’s natural environment.

Many residents take an interest in birds on their beach, the surrounding bush or in their gardens and are ambassadors for birds and their habitat. In a recent survey 93 per cent of residents and property owners identified the protection of Bruny Island’s natural environment as the top priority.

As we tackle existing threats, new ones are emerging — the potential for the arrival of new predators such as sugar gliders and noisy miners, possible recommencement of logging, lack of resources for public land management and pressures from increasing numbers of visitors. The festival has provided us with resources to raise awareness of and respond to these threats.

Bruny islanders are increasingly aware of the value of their environment and do lots of things to protect the birdlife. The event has contributed to that awareness and we will continue to work in the community to build on past achievements. The festival runs from tomorrow until Monday. See brunybirdfestival.org.au and Facebook.

Bob Graham is convenor, Bruny Island Environment Network.