Calling backyard birders
Bird watchers, just like the feathered tree dwellers that they go in search of, are often a rare breed – Echuca’s long-time ornithologist Keith Stockwell is no exception.
Mr Stockwell, who in his professional life worked as an Echuca High School teacher, is well spoken and highly intellectual, but when he talks about birds there is a certain boylike tone to his enthusiasm for the pastime.
He walked in the door of the Riverine Herald with a copy of the CSIRO Australian 2020 Bird Guide in one hand and his binoculars in the other.
It’s National Bird Week from October 18 to 24 and anyone can get involved by participating in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count.
Now in its eighth year, the count aims to understand which birds are where by asking people to note down the birds they see in a 20-minute period in their backyard.
People can simply record the birds they know and look up those they don’t on the Aussie Bird Count app or the website.
They can instantly see live statistics and information on how many people are taking part near them and the number of birds and species counted in their neighbourhood and the whole of Australia.
There were two bird organisations in the region, which have merged together in the past five or six years to form the Bendigo-Echuca branch of BirdLife Australia.
“I was originally a member of the Bird Observers Club of Australia (BOCA) before that group merged with the Royal Australian Ornothologists to form Birdlife Australia,” Mr Stockwell said
“Most keen bird observers are now members of Bird Life.”
He acted as secretary of BOCA Echuca and District branch, alongside long-time president and Rochester resident Peter Allan.
“The committee is now mainly Bendigo people,” Mr Stockwell said.
“I haven’t had a lot to do with the group in the last couple of the years, because most of the outings have been in the Bendigo area.”
Mr Stockwell has 30 or 40 years as a “birder” behind him.
“It was back in 1988 when I thought it would be good to have a walking track along the Murray,” Mr Stockwell said.
“The gentleman who owned, and ran, Tarragon Lodge at the time was John Hosford.
“Back then he was a keen birder and with Nance Marriott formed the Bird Observers Club.
“Nance’s son Neil is a highly respected environmental journalist who has a regular column in The Australian. His mother was from Echuca.”
A weekend staged by Deniliquin’s Phil Maher kick-started Mr Stockwell’s passion for the bird-watching movement.
“Norman Wettenhall, one of Australia’s best birders, was on that trip,” Mr Stockwell said.
“When he died, a foundation was set up which supports conservation foundations throughout Australia.
“On that very first trip I encountered an Eyrean grasswren, which is critically endangered.”
Mr Stockwell said one of the birder group’s First Nations members used to erect a display in the Echuca library, but COVID-19 had interrupted that process.
The popularity of bird watching has suffered, like most group events, at the hand of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were up to 35 people at one point, representing a range of occupations,” Mr Stockwell said.
“We had doctors and other professionals, people from food processing, and one girl who worked for the shire of Campaspe is a keen photographer.
“There was a retired Holden test driver and several retired farmers.
“Dr Ong still takes Thursday afternoons off and goes bird watching by himself, I believe.”
Mr Stockwell said some of the birds people could look out for were the silvereye, rainbow lorikeet, Australian magpie and magpie lark, along with the crested pigeon —which many people refer to as top knots — and the little raven.
“People may not realise there are no crows in Victoria,” he said.
“They are actually ravens, the little raven and the Australian raven. Many people call them crows.”
White wing choughs, which many people call jays, and a yellow form of the crimson rosella — which are often referred to as smokers — are others that community members might notice in their backyard.
“People will see two species of sparrow, 99.9 per cent are those house sparrows — which nest in trees,” Mr Stockwell said.
“Around the hospital there are tree sparrows, which nest in old houses.”
Mr Stockwell’s birder travels have taken him to Cairns, Tasmania, the far west of NSW, Newhaven in the Northern Territory and outback Queensland.
He is looking forward to getting back on the road as soon as interstate travel restrictions are eased.