2018 Festival Program
Welcome to our 2018 Bruny Island Bird Festival Program, bursting at the seams with bird related events. BOOK NOW
Our community celebration of birdlife and nature is now in its 5th anniversary and we are proud of how it has become such a joyful and well loved Australian birding event.
Please take time to read through the program and absorb all the fantastic walks, lectures, workshops and events that will be part of the Festival. We have done our very best to allow you to be able to attend a very diverse selection of activities over the 4 days, however you may have to plan carefully to fit in everything you wish to do.
Remember there are many events that do not require a booking, and due to the generosity of our presenters and sponsors, they are often free or 'donation only' to attend. The festival is diverse, inclusive and welcoming to all, no matter what your level of birding knowledge and interest may be.
We look forward to welcoming you to our very special Bruny Island Bird Festival on this unique and beautiful island.
Trying to work out a daily Schedule? Use this AT A GLANCE CHART and this DAILY EVENT PLANNER to help you make the most of your time at the Festival
Click here to Sign up for festival e-mail notifications.
1. Birdwatching Guided Walks
Beach to Bush Walk![]() ![]() $10 adult, accompanied child under 12 free. Booking required. Max 12 Adventure Bay - guided by Bob Graham and Fiona Hume A Festival favourite guided by passionate bird lovers. Bruny Bird Festival founder Bob Graham & ecologist Fiona Hume take you on a gentle walk from the Adventure Bay shoreline through a selection of different habitats into beautiful tall forest. Your guides will help you see, hear and understand the range of bird species to be sighted in each different ecotone. |
Inala Property Walk
MEETING AT INALA, 320 Cloudy Bay Rd, South Bruny - look for Festival flag and meet at carpark. Suit Novice + Join an experienced Inala ornithologist for a 2.5-3-hour walking tour of Inala. Inala is a 1,500 acre private reserve and a centre for conservation work for several threatened and endangered species. Inala is home to one of the largest known populations of Forty-spotted Pardalotes, and on this tour you will learn about the conservation efforts undertaken to protect these species, as well as searching for other Tasmanian endemics and specialities. Highlights include the possibility of most of the Tasmanian endemics including Strong-billed Honeyeater and the endangered Forty-spotted Pardalote. * younger family tours may be arranged if sufficient demand - Please ask. Note: With large enough numbers on any particular tour, it could possibly be split into novice and experienced groups |
Grass Point Walk with Tasmanian Birder Peter Vaughan
![]() Saturday 20th October 9am - 10.30am
Adult $20 Child $5 (accompanied and 12yr and under) Max 12
Walk the lovely Grass Point trail through varying habitats of beach, foreshore, mixed Eucalypt woodland and open grassland in the company of one of Tasmania's leading birdwatchers and bird photographers. Learn about and seek out the birds that inhabit the area and possibly see some of the seasonal residents of the area such as Satin Flycatcher and Swift Parrot.
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Songs of the Bush - A Woodland Walk with Sarah Lloyd
Adult $20 Child $5 (accompanied and 12yr and under) Max 20 A North Bruny, Great Bay woodland walk guided by Sarah Lloyd, renowned naturalist, photographer and author. Learn how to identify birds by their song as you follow easy hillside walking trails through bush, dry Eucalyptus woodland and patches of open farmland where you can hope to see a fantastic selection of bush birds including endemics, robins, honeyeaters, thornbills and firetails. Walk up the gentle slope of the hill to be rewarded at the top with an outstanding view over Great Bay and the d'Entrecasteaux Channel. Approx 1.5hrs. (Why not have a great bush breakfast before you begin your walk at the same location - bookings separate) Location: Eden Home Farm, 1771 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay - The entrance to the property is midway between the Bruny Island Cheese Co. and Get Shucked. Look our for the Festival sign to Eden Home Farm and follow the signs to the top paddock. Plenty of parking available. |
Great Bay Woodland Walk with landowner Richard Clarke and Dr Catherine Young
![]() Adult $20 Child $5 (accompanied and 12yr and under) Max 20 Join the landowner Richard Clarke and Ornithologist Dr Catherine Young on a walk around this beautiful private property with a network of trails allowing for a fantastic walk through dry Eucalyptus woodland and patches of open farmland where you can hope to see a large selection of bush birds such as robins, honeyeaters, thornbills and firetails, as well as the chance of birds of prey and more. As you walk up the gentle slope of the hill you are rewarded at the top with an outstanding view over Great Bay and the d'Entrecasteaux Channel. This is a unique opportunity to hear the perspective of a land owner on the Bruny birdlife and a great way of discussing issues such as land management, balancing business and livestock with conservation and habitat restoration. Approx 1.5hrs. (Why not have your bush breakfast before your walk at the same location - bookings separate) Location: Eden Home Farm, 1771 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay - The entrance to the property is midway between the Bruny Island Cheese Co. and Get Shucked. Look our for the Festival sign to Eden Home Farm and follow the signs to the top paddock. Plenty of parking available. |
Great Bay Woodland Walk with Nick Mooney
Adult $20 Child $5 (accompanied and 12yr and under) Booking required. Max 20 Join festival favourite Nick Mooney; Tasmanian Raptor and Birding Specialist; on a guided walk through dry Eucalyptus woodland and patches of open farmland on a private property above Great Bay. Nick will use his extensive knowledge of Tasmanian flora and fauna to help you discover a fantastic selection of bush birds and explain their behaviours and adaptations. After a walk through the network of trails and habitats, the final slope of the hill rewards you with an outstanding view over Great Bay and the d'Entrecasteaux Channel. Approx 1.5hrs. (Why not have your bush breakfast before your walk at the same location - bookings required separately) Location: Eden Home Farm, 1771 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay - The entrance to the property is midway between the Bruny Island Cheese Co. and Get Shucked. Look our for the Festival sign to Eden Home Farm and follow the signs to the top paddock. Plenty of parking available. |
Introduction to Shorebirds
Adult - $10 Accompanied Child under 12 - Free Booking required. Max 25 Guided by shorebird expert Amanda Blakney from BirdLife Tasmania. Tasmania is the southernmost destination on a bird migration corridor between Siberia and Australia. These birds use the foreshore and beaches during the summer months to feed and prepare for their northward migration. Join Amanda to hopefully see a great selection of resident Bruny shorebirds, with the chance to see the tiny Hooded Plover. Learn how to identify shorebirds, learn about their seasonal changes and behaviours and how they survive in the challenging habitats in which they live. Captain Cook Creek, Adventure Bay. Meet at the picnic area just after Captain Cook Creek. (Heading away from the hall towards the southern Fluted Cape end of Adventure Bay ) |
Sean and Tonia's Backyard Bird CountSunday 21st October 2-3pm @ Inala With the official week of the Aussie Backyard Bird Count due to begin on Monday 22nd October, join the editor of BirdLife Australia Magazine Sean Dooley for a preparatory walk in Tonia Cochran's own backyard at Inala. Meet at Inala and take a 1hr stroll with Tonia and Sean through a small section of the Inala Conservation Reserve, where you can practise using the Backyard Bird Count app. see a selection of gorgeous Bruny Birds and learn about one of Australia's largest Citizen Science events. Download the Backyard birdcount App here Bookings required - 15 people maximum Cost - $15 donation to the Inala Foundation where the money goes to many conservation projects including raising orphaned wildlife and preserving and creating secure habitat for Forty-spotted Pardalotes and Swift Parrots. Please note, this is not an Inala property tour. |
Inala Jurassic Garden Walk & Nature Centre self guided walk
This is a self-guided walk - take as long as you like. Welcome to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the Gardens. The Nature Museum houses an extensive, private collection of fossils, gems, minerals, shells and natural specimens from Tasmania and around the world. Set over five acres, the Jurassic Gardens are easily explored by a sealed path that winds through almost 400 species of plants. All of the family groups represented in the gardens are remnants that have survived through history since the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana. Entry fees will support the care of injured and orphaned wildlife nurtured by Inala staff. |
Swift Parrot Habitat Walk - Apollo Bay
$20 adult $5 accompanied child 12yr and under. Guided by Dr Andrew Hingston, this walk is on private property with Swift Parrot habitat and both Swift Parrot and Forty-Spotted Pardalote nest boxes in use. This walk offers a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the status of the critically endangered Swift Parrot and results of the latest research undertaken into these and other hollow-nesting birds. And if you are lucky, you might get to see these beautiful but elusive birds. Meet at 39 Apollo Bay Rd (Turn into Apollo Bay Rd at the gaggle of letterboxes and the Festival sign. |