2026 Festival Program Details
Welcome to our 2026 Bruny Island Bird Festival Program, bursting at the seams with bird related events.
Our community celebration of birdlife and nature is now in its 8th anniversary and we are proud of how it has become such a joyful and well loved Australian birding event.
We have done our very best to allow you to be able to attend a very diverse selection of activities over the 3 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.
Events and continally being added due to demand so please keep checking the update program below.
*Ticket prices are inclusive of GST and there will be a 2.5% 'service fee' added to your total at check out.
The 2026 Program is out now.
A Festival favourite guided by a passionate bird lover and Bruny Islander. Bruny Bird Festival founder Bob Graham takes you on a gentle walk from the Adventure Bay shoreline through a selection of different habitats into beautiful tall forest. Your guide will help you see, hear and understand the range of bird species to be sighted in each different ecotone.
Adult: $20, Child under 12: free
Maximum 12 bookings
Location: Adventure Bay - Meet at Adventure Bay Hall.
Beach to Bush Walk with Bob Graham
Friday 20th 8:30-10 am BUY TICKETS HERE
Saturday 21st 8:30-10 am BUY TICKETS HERE
Sunday 22nd 8:30-10 am BUY TICKETS HERE
*Ticket Required*
Bruny Island Carbon Project
Friday 20th March 11am
*Ticket Required*
This is a unique opportunity to view and learn about a larger-scale reforestation project near Adventure Bay. The project aims to establish approximately 55 hectares of Eucalyptus ovata and E. globulus forest on former agricultural land to provide foraging habitat for the endangered swift parrot. The project is also assessing a range of seed provenances to test which ones might be most suited to a changing climate. The project is managed by Sustainable Timber Tasmania as a registered Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme project with the Commonwealth Government. A small convoy of 4WDs will travel to the site to hear from experts about the planning and future of the project.
Meet at the Adventure Bay Hall
Cost $10pp- BUY TICKETS HERE
Max 16
Silent Auction
Friday 20th All day
Saturday 21st All day
Sunday 22nd All day till 6 pm
Our famous SILENT AUCTION, come and bid on an array of gorgeous items at the
Adventure Bay Hall, if you're lucky, you might take home something very special on Sunday night.
Items can be purchased outright at any point.
Location: Adventure Bay Hall
Grass Point Birding Walk
Sunday 22nd March 8-10 am
*Ticket Required*
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. 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.
Cost: Adult: $40, Child under 12: $5 BUY TICKETS HERE
Maximum 12 bookings
Location: Meet at Fluted Cape Carpark
Friday 20th March 6pm
Saturday 21st March 6pm
Sunday 22nd March 6pm
Bob and Marg Graham Nightly Bird Count at Adventure Bay Hall
Free Event
Before each evening's event, come together as a merry group to record what birds we have all seen during the day on Bruny. Join the rapid fire Bruny Bird name shout-out to mark the days tally on a giant chart.
As with all such counts, what seems so straightforward can lead to pistols at dawn! So as a guideline, more than one person must have been present for a sighting to be valid. If only one person was present or a rare bird ID is contested by others, then photographic evidence will help your cause greatly! The results will be for communal enjoyment, not a scientific record.
Location: Adventure Bay Hall
Mavista Rainforest Birding Walk
Sunday 22nd
8-9 am BUY TICKETS HERE
9-10 am BUY TICKETS HERE
*Ticket Required*
The beautiful temperate rainforest habitat of Mavista is tucked behind Adventure Bay under the slope of Mount Mangana, and it is home to some of the loveliest birds that can also be some of the trickiest to find and identify. The three endemics - the Tasmanian Scrubtit, the Tasmanian Scrubwren and the Tasmanian Thornbill all live here and are all very capable of being quiet and invisible when they wish to be. The beautiful Pink Robin is another resident amongst the towering treeferns and can be surprisingly hard to find even with their fantastic colour.
This is your opportunity to look for these wonderful birds with a specialist birding guide who knows the calls, the songs and the behaviours of these birds. While you are birding at Mavista, your guide will also tell you all about the wonderful ecosystems at play in the beautiful temperate rainforest habitat.
We have limited this group to only 10 to give you the best chance of sighting some of these birds.
Maximum 6 bookings per tour
Location: Meet at the Mavista Rainforest Carpark ( behind Adventure Bay )
Environmental change at The Neck
Interactive Workshop- Edith Shum
Friday 21st 2-4pm
Adventure Bay Hall
*Ticket Required for FREE event*
Picture The Neck. Do you remember fairy penguins waddling onto shore at dusk? Or muttonbirds sweeping in and turning the sky black at sunset? Perhaps it’s the pungent smell of the burrows that hits you first. How do these memories make you feel? Have they changed over time? What might it become?
Join this interactive two-hour workshop to explore how environmental change at The Neck is shaping your connection to fairy penguins and muttonbirds.
Come to listen, share, and see your words brought to life through immersive art. Your reflections will contribute to the final stage of a PhD project exploring our connection with species and place in a changing world.
Refreshments will be provided. Limited spaces for this free event- GRAB FREE TICKET HERE
All participants will receive a $20 WISH gift card at the end of the workshop.
Beginner’s Photography Workshop
Sunday 22nd 9am
Adventure Bay Hall
*Ticket Required*
Join Helen Greenwood from the BirdLife Australia Photography Specialist Group for an introduction to bird photography. The workshop will start with camera settings and basic setup and then head outside for a practical session. No experience required and is suitable for all camera types – phone, bridge camera, mirrorless etc. Handouts will be provided to take away
$40pp Max 20 people BUY TICKETS HERE
Meet at the Adventure Bay Hall
Going beyond the Backyard Bird Count
Saturday 21st 10-10:45am
Adventure Bay Hall
*Ticket Required*
Learn how to participate in some of the many ongoing bird surveys, such as Birds in Backyards, regular patch monitoring, etc., as well as how to use the Bird ID and survey apps. Bring the whole family and continue the Bird Count all year round.
$10pp Max 20 people
Meet at the Adventure Bay Hall
Bird ID for beginners
Saturday 21st 9-9:45am
Adventure Bay Hall
*Ticket Required*
Join an expert from Birdlife Tasmania and get started on learning bird ID, apps that can help with ID, both visual and sound and things to look for to narrow down the species. No experience required. Open to all ages, fun for the whole family.
$10pp Max 20 people
Meet at the Adventure Bay Hall
Expert Speaker Series
Saturday 21st 12:30-4:30pm
Adventure Bay Hall
Our Expert Speaker Series brings together leading conservationists, researchers, and advocates to share powerful, on-the-ground stories from across Tasmania and beyond. Hear from the Tasmanian Land Conservancy on conserving habitat for Latham’s Snipe and supporting Land for Wildlife. Dr Sally Bryant will discuss how acoustic detection is helping monitor wildlife. Hear from Cat Young about the Bruny Island Cat Project and the complex balance between cat management and conservation. Together, these talks and many more offer insight, challenge and inspiration for anyone passionate about birds, nature and its future.
Donation entry
Beach-nesting Birds walk
Saturday 21st 11-12:30pm
Adventure Bay Hall
Join Birdlife's Kasun Ekanayake Beach-nesting birds walk – join a trip onto the beach to learn about conservation issues for breeding shorebirds, such as Hooded Plover, and how you can help with their conservation.
Family event where you can all learn together.
Meet at Adventure Bay Hall at 10:45 am, and we will walk to the beach together.
Max 30pp Tickets $20 BUY TICKETS HERE
Kuno Nature Stories
Sunday 22nd 12-1pm
Adventure Bay Hall
The Bruny Youth Stories Prize, proudly run by Bruny Kids and Nature Project, invites young people to write a short story about a native bird of Bruny Island. Fiction or non-fiction—your voice, your perspective, your bird.
The prize winners will be announced on Sunday, after the final judging panel. A showcase of films will be shown by two filmmakers, Marcio Conrado and local superstar Claire Gorman, celebrating the kids of Bruny's connection to nature.
This is a family fun free event, all welcome
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Take a walk with Tonia to the top
Saturday 21st March 8am-11am BUY TICKETS HERE
Sunday 22nd March 8 am-11 am BUY TICKETS HERE
*Ticket Required*
Dr Tonia Cochran owns the 1,500-acre conservation property at Inala. She has lived here for over 35 years and knows every inch of the land. Take a walk with Tonia from the Jurassic Garden all the way through the forest to the very top of the property known as Ben Bullen, with a phenomenal view down over Cloudy Bay.
Along the walk, as well as birding with Tonia, you will learn the story of her involvement with the land and the diverse work she has done here over the years as Inala has evolved.
Discover the parts of the property that far fewer people get to see and be rewarded for your climb with a special view of a unique corner of Bruny Island.
( Suitable for those who can walk up a moderately steep slope on forest trails at a gentle pace) Walk approx. 3.5-4hrs ( Bring a drink and a snack to enjoy at the top )
Cost: $70 pp
Maximum 10 bookings per day
Location: Meet at Inala ( 320 Cloudy Bay Road )
Birding Bruny Island - Inala Day Tour
Friday 20th: 9 am - 5:00 pm BUY TICKETS HERE
Saturday 21st: 9 am - 5:00 pm BUY TICKETS HERE
Sunday 22nd: 9 am - 5:00 pm BUY TICKETS HERE
*Ticket Required*
A day tour of Bruny Island with a specialist Inala tour guide at a special festival-only price will give you a fantastic opportunity to explore the many diverse habitats of Bruny Island (including a visit to the Inala Private Reserve ) and discover a fantastic selection of birds. You will learn about their calls, their identifying marks, their behaviours, etc. The Inala guides know Bruny Island intimately and are overflowing with information about the flora, fauna, history, geology and seasonal rhythms of this remarkable island. You will be travelling in an Inala vehicle throughout the day.BYO lunch (Snacks and cold drinks provided)
Cost: $250
Maximum 8 bookings per tour
Location: Island Wide, Meet at Adventure Bay Hall at 8:45
Inala Conservation Reserve
Guided Walking Tour including the Forty-spotted Pardalote Platform
(morning and afternoon options )
Friday 20th March
8:30-11:30 am BUY TICKETS HERE
1:30-4:30 pm BUY TICKETS HERE
Saturday 21st March
8:30-11:30 am BUY TICKETS HERE
1:30-4:30 pm BUY TICKETS HERE
Sunday 22nd March
8:30-11:30 am BUY TICKETS HERE
1:30-4:30 pm BUY TICKETS HERE
*Ticket Required*
Join an experienced Inala bird specialist 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 the Strong-billed Honeyeater and the endangered Forty-spotted Pardalote.
This tour is being offered at a very special festival price. Regular 3hr Inala property tours are $180 per person
Cost: $60 Adult, $30 Child under 16
Maximum 12 bookings per tour
Location: Meet at Inala Carpark ( 320 Cloudy Bay Road )
Inala Jurassic Garden Walk & Nature Centre self guided walk
Daily: 9am - 4pm
This is a self-guided walk - take as long as you like. Welcome to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the Gardens.
The Inala Jurassic Garden is an educational facility highlighting the Gondwanan connections of a range of living plant families whose ancient ancestors thrived in the Jurassic period when the Gondwanan Supercontinent started splitting apart (about 185 million years ago) to form the southern land-masses that we now know as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America and New Caledonia.
Designed across five acres of gently undulating land and accessed by a winding, wheelchair-friendly path, the Garden gives visitors an insight into the ancient connections of species that are planted in family groups to demonstrate the similarities between species that are now found in these geographically-distant countries.
More information about the Jurassic Gardens can be found here
$10 per adult entry fee- to be paid at Inala
Location: Inala Property ( 320 Cloudy Bay Road )
Dennes Hill Walk with Dr Sally Bryant
Saturday 21st March 8:30-10:30 am BUY TICKETS HERE
Sunday 22nd March 8:30-10:30 am BUY TICKETS HERE
*Ticket Required*
The return of a festival favourite!
Take a walk with renowned broadcaster, writer and ecologist Sally Bryant through some dry Sclerophyll forest and open grassland at Dennes Hill Nature Reserve on North Bruny. Learn about the valuable Forty-spotted Pardalote Habitat on this land, the work done by the community to protect it and the other birds and animals that call this beautiful spot home.
Attendees will need sturdy shoes and a ‘reasonable’ level of fitness to get up the hill, which is a steady climb at the beginning, and will participate in forty-spot monitoring using the BirdLife Australia Birdata App.
Cost $45 Maximum 20 bookings
Location: Meet and Park at Lauriston Farm, 321 Bruny Island Main Road, North Bruny ( Look for the festival flag )
Community Nature Market
Sunday 22nd March 9am-2pm
Free Event
This Sunday Bird and Nature themed Market is a highlight community event, with a wonderful selection of stalls selling a diverse array of bird and nature-inspired items. A fantastic event to support local artisans, stock up on gifts for the wildlife lovers in your life and to buy unique items that are often created specifically for this event.
There will also be food and drink stalls present, and a selection of stalls from various conservation and birding projects and organisations
Location: Lunawanna Hall ( Inside and Outside in the carpark area )
Welcome BBQ Dinner
Friday 20th March from 5 pm
Adventure Bay Hall
Join us for a relaxed-style BBQ at Bird HQ, where you can mingle with other bird lovers and enjoy the sounds of a local musician's Salty Jam to kick off our fabulous festival.
Bruny burgers and Snug sausages are on the menu,
We can cater for all dietary requirements, let us now and we will take care of you.
Tickets BUY TICKETS HERE
Children: $10
Adults $25
Join us for a Fun Bird Games Night
FREE EVENT NO TICKET REQUIRED
Saturday 21st from 5 pm
Adventure Bay Hall
This free, family-friendly evening is packed with laughs, friendly competition, and bird-themed fun for all ages.
Whether you’re a serious gamer or just in it for a good time, there’s something for everyone. Take a break, relax, and enjoy delicious pizza available to purchase from Float Pizza while you play.
Taking flight on the night include: A Game called Birds, Bird Snap, Wingspan, and the always-entertaining Pulling a Swiftie.
Come along, bring the family, and let the games begin!
Louise Crossley Tribute dinner and talk by Tim Low
Sunday 22nd from 6 PM
Adventure Bay Hall
We are thrilled to welcome Tim Low of 'Where Song Began' fame as guest speaker for the Louise Crossley Tribute on Sunday night.
Join us for a 3-course meal featuring bush food flavours (also inspired by Tim Low) in the Adventure Bay Hall.
Celebrating community through good food, great company, and inspiring ideas!
We can cater for any dietary requirements you may have. We have created separate tickets for some requirements to easily record your needs.
Please email brunybirdfestival@gmail.com if you have other requirements or allergies, and we will take care of you.
TICKETS $80pp BUY TICKETS HERE
Bird Sculpture Workshop
Saturday 21st March- 10 am-3 pm
*Ticket required*
Join local artist and sculptor Rachel Klyve to make one of Bruny Island's special birds using recycled maps, watercolour paper, paint, thread, wire and wood (all supplied).
Choose one of Rachel's designs of a Forty-spotted Pardalote or a Superb Fairy-wren, or choose your favourite bird to create your own design, with Rachel's help. Maybe a Turbo Chook or a Tawny Frogmouth?! (If you are choosing your own bird, please bring several photos of that bird, front, side, top, etc)
Rachel will take you through the process of creating a wire armature of your bird, then we'll make plumage out of maps or paint your own feathers on paper and glue or sew it all together. Your bird will either stand on its own or will attach to a natural branch.
Tickets $100 pp- BUY TICKETS HERE
5 Hours
Only 15 spaces available
Location: Inala Property ( 320 Cloudy Bay Road )
Soundscape & Dawn Chorus with Ramit Singal & Erin Harris
Sunday 22nd 7am-12 pm
(with 1 hour break)
*ticket required*
Ever wanted to capture the sounds you hear out in nature? Relive the magic of a dawn chorus, listen again to the exquisite notes of a magpie warbling, or simply record soundscapes for the aesthetics or for science? Whatever your reason, this walk might be for you.
Session 1: Sound recording in the field.
Join us for a short, hands-on workshop on the Inala property, where we’ll get to try out and learn how to use a range of sound-recording devices. From mobile phones to parabolic microphones and automated recording units that can be left out for weeks, we’ll explore the different tools scientists and sound recordists use — and how you can use them too.
Session 2: Preparing and uploading sounds
This follow-up workshop builds on our morning field recording session. We’ll revisit the sounds we recorded, learn how to "look" at audio using spectrograms, and prepare our files for upload to public platforms and archives.
These recordings can be valuable to enthusiasts, scientists, and birdwatchers alike — supporting everything from behavioural studies and species identification tools to research on taxonomy and distribution. It’s a great way to contribute to real science.
Tickets: $40pp Max 20 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
Location: Meet at Inala ( 320 Cloudy Bay Road )
Build your own Sound Recorder Workshop
Saturday 21st 9 am-12 pm
Adventure Bay Hall
*Ticket required*
Join Toby Travers for this rare hands-on workshop and construct your own acoustic device that you can take home and use to listen to the birds, frogs and other wildlife on your own property. All materials supplied.
Tickets: $50pp Max 24 people. One ticket per household, each ticket permits you up to 4 guests BUY TICKETS HERE
Location: Inside Adventure Bay Hall
Sounds Wild: Representing Bird Song in your Nature Journal
Sunday 22nd 10-11:30 am
Adventure Bay Hall
*Ticket required*
Nature journals are an engaging way to record and reflect upon your experience with birds. This workshop introduces the practice of nature journaling, giving a sense of its many forms and the rewards of its practice, followed by a focused discussion on the challenge and fun of representing the non-visual dynamics of bird calls. It is an exploratory, creative workshop — no ‘art’ experience is necessary — designed to encourage you to capture what you hear on the page in your own unique way.
Please bring along some materials to draw with, for example, a few pencils (colour
and graphite) and /or art markers, etc., with a hard-backed notebook or drawing pad
(at least one activity will take place outside).
Professor Jay Johnston, FAHA, is a writer, academic, (re-emerging) artist, and
flawed birdwatcher.
Tickets: $30pp Max 10 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
Location: Inside Adventure Bay Hall
Photograph “Swift Parrot” ©️Jay Johnston 2023.
Bruny Lighthouse Walk
Sunday 22nd 9-11 am
Bruny Lighthouse, South Bruny
*Ticket required*
Join a specialist walk around the Bruny Lighthouse led by Toby Travers to look for seabirds and coastal heath specialities such as tawny-crowned honeyeaters, white-fronted chats and other species such as flame robins, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, sea eagles, etc. All guests must have a parks pass.
Tickets: $40pp Max 10 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
Location: 1751 Lighthouse Rd, South Bruny TAS 7150 ( look for the festival flag )
Private Property Tour – Take a walk at Labillardiere Estate
Saturday 21st 8-11 am
South Bruny
*Ticket required*
Take a walk at Labillardiere Estate, courtesy of Allegra Biggs-Dale, among pristine habitats that supports a range of species, including breeding swift parrots and forty-spotted pardalotes. A gentle 2km circuit along a track. As this is a private residence, please do not enter the property until led in by a guide.
Tickets: $40pp Max 10 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
Location: 1000 Lighthouse Road, South Bruny, TAS 7150 ( look for the festival flag )
Short-tailed Shearwater viewing
Saturday 21st 7 pm
The Neck
*Ticket required*
Join a group visiting the short-tailed shearwater colony at the Neck and hear about these incredible birds, their annual migration and breeding strategy. Please bring your own torch as this tour will be at dusk for optimal shearwater viewing.
Tickets: $20pp Max 25 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
Location: Meet at The Neck carpark ( look for the festival flag )
Hollow Hog demonstration, Land for Wildlife, and Revolving Fund discussion
Friday 20th 9 am-11.30 am
32 Mulcahys Road, Apollo Bay, Bruny Island. TLC Revolving Fund Property.
*Ticket required*
Staff from Tasmanian Land Conservancy invite Bruny Island Bird Festival participants to visit one of our recently sold revolving fund properties on Bruny Island and see practical conservation in action. We will discuss: the natural values of the property, the context of these in relation to the rest of the island and the benefits of TLC, creating a revolving fund property for conservation outcomes. TLC’s involvement in the Swift Parrot Covenanting Project on Bruny Island, which is currently funded by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Tasmania. The Land for Wildlife Program and its role in the area (including a Wild Tracker camera in situ). Practical habitat creation using the Hollow Hog – presented by Dave James, including an on-site demonstration of hollow creation suitable for use by swift parrots in a living tree on the property.
What to Bring: Everything to be self-sufficient in the bush for 1.5 hours. Suitable footwear, water, snacks, binoculars, and appropriate clothing for the conditions (long pants suggested). There will be periods of standing and listening, so bring your own folding chair if
needed.
Tickets: $10pp Max 40 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
Land for Wildlife Tour with the Ewings
Sunday 22nd 10 am-12 pm
Parking to occur along the road here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/faoqTiTVCB8SGnmc7 Look for signage and TLC staff.
*Ticket required*
Graeme and Fiona Ewing joined the Land for Wildlife Program back in January 2022. They had recently purchased their 20-ha block, which had a history of heavy grazing, which led to degradation through land clearing, erosion and weed infestations. Join Graham and Fiona and staff from the Land for Wildlife Program to see the inspiring transformation that is now taking place on the property through the hard work of these dedicated landholders and their army of surfing family and friends who help. Learn about the practical on-ground works that are now contributing to the conservation of some of Australia’s most threatened bird species.
What to Bring: Everything to be self-sufficient in the bush for 1.5 hours. Suitable footwear, water, snacks, binoculars, and appropriate clothing for the conditions (long pants suggested). There will be periods of standing and listening, so bring your own folding chair if needed.
Tickets: $10pp Max 40 people. BUY TICKETS HERE
