Expert Speaker Series
Adventure Bay Hall
It is FREE to attend these presenations, and they do not require bookings.
Saturday 16th March
1:00pm Paul Brooks- Pelagic Bird Identification
Paul Brooks has been leading pelagic sea-birding trips from Eaglehawk Neck, on the Tasman Peninsula, for over a decade. He will bring you up to speed on the finer points of identifying the seabirds of Tasmania at sea, including descriptions of their appearance, behaviour, and abundance.
50 mins
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2:00pm Ramit Singal-Bringing Song Home: An Intro to Recording Bird Sounds
Learn about the various sound recording techniques and gear used to capture birdsong. Whether you are interested in creating binaural soundscapes using a mobile phone or recording a single bird’s musical notes using a parabolic microphone - join this discussion to learn a bit more about the hows and whys of recording birdsong.
50 mins
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3:00pm Eric Woehler- Tasmania - a national refuge for resident shorebirds: mapping coastal values for their management and conservation.
Analysing his own research Eric will discuss Tasmania's population of Eastern Hooded Plover and pairs of Pied Oystercatchers, touching on Tasmania’s national and international significance for supporting substantial proportions of their global populations and Tasmania's critical role in conservation of both taxa.
50 mins
4:00pm NRM South-Looking back and looking forward: a snapshot of two decades of NRM South on Bruny Island
From Swift Parrot conservation to saltmarsh restoration, agricultural land management to rebuilding shellfish reefs, for the past two decades, NRM South has been working to improve the condition of southern Tasmania’s land and seascapes. Come along to find out more about NRM South’s future plans, including updates into important projects to safeguard Bruny Island’s celebrated biodiversity. You’ll also learn some practical ways you can get involved in natural resource management.
Edith Shum-There’s no place like home: Species as placemakers in light of environmental change
Edith is a UTAS PhD student exploring the role species play in shaping connections to Bruny Island. With growing concerns of sea level rise, nest inundations, or loss of suitable nesting sites, how will the future of places for species such as swift parrots, or short-tailed shearwaters (muttonbird) on Bruny Island look like? How will we cope with the loss of species? And what does that change mean to you? To address this, she is working on weaving social and spatial methodologies to understand the relationship between people, species, and the places you call home.
50 mins
Sunday 17th March
12:00am Dr Geoff Shannon- Bird Banding (Ringing)what is it, how do we do it, and what do we learn from it.
Geoff has been handling wild birds since before he was ten, trained under British scheme. By age of 17 had a full banding permit for ringing in Britain and Turkey before left to come to Aus. Obtained Australian banding permit soon after arriving here in late 70 and have banded initially in WA and on and off for nearly 30 years here in Tasmania. His interest is in passerines with a 10 year project on the NW coast.
50 mins
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1:00pm Dr. Andrew Hingston- Threatened Woodland Birds of Bruny Island Project
Run by the Bruny Island Environment Network, Andrew talks about how people can be involved in efforts on Bruny Island to save swift parrots and forty-spotted pardalotes from extinction.
50 mins
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2:00pm Sean Dooley- The Big Twitch 20 years on
In 2002 Sean Dooley broke the Australian record for seeing the most birds in one year. If he was to try it again today, what would have changed? Would the birds be harder to find? Would some birds even still exist after 20 years of habitat destruction?
50 mins
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3:00pm Eagle Dissection- Judy Clarke, Andrew Nicholson and Nick Mooney
Eagle Dissection; The weaponry of birds
Prepare for an extraordinary encounter with the unseen wonders of avian anatomy in “Claws, Beaks, and Wings: the weaponry of birds.”
Join us for a rare opportunity to marvel at the intricate details of feathers, the formidable size of talons, and the remarkable strength of beaks up close.
This session will provide illuminating explanations on the movements of bones and muscles, unveiling the secrets behind avian adaptations and specialisations.
90 mins