“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known” – Carl Sagan
Join me for unforgettable bird and wildlife experiences in some of the stunning National Parks, bush reserves and aquatic reserves of the Sydney region. Amid these beautiful and unique forest, woodland and coastal environments we’ll encounter some of Australia’s and the world’s most sought after birdlife and nature experiences.
Birding tours for all tastes, budgets and experiences
The parks, reserves and wetlands of the Sydney region offer an excellent diversity and abundance of bird life, often in stunning locations and across all seasons. Our tours focus on the big seasonal events, creating opportunities to witness some of the great sights in nature, including perhaps the world of nature’s most iconic and sought after: the enthralling behaviours of the Superb Lyrebird during breeding season in the cooler months or the Satin Bowerbird, dancing around, cavorting in and fussing over his bower decorations in spring. Join a group tour or a personal tour. All trails are easy to traverse and all tours cater for beginners and experienced birders.
Acknowledgement of Country
“When we talk about traditional ‘Country’, we mean something beyond the dictionary definition of the word. We might mean homeland, or tribal or clan area and we might mean more than just a place on the map.
“For us, Country is a word for all the values, places, resources, stories and cultural obligations associated with that area and its features. It describes the entirety of our ancestral domains.
“While they may all no longer necessarily be the title-holders to land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are still connected to the Country of their ancestors and most consider themselves the custodians or caretakers of their land.” – Prof Mick Dodson
Private Day Tours
Sydney offers a large diversity and abundance of bird life, many of which are easily accessible and often in breathtaking environments and locations. These include Royal National Park; national parks, reserves and wetlands in western Sydney; Long Reef and northern beaches reserves, or wetlands around the Sutherland Shire.
Private Tour Fee: $420.00
Capertee Valley weekend birding escapes
Around 3 hours drive from Sydney, Capertee Valley offers the best birding within a day’s drive of Sydney and a great opportunity for encounters with many species which are more typical of the NSW western slopes.
The valley is perhaps best known among birders and nature lovers as an important refuge for the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater but it has a great deal more to offer; this is a superb birding location with a great many sought after species which can be found in a beautiful semi-rural landscape.
We stay in quaint rural cottages with all the necessary conveniences.
Birding Workshops and Courses
I offer courses and workshops for birders who want to sharpen up their birding skills or take their birding to the next level or maybe want to dive into the fascinating world of bird watching and nature. This year I’m offering three courses, ‘Little Brown Birds’ which is for regular birders who want to overcome the identification hurdles in this delightful and engaging assemblage of birds, ‘Birding Essentials’; a one day crash course workshop in binocular skills, trail skills, bird ID and bird calls, and ‘Bird Watching’; a four month in depth course for those who wish to start their birding journey or diversify their experiences when bushwalking or studying nature.
Little Brown Birds: A Birder’s Workshop
‘Little Brown Birds’ is a term used by many birders to describe the assemblage of thornbills, scrubwrens, gerygones and fairy-wrens which are often quite profuse in forests, woodlands and heath across Australia. These small insectivorous birds are all superficially similar in appearance, so they can often be a source of confusion for even experienced birders. In this workshop we unpack all the skills required to sharpen up our birding field craft, properly observe these birds and learn the easy keys to making a quick and confident identification of the Little Brown Birds of the Sydney region. Workshops are run in the Royal National Park and Castlereagh Reserve and include a copy of my book ‘Little Brown Birds of the Sydney Region’.
Workshop Fee: $130.00 per person
Birding Essentials
Birding Essentials is a one day workshop which will help birders, bushwalkers and nature lovers improve their bird watching skills and engage with nature on a deeper level. Over decades of operating birding tours, courses and workshops I have found that many birders lack a number of key skills which detract from their confidence and experiences in the field. These include poor binocular skills and poor trail walking and field craft skills. They also struggle with bird identification and learning bird song or calls. The Birding Essentials workshop is a one day intensive where I share the tips, tricks and know-how that will help you get past these hurdles and start getting a whole lot more out of your birding experiences.
Workshop Fee: $180.00 per person
Bird Watching: Start your birding journey
Bird Watching is a complete birding course designed to take beginners, irregular birders and nature lovers from their early steps in birding through to a mastery of all the field craft and know-how to create a lifetime of joy and wonder in nature.
Bird Watching is delivered over four months and comprised of four ebooks, four zoom conferences, six field trips and three engaging field assignments. The course is structured to progressively build the field skills, practical and theoretical know-how to make you a confident birder with a deeper understanding of the lives and stories of birds.
Aussie Wild acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land which we visit, the Dharawal and Darug people. We pay our respect to their elders past, present and emerging.