Cowra showed up in force for our ‘Birds in the Club’ event held at Club Cowra on 6th Feb. This evening of edu-tainment, featured four fantastic speakers, each with strong ties to our local area and each fantastically passionate about what they do. It was clear to all of us that Cowra is a hot-bed of talent, enthusiasm and dedication when it comes to birds.
Our speakers for the night from Left to Right. Jayden Gunn, Damon Oliver, Warren Chad, Dan Florance 
Robbie Watt with Tamara Harris (Local Land Services Natural Capital Advisor) 
Tracee Burke. Mid Lachlan Landcare Coordinator 
Our ‘How Far Did You Travel?’ Question 
Will Johnson & Mikla Lewis 
Warren Chad 
Great Buffet by Club Cowra 
Marion Mitchell & Will Johnson 
Robbie Watt & Andrew Wooldridge 
Catching up with friends 
Tamara Harris with Jayden Gunn 
Nikki Kiss with Jayden Gunn 
Jayden Gunn 
Dan Florence 
Damon Oliver 
Warren Chad and his Birdwatching skit 
Art by Warren Chad 
Amanda Foxon-Hill (Mid Lachlan Landcare) with Nikki Kiss
Damon Oliver updated us on the Saving our Superb Parrot initiative, driving home the message that without people like us planting paddock trees and conserving box gum grassy woodland, this iconic and much loved species would really be up against it.
Next Dan Florance talked about the Australian National University’s Sustainable Farms project, focusing on what he’s seen while out surveying properties in our area. He finished up with his top-tips for creating a more bird friendly world.
After a delicious tea break (thanks Club Cowra) Jayden Gunn shared his passion for the Glossy Black Cockatoo with us, updating us on his work with Birdlife Australia and delighting us with his stunning photography.
We finished the talks with Warren Chad (Chaddy) who took us on a meandering bird-focused journey down the Lachlan River (Kalari Billa) from Cowra to the Great Cumbung Swamp, finishing up with a hilarious poem called ‘The Bird Watcher’ (or at least I think that’s what it was called)!
Cowra is well placed to take advantage of the trend in birdwatching tourism thanks to our geographical positioning along a bird migratory pathway, our long-standing Cowra Woodland bird surveying, impressive range of birds on farms participants & work we are doing to protect habitat for threatened bird species
‘International visitors spent $2.6 billion on travel that involved birdwatching in the year to June 2024, according to data from Tourism Research Australia, while domestic overnight travellers spent $636 million over the same period, up from $414 million in 2021 — a 53 per cent increase, national visitor survey data showed.‘
ABC new report 15th February
Thanks to everyone who supported this event, helping us raise awareness of the beautiful but threatened bird species in our region.
This event was made possible thanks to funding from Central Tablelands Local Land Services.
Links
Mid Lachlan Landcare 