|
A website to promote birdwatching, our club, and the birds of the Toowoomba region. A quick look at our bird list and you'll see we're spoilt for choice with around 300 species recorded in our official survey area covering the greater Toowoomba region. 
Our charter is: " To encourage the observation and study of the birds of the Toowoomba region". To do so, we focus on educating and keeping birders up to date on the local scene. We're here to help anyone interested in knowing more about the local birdlife, whether you're a local or a visitor, beginner or expert, casual observer or highly strung twitcher. Why birdwatch? There's something about birds, isn't there? It's hard to ignore them so why not get to know them better? David Attenborough sums it up nicely in the Foreward to his book, "The Life of Birds": "They are lively; they are lovely; and they are everywhere. They have characters with which we can easily identify - cheeky and shy, gentle and vicious, faithful - and faithless. Many enact the dramas of their lives in full view to see. They are part of our own world yet, at a clap of our hands, they lift into the air and vanish into their own with a facility that we can only envy. And they are an ever present link with the natural world that lies beyond our brick walls. It is hardly surprising that human beings have studied birds with a greater dedication and intensity than they have lavished on any other group of animal."
Challenging? It's up to you. You can simply enjoy one of life's simple pleasures at your own pace in your own private patch, or get out there and go for broke. You can concentrate on an area, study particular species, combine birding with photography, or art. You can become a twitcher and see how many species you can find in a day, a month, a year and a lifetime.
How many species on the Australian list can you see in a year? The record's 703! Therapeutic? Definitely! Think of it as meditation with ears peeled and eyes wide open. It's economical too and can be done anytime, anywhere. Apart from a decent pair of binoculars and a field guide or two, the only other expenses are your travel costs. Once hooked, birdwatching will provide a lifetime of enjoyment. It is also has advantages being mainly a morning pastime. You can indulge without disrupting the whole day! You'll quickly realise that it's very much an awareness thing. Once you're "tuned in" you'll be surprised just how many species are around and how fascinating they can be. You'll start visiting places you ordinarily would not go to. Places you didn't even know existed. Boring drives suddenly become interesting and the changing scenery takes on a new meaning. The need to pull over every now and then to check out a bird or a habitat is birdwatching's in-built "driver reviver" scheme.
Holidays, day trips, picnics etc will become far more memorable with increased awareness of the birds around you. Keeping a diary of your sightings is a great memory prompt of times and places when you come to write those memoirs! Why the club? We exist simply because we enjoy a common passion - birds. Many of us are particularly interested in the birds found locally, so a focussed, local club suits our needs perfectly. We provide a means for local birdwatchers to share birding experiences through our outings and through our monthly newsletter. In doing this, we contribute to the knowledge of our Australian birds and that surely will always be a good thing! ID problems? We're here to help you and we enjoy doing it. It's not so hard. Many species are very easy to identify once you acquire some basic knowledge and possess the tools of the trade - binoculars and a field guide. If you have an ID problem, why not post a query on our Forum ? Absolute beginner? The club is here to serve everyone ! From beginners without a scrap of experience through to the most experienced birders, including those in the scientific community, but if you are a beginner you're in for an enlightening experience that's likely to change your lifestyle forever! It's true nothing gives birders more satisfaction than seeing new birds. The next best thing however is being able to help others do likewise and watching them blossom into competent birders. So, needless to say, we love beginners! The Toowoomba Bird Observers are an affiliated group of the Bird Observers Club of Australia. |
