Hastings Bird Watchers, a group of nature enthusiasts from Port Macquarie, recently visited the local area.
Led by vice president Dr Ted Giblin, more than a dozen club members travelled to Narrabri to explore the area and native wildlife.
Some of the places the bird watchers visited included Clay Dam and Bohena Creek in Pilliga, a number of Narrabri waterways and Sawn Rocks.
They stayed at the Narrabri Big Sky Caravan Park, heading out to different parts of the district together each day.
“The park has been very accommodating, we’re happy with the service and value for money,” Dr Giblin reported.
The group usually aims to take these trips biannually, but has felt the impact of the ongoing pandemic.
“We try to do two of these camps away from home twice a year, one in spring and another in autumn,” Hastings Bird Watchers member Peter Hudd explained.
“Obviously COVID has had an impact, so we haven’t been able to travel as much as we’d like.
“The pandemic has also affected our membership numbers, so while we can usually have up to 30 people on these camps, we only have about half of that this time.”
Even with reduced numbers, the team are still excited to be back doing what they love, in a town that’s great for the activity.
“North west NSW is fantastic for bird watching, because you can often find both eastern and western species here,” Dr Giblin explained.
“Our group has travelled to Bingara on a camp before, but this is our first time in Narrabri, and it’s just such a wonderful spot.
“Yesterday alone, we spotted 83 bird species – all together we’ve seen more than 150.
“It’s the perfect location for bird watching, we were actually surprised there isn’t a greater local interest in the activity – perhaps, if groups like ours continue to spread the word, more people will want to get involved in the hobby.”
The group gather every evening to compare notes at their daily ‘bird call’ meeting, where they share their findings.
Some of the varieties they’ve spotted include black-eared cuckoos, red-capped robins, blue-billed ducks, speckled warblers and four types of wood swallows in just two days.
Many of these bird sightings aren’t possible on the coast, which is why the team have travelled hours from home for the camp.
They planned on exploring all of the town’s major water bodies, including Narrabri Creek, Yarrie Lake, the Namoi River, Lagoon Creek and the Narrabri West Lake.
As at the time of their Courier interview, they’ve had the most success at the West Lake given the site’s unique biodiversity.
“We really had a terrific time at the lake, it was just jumping with a whole range of birds when we visited this morning,” Dr Giblin said.
The group has also been quite impressed with the local infrastructure, which has helped with their bird watching adventures.
“Narrabri Shire has some great footpaths, cycling tracks and public facilities – our compliments to the chef,” Dr Giblin said.
“This kind of investment is a great asset to country towns, especially when it comes to tourism and recreational pastimes.”
Apart from the unique wildlife and reliable infrastructure, Hastings Bird Watchers also picked Narrabri because of familiarity.
“Local agriculture expert Jack Murray is actually related to a couple in our group, and the two members also have family in nearby Tamworth,” Dr Giblin explained.
“So, we feel quite at home here in Narrabri.”
See photos of local birds spotted by the group, below.
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