03 Beginner Tips
About this episode
Lazy birdwatching is still birdwatching, and honestly, it might be the best kind. Author and illustrator Georgia Angus shares beginner tips, seasonal plumage and the birds that helped shape 100 Australian Birds.
Episode illustration: Australasian Grebe
Georgia Angus is an author and illustrator based in Naarm/Melbourne, living and working on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. Her first book '100 Australian Birds' was published in 2021. This book offers an introduction to birdwatching through illustrations, ecological information and anecdotal notes. Georgia wrote her book based on her own experiences as a budding birdwatcher, helping other beginners in their journey to learn more about some of Australia’s unique animals.
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Kirsty: This episode was recorded on the Countries of the Bunurong Boonwurrung and the Wurundjeri peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation. I would like to pay my respect to Elders both past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people listening to this podcast.
Kirsty: Welcome to Weekend Birder. I'm your host, Kirsty Costa, and I'm a teacher and conservationist. Today you and I are going to learn from Georgia Angus. Georgia is an author and illustrator, working on Wurundjeri Country, and I'm thrilled that she is here to teach us some of the basics of birdwatching. Here is how Georgia discovered her love of birds and nature.
Georgia: I was very fortunate in that I grew up with a family that were really keen on camping and bushwalking and being outdoors. And so I think it was this inevitable area of passion for me that was going to arise. It's almost like not a matter of choice when you've grown up in those circumstances, I think, because you realize how much it's a time of reset, but it's also family connection time. I think very much just growing up and going out to the bush, but then having a little while of living in the city and not getting out to the bush, I think then reawakened this love of bushwalking in me. So I think in more recent years, getting back out, I realised how much that was just refilling my tank and it was where I had so much more curiosity about what was going on in the world. And yeah, so I think it was very much just spending time outdoors and just noticing.
Kirsty: When I picked up Georgia's book, '100 Australian Birds', I felt like it had been written just for me as a beginner bird watcher. Here is the story of how her book came about.
Georgia: I'd spent several years starting to learn the birdwatching ropes, but not really considering myself to be a truly experienced birdwatcher. I still felt like I had so much to learn. In my spare time, I was doing a fair bit of art and a bit of writing, but I'd never brought it to a particular area of focus. And then a good friend of mine was working with Hardie Grant as an editor and she just mentioned that there was a bit of interest in having a book written about starting birdwatching as a beginner. Like a bridging opportunity for people who don't maybe know as much, people who might not want a full scientific style field guide. And so on a whim I was like, "Well, maybe I could have a crack at that". I ended up contacting the publisher and then from there, the idea of the book, the concept of what it would be and how it would look, really built as a collaborative process, which was really wonderful because I think I had a sense of maybe what I would have liked from a book, but then talking to people externally, it was very much thinking, "Oh, actually, maybe I need to dial it back and make it even more basic, or maybe I need more detail in other areas". It was a bit collaborative, I guess, the way that it came together. And then suddenly I found myself thinking, "Okay, I have to choose 100 birds and draw them all!"
Kirsty: Australia is the home to approximately 830 amazing species of birds. Georgia says that one of the challenges of writing her book was choosing only 100 birds to focus on.
Georgia: There's definitely been moments thinking back, I was like, "Oh, if only I could have maybe squeezed an extra picture in here". It was challenging because I think I just love so many birds and I don't know if you're the same, but every time I learn about another species in more detail, I just think, "Oh, that's fascinating. I could write about this!". The main way I went about it was prioritising birds that you can see in a fair few different environments in Australia. I was hoping that most people in the major cities in Australia would have a decent chance of seeing the species that I picked. That said, I also included a few more tantalising, rarer species that were less likely to be seen, like the Mallee Fowl. I think your likelihood of maybe going to see a Mallee Fowl is pretty low unless you live out in the Mallee areas. But I think it's such a fascinating species and it goes to show the amazing diversity of Australian birds. So they were the open access, entry level birds if you will, but then the slightly more tantalising further afield birds to hopefully get people a little bit more excited about getting out and exploring. I think as soon as you start learning about any of them though, they become these objects of fascination where you just think,"Oh, I've just got to observe them and learn more". It was a very tricky to narrow down, but I thought it was great to just try and get a cross-section of different environments. And then the ones with the most fascinating behaviours and ones that seem like everyday creatures to us but have really complex lives.
Kirsty: While she was researching, writing and illustrating her book, Georgia had to increase her knowledge about Australian birds. Here's what she found out.
Georgia: There were a lot of things that I realised I didn't know about birds going into this. They are these creatures that you count all the time, you think you grow up around birds and you know what they are. But then thinking more broadly, I was realizing like, "Oh, these are literally the only feathered creatures on the planet and they lay eggs, isn't that weird? And helps them make incredibly intricate nests". They truly are direct descendants of the dinosaurs. All of these little details that I'd never stopped to consider even learning about the furcula, which is the breastbone (the wishbone) that you would break it if you'd had chicken for dinner. It's actually this really special bone that all birds have, which allows them to fly. So without that one tiny wishbone, they're not capable of flight. And just all those details that you haven't had a chance to look at because you haven't taken the time to learn. So I think for me, the book was an opportunity to get lost in those details, whether or not I had room to put them all in the book.
Georgia: So that was a steep learning curve. By the same token, I think it was learning about individual species of bird, realizing that every single one is completely fascinating and has so much yet to be learned about. Like the Bowerbirds - I think I'd seen them in the neighborhood, but to learn about their bower making process and then they take about seven years to get into full maturity to breeding plumage. And to think that these are birds that are just knocking around the neighborhood that you could see all the time! But they have these really complex private lives. And I didn't know that Australian Wood Ducks nest in a hollow, and that the ducklings take this amazing leap of faith after they've hatched to get down to the ground. The more I spoke to experts and the more that I kept reading, the more I realised that every single Australian bird is fascinating and has a really strange set of survival skills.
Kirsty: In her illustrations, Georgia highlights the features of different birds and what sets them apart from the rest. This meant that she had to spend a lot of time focusing on bird plumage. That's a fancy way of saying the feathers on a bird.
Georgia: Birds are the only feathered animals that are primarily represented by the colour and pattern of their feathers. So that's really useful as a birdwatcher. That's one of the main things that we're using, it's our first step to ID-ing a species. The curveball that nature has thrown at us is that birds, depending on their life stage and depending on the species, might have different plumage at different times of the year. You might see a bird in Spring and think, "Okay, I've ID-ed that bird, I know what it is and I'll know when I see it again". But then in Winterthey might actually have a different set of feathers, so that can trip you up. So it's just an opportunity to learn a little bit more about their cycles.
Georgia: There are three main distinguishing forms of plumage that's good to know about. Actually, I saw that you just had posted a really great infographic about decoding Superb Fairywrens at different life stages, and I think tools like that are really helpful because it shows that depending on the age of the bird, a young bird might have one set of plumage when they're growing up, and then when they reach sexual maturity they might then have a different set of feathers. So that's probably the first main form of plumage difference, between young and fully mature birds. And you'd see that in Red-browed Finches or whistlers come to mind Australian whistlers like Rufous Whistler or Golden Whistler. So the young birds will look a little different from the adults.
Georgia: And then there's also seasonal plumage. So for instance the Australasian Grebe, which is a little beautiful water bird in the cooler months, will have one set of plumage and then in the warmer months will have a more vibrant, spectacular set of plumage which we call breeding plumage. And so that's about finding a reproductive partner. And then as they molt, they then would go back to slightly less costly and less vibrant plumage. And then the third form of plumage difference is sexual dimorphism. So some bird species will have different presentation of gender. The female birds, the one that comes to mind, is Superb Lyrebirds. The female lyrebird has a very dense brown tail with rich long dense feathers. And then the male Superb Lyrebird has these beautiful, delicate, ornate, lyre-shaped tail feathers. So yeah, a lot of that is also about seeking out a mate and showing that you have all of this extra energy. You're such a wonderful resource gatherer that you can expend all of this extra fuel to make yourself look spectacular. So of course, this must be a good mate. So that's what that's about. Yeah. So those are all wonderful things to start keeping an eye out for when you first start birdwatching.
Kirsty: Georgia is a big fan of what she calls incidental birdwatching in her local area.
Georgia: I must confess that I'm a big fan of the art of lazy birdwatching, which is a matter of taking advantage of where you are, depending on what you're doing in a day. I'm lucky in that I tend to prioritize making time to go out bushwalking. But I also find myself birdwatching a lot in moments that I might have spare, say, waiting for an appointment or walking in the park. Things that maybe you wouldn't necessarily outwardly think I'm going with the purpose of birdwatching. But sometimes you just find yourself in a moment observing things and allowing yourself to take a moment to just let your curiosity spark about something and really focus in on what's going on around you that maybe you hadn't tuned into before. So I do think it can be really helpful, at least for me, because if you have a busy life to imagine saying, "I'm going to take a full weekend and I'm going to drive to go to the Grampians and to go birdwatching". It's lovely in theory, but not everyone has access to that.
Georgia: So I think it can be really wonderful to just say, “I'm going to try and walk a little bit more slowly as I go around the neighbourhood and when I hear a noise I'm going to tune in". Like just today I was working here at home in the Dandenong Ranges and I heard this enormous sheep out on the veranda and this two King Parrots had arrived on the verandah and were just cruising around and having a look at our washing that was hanging out there. So it was a nice opportunity for me, I guess, to just put everything down for just a minute and to go out and have a look and see what they were doing. But I would say also it's just wonderful when you talk to community members and they say, "I've just seen this thing down at the local park" or "I've seen this bird so head there and check it out". I think word of mouth is really good as well.
Kirsty: When Georgia does head out into the bush for a more adventurous birdwatching trip, she makes sure that she is prepared.
Georgia: Well, I like to pack a bit of food and water, and it just depends a little bit on how long of a walk you're planning on going on. But usually there are essentials that you want to cover, no matter how long or short you plan the walk on being. Because oftentimes you might think, "I'm going to go out for just a two hour walk. That'll be fine". And then inevitably you see something fascinating and suddenly you've seen a Powerful Owl in the tree and you've just got to hang out and take more time. So my motto would be just to be prepared and you avoid regret in that way. So I like to pack a map, a first aid kit, some form of communication (so probably a phone with maybe an external charger if you feel like your phone's a little bit unreliable). Water - I usually take a thermos of tea with me just so I can sit and have a cuppa in the bush, which is one of the best moments usually for me. I have a trusty walking stick which has been on me on so many different treks, which I usually try and disinfect the tip of it with tea tree oil between bushwalk so I'm not carrying too many microbes between different places. A head torch and batteries, just the backup in case you caught out after dark. Plenty of layers - sometimes you can get a bit cooler than you'd expect to in a walk, especially if you're somewhere nice and damp like in a rainforest. So some layers and by the same token, some sun protection, so hat and sunscreen. Definitely taking some snacks and then a little bit of extra food, maybe more than you would necessarily expect to eat on a walk, partly because you're spending a lot of energy when you're walking. But also just in case you want to spend a bit more time out than you plan to initially. Packing some loo paper and some toiletries is a good idea. I usually will throw in some matches or a lighter, just a source of flame. If it's just a more an insurance policy than anything else. A multitool can be good - a pocket knife or something like that. And then for longer walks I'll tend to throw in an emergency whistle, which is just a way to let people know where you are if you're some reason stuck somewhere. I also have a small personal locator beacon, which is very much for a set of those longer and more remote walks. But that's just a tiny pocket device where essentially if you're stuck somewhere, you can pull out an antenna and press the button, it'll send a signal out and then emergency services are able to find you. So yeah, these are just backup options for just in case something goes wrong. And I just think it's good to have peace of mind when you're walking. That way you're not ever feeling like on edge about whether or not you have these insurance policies in place. And then, of course, I usually have my binoculars with me. Yeah, sometimes a camera. Sometimes it's nice not to take a camera and just try and be in the moment with your binos. Yeah, those are the main things.
Kirsty: Georgia has learnt a lot about birds through her research and writing her book. She has two pieces of advice for beginner birdwatchers.
Georgia: I have a wonderful set of binos that were gifted to me and I have a camera if I want to go and take photos. And I have lots of field guides, which is really wonderful. And these are all gifts that you receive if people know that you're a bird nerd at heart. But I think maybe the strongest 'birdwatching tool' (air quotes) is your community. And I think that's really about going out and being open to having conversations with people who are also interested in nature. Especially if you're going somewhere that you're not super familiar with, usually when you encounter someone on a bushwalk and you have a little chat, you can learn a lot from people that know the area in a different way to you. And then when you if you do have a crew of people that you like to birdwatch with, those conversations that you have, I think, at least in my experience, are the ones that are where I learn the most. You know, of course we have wonderful field guides as resources and I've learnt so much from them. But I think often it's been talking to people and having the opportunity to go out walking with people that are really knowledgeable. That's, you know, for me that's been where I've learnt the most and where I've found the most appreciation for the Australian environment is those conversations with really experienced, fascinating people.
Georgia: One other little component is patience, which sounds like a very silly tool, but I think it's something that I really have to practice, is allowing yourself to take a moment and be engaged. Because I think if you live a fast paced lifestyle, which most of us do, it can be really hard to just give yourself permission to go and take some quiet time and to get lost in a moment, which, you know, that sounds a bit a little bit, I don't know, a bit floozy or something, but I think it can be really hard to just say, "I'm going to take the extra 10 minutes to just be in the moment and find some stillness and looking at birds and being curious and allowing that to take over". So yeah, community and patience.
Kirsty: Writing '100 Australian Birds' has really made Georgia think about the importance of birds in our lives.
Georgia: There's something special about birds and I'm not sure if it's maybe their presence in our everyday lives. That means that we really tune into them and we find them engaging. But also they're very charismatic creatures, you know, they show a lot of character. Like, I think even watching a magpie that stalks across your front lawn, you know. It's been this creature that no doubt would have had territory where you're living for a really long time. And they share our space maybe in a way that a lot of other creatures don't. So I think some of it's about proximity but there's also something else special about birds and I don't know I don't know if I can exactly put my finger on it, other than that they're a gateway to the wild for us. Especially in places where maybe we don't have access to that otherwise or don't have that sense of immediacy around non-human spaces. They're a very grounding presence, especially if you're living in an urban area. I think if you're in an office and you're working for the day, but you can look at and you can see that there's a bird making a nest in the park down the road or you're seeing Masked Plovers stalking on the nature strip even if it's in the middle of a busy area. I think that can be a really special way of getting some perspective on life, which is a very philosophical way of looking at birds. In my experience, what I find is that they bring me back to ground.
Kirsty: I'm so grateful that Georgia could join us today and that she poured her love and talents into her book, '100 Australian Birds'. It's a book that I personally treasure and one that I gift to friends and family who love birds too. You can find out more about Georgia by visiting www.weekendbirder.com. Keep updated on the latest news by following us on the usual social media channels. And now it's time to head outside for some incidental birdwatching.
