122 Pardalotes and Parrots
About this episode
Some of Australia’s rarest birds are hiding in one place. Australia’s 2025 Top Tour Guide, Cat Davidson, shares the magic of Inala on Bruny Island - home to Forty-spotted Pardalotes, Swift Parrots and Tasmania’s other incredible birdlife.
Birds featured: Forty-spotted Pardalote, Snowy Owl, Striated Pardalote, Swift Parrot, Wedge-tailed Eagle
Places featured:
Episode illustration: Forty-spotted Pardalote
Resources
Forty Spotted Pardalote recording by Barry Edmonston (XC794625) from xeno-canto.org
Swift Parrot recording by Ramit Singal
Meet the guest
Cat Davidson is a birding and ecology guide working currently as part of the Inala Nature Tours guiding team. She worked in Lamington National Park in lush subtropical Queensland as a bird guide and prior to that as a war & wildlife tour guide in the remote and windswept Falkland Islands. She now guides predominantly around Tasmania, but also travels around Australia to lead birding tours, often in West Australia and the Top End. Cat has been the coordinator for several of the Bruny Island Bird Festivals. She co-created and co-presented the Inala Beginners Guide to Birdwatching with friend and colleague Dr Cat Young, and in September 2025 Cat won both the Tasmanian Tour Guide of the Year award and then the Australian Tour Guide of the Year award.
This episode also contains voice recordings from Weekend Birder Meet-up participants Ramit Singal as well as Arimbi, Arwen, Jason and Jodie.
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Kirsty Costa [00:00:00]
I would like to acknowledge that I am on Lunawanna-alonnah (Bruny Island), on the Country of the Palawa people. I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the deep and continuing connection to land, sea and sky.Kirsty Costa [00:01:06]
This is the Weekend Birder podcast - a show about Australia’s birds and the people who love them. I’m your bird-loving buddy, Kirsty Costa. I’ve just returned from the Weekend Birder Hobart meet-up in Tasmania, which took place during Aussie Bird Count week. It was an incredible experience. Nineteen of us came together on the Country of Tasmania’s First Peoples, exploring bush, coast, wetlands and mountains. A highlight of the trip was visiting Inala Conservation Reserve on Bruny Island. I’m thrilled to welcome Cat Davidson, a birding and ecology guide with Inala Nature Tours, to share more about this special place.Cat Davidson [00:01:59]
I’m Scottish, and I grew up on the shores of Loch Ness surrounded by incredible landscapes. My childhood was full of being outside - climbing, exploring, noticing. I wasn’t a birder at first. It wasn’t until I was working in the Arctic Circle that I had a moment that changed everything. I was scanning for polar bears when a snowbank blinked at me. It was a Snowy Owl just a few metres away. That moment completely captured me. From there, I slowly fell deeper into birds and never came back out.Kirsty Costa [00:04:08]
Cat eventually made her way to Australia and now calls Tasmania home.Cat Davidson [00:05:23]
I came to Australia on a working holiday visa and ended up staying. I worked in different places before eventually finding my way to O’Reilly’s in Queensland. I kept asking guides where the best place to work was, and one name kept coming up - Inala. I met Tonia Cochran and essentially told her we would work together. Thankfully, she agreed. I’ve now been on Bruny Island for years, working alongside an incredible team.Kirsty Costa [00:09:52]
Cat says her connection to birds has been largely self-taught.Cat Davidson [00:08:23]
Everything I know is self-taught. I immersed myself in books, people and experiences. My guests are often experts, so I’m constantly learning. It’s a never-ending process, and that’s what makes it so fascinating.Kirsty Costa [00:10:06]
Cat’s heart now belongs to Bruny Island.Cat Davidson [00:10:06]
Bruny Island is like Tasmania condensed. You have incredible habitat diversity in a very small space. All 12 of Tasmania’s endemic bird species can be found there, including at Inala Conservation Reserve. It’s a refuge for species like the Forty-spotted Pardalote and Swift Parrot. Conservation work on the island has helped protect these birds and their habitat.Kirsty Costa [00:15:59]
At Inala Conservation Reserve, our group saw over 40 bird species in just a few hours.Participant - Arwen [00:18:29]
The most magical moment for me was seeing Forty-spotted Pardalotes right next to me as they foraged. Knowing their endangered status made it even more special.Kirsty Costa [00:20:08]
The Forty-spotted Pardalote is a tiny bird found only in Tasmania. Conservation efforts at Inala have helped support its survival.Cat Davidson [00:20:08]
Inala is some of the best birding in Tasmania. You can see an incredible diversity of birds in a short time. The forests are alive with honeyeaters, robins and pardalotes. It’s an emotional experience - you feel both joy and concern, knowing how fragile some of these species are.Cat Davidson [00:22:30]
One unforgettable moment for me was seeing four Wedge-tailed Eagles together in a tree. They allowed me to get incredibly close before flying directly over me. It felt like I had interrupted something special.Kirsty Costa [00:26:16]
Cat says visiting Bruny Island is an experience that rewards time.Cat Davidson [00:26:57]
Stay longer than you think. Don’t rush it. Let the place sink in. Spend time noticing, listening and being present. It’s a place with deep cultural and ecological layers.Kirsty Costa [00:28:49]
Cat also shared some advice for anyone wanting to get into birdwatching.Cat Davidson [00:28:49]
Have humility. You don’t need to know everything. You can just see a bird and love it. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you need to know more to belong. Your experience is valid.Kirsty Costa [00:32:46]
Thank you so much to Cat Davidson for sharing her knowledge and passion. I’ll speak to you again soon.
