146 Birds on Country

About this episode

You can learn a lot about a place by noticing which birds are still there. Kai Hill-Crofts shares stories of birds, ecology and growing up on Country.

Birds featured: Eastern Osprey, Superb Fairywren, White-bellied Sea-eagle

Episode illustration: White-bellied Sea-eagle

Resources

• Kai on Instagram

• Habitat Warriors website and socials

• Yedabila Habitat Pods project

• 7 Seasons Documentary website

• Ecology and Restoration Australia website and socials

• Eco Warriors Australia website and socials

• Co-exist Australia website

Meet the guest

Kai Hill-Crofts is a proud Yorta-Yorta and Barapa-Barapa man with connections to Dja Dja Wurrung and Wurundjeri, passionate about sharing his culture and knowledge. He works as a trainee ecologist and Traditional Owner representative at Ecology & Restoration Australia, co-leads the Habitat Warriors initiative, and serves as Vice President of Eco Warriors Australia, focusing on Indigenous-led conservation and education.

• Transcript

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:00:01]
  Right now I'm currently at Maldon driving through, so I'm on the drive around Country. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta and Barapa Barapa man with connections to Dja Dja Wurrung and Wurundjeri. I'd like to acknowledge the Country I'm standing on, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

  Kirsty Costa [00:00:17]
  And I would like to acknowledge that I'm on the Country of the people of south-east Melbourne. It's such a privilege to live, work and play on this incredible Country with its bushlands, wetlands, waterways, ocean and sky. I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to their families.

  Welcome to Weekend Birder. I'm Kirsty Costa, and here, together, we notice birds. And joining us today is Kai Hill-Crofts. I've been a big fan of Kai's for a while now, so I'm thrilled to introduce him to you.

  Hi Kai. For people who don't know you, would you like to introduce yourself?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:01:10]
  I'm Kai. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta and Barapa Barapa man. I'm a trainee ecologist for Ecology & Restoration Australia. So I do a lot of field work across Victoria and across Australia.

  I also co-lead our school programs called Habitat Warriors. My role in that is creating a living classroom for schoolchildren. We run a lot of revegetation programs where we go from plant propagation to seed collection to planting days, and then we also do monitoring classes where we turn students into environmental scientists.

  I also run cultural heritage classes within that. It's all about learning from 65,000 years ago. I get the students to close their eyes, and then they learn how Indigenous kids learnt back in the day - through dance, through songlines and through Dreamtime stories and through artwork. There's no pen or paper. It's all outdoor classes.

  And that's a bit about me.

  Kirsty Costa [00:02:11]
  Thanks, Kai. One of my favourite questions to ask Weekend Birder guests is how did birds first come into your life? And I'm wondering how this journey of being an ecologist and educator started for you.

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:02:23]
  I've been working in the environmental industry for about four and a half years, and it started with a company called Wetland Revival Trust.

  Our main goal was working up in northern Victoria around the Kerang area, and we restore farm dams and revive wetlands. It's all on Country where I've grown up. The Indigenous word for Kerang means surrounded by water.

  Now that I'm older and a trainee ecologist, I realise there are over 30 Ramsar sites where I grew up. We're surrounded by water. Now I get the privilege to come back and do surveys - fish, frogs, birds - and get to see healthy ecosystems thrive.

  Kirsty Costa [00:03:13]
  That's really awesome that you're continuing to care for the Country where you grew up. And I'm curious to know whether you would consider yourself a birdwatcher.

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:03:22]
  In the last 12 months I've really started to become a birder. But my younger brother Taj is one of the best birders I've ever met.

  Growing up, we were rescue carers. If there were animals around the district, they'd come to us. We had Tawny Frogmouths at one stage. I remember looking out at night and seeing them, along with nightjars.

  I've always been surrounded by birds, but it's only now that I've started actively looking for them.

  Kirsty Costa [00:04:07]
  Do you still get to go birdwatching with Taj now?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:04:10]
  Yeah. He's an Indigenous ranger now, and we do bird surveys together. It's almost like a friendly competition - who can find the next bird.

  Unfortunately, he's winning by a mile, but I won't tell him that.

  It's always good to get out together. I still remember the first time I got paid to do bird surveys. I never thought that would be my job.

  And now my younger sister is starting to get into it as well, which is really nice.

  Kirsty Costa [00:04:55]
  I love that. You're not the first Weekend Birder guest to say there's a sibling competition when it comes to birdwatching.

  You're working on some really interesting conservation projects that combine ecology and traditional knowledge. One of these is the edible habitat pods. Can you tell us about it?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:05:15]
  The edible habitat pods are traditionally woven out of lignum or bulrush.

  The idea started for small native fish like the Southern Purple-spotted Gudgeon. We created habitat structures in waterways. Then someone suggested trying them for Superb Fairywrens.

  There's a Dreamtime story about the Superb Fairywren being linked to lignum bush. And because we build the pods from lignum, it made sense to trial them as nesting structures.

  The fibres are soft when weaving, but once dry they become very strong. We're now trialling them in places like Westgate Park and Royal Park.

  We've already seen fairywrens checking them out.

  Kirsty Costa [00:07:08]
  It's such a cool project. Can you describe what the pods look like?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:07:31]
  Imagine a washing basket shape. The inside is woven with bulrush, and the outside is lignum. It looks like a little hut.

  We build them in groups, sharing knowledge. You're weaving together traditional knowledge, local knowledge and Western science.

  Kirsty Costa [00:08:36]
  I love that - weaving three sciences together.

  You're also doing this work in schools. Can you tell us about that?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:08:52]
  We connect birds with Indigenous astronomy.

  There are constellations based on birds like the Emu, crow, Red-rumped Parrot and Wedge-tailed Eagle. Birds are predictable in their breeding cycles, so they were used as seasonal indicators.

  We teach students how everything connects - the sky, the birds and the plants.

  Kirsty Costa [00:11:05]
  I think there are a lot of adults who would love to learn this too.

  I've been learning about the seven seasons of the Country I live on. Can you share what you know about seasons?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:11:42]
  I look at seasonal indicators like birds and plants.

  When we see Rainbow Bee-eaters or kingfishers arrive, we know warmer weather is coming. When they leave, we know it's cooling down.

  It's about reading what's happening around you, not just relying on the four-season calendar.

  Kirsty Costa [00:13:04]
  I hope people start to see the living world differently after listening to you.

  You've grown up around Gunbower. What's it like?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:13:27]
  Gunbower Island is the biggest inland island in Australia. It's called the Kakadu of the south.

  The birdlife is incredible. You can see hundreds of birds in one area - egrets, darters, ducks.

  When I see birds nesting, I know it's healthy Country.

  Kirsty Costa [00:14:59]
  As someone who's lived there for a long time, what changes have you seen?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:15:22]
  There's definitely been change. The water isn't as clear. Some birds like osprey used to be there but aren't anymore.

  When I think of birds becoming rarer, it makes me reflect on what's changing.

  Kirsty Costa [00:16:38]
  We talk about natural history in Western science, but there's also deep knowledge held by First Peoples.

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:17:21]
  Language holds a lot of knowledge. For example, there's a word for lyrebird in areas where you wouldn't expect them. It makes you wonder about movement across Country.

  Kirsty Costa [00:18:21]
  Traditional knowledge is living and evolving, just like science.

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:18:41]
  You're always learning. Every time you go out, you notice something new.

  Kirsty Costa [00:18:56]
  For someone starting out, what would you want them to know?

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:19:22]
  Find people who enjoy the same things. Go out together, share what you see.

  Just get out there and start. You won't stop once you begin.

  Kirsty Costa [00:20:19]
  And that's how I ended up hosting a bird podcast.

  Kai Hill-Crofts [00:20:22]
  Haha

  Kirsty Costa [00:20:24]
  Kai, thank you. This has been such a meaningful conversation.

  I'll put links in the show notes if people want to learn more or connect with you.

  And to listeners, thank you for being part of this community. Speak to you again soon.

← Back to all episodes