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This page provides a brief introduction to the Birds Australia Victoria Committee. To contact any of the committee members please send an email to
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 Stuart Dashper - Convener
After completing a BSc in Zoology at La Trobe University in the early eighties I failed to show any great interest in birds and birdwatching for the next ten years. However all that has changed now and I can still remember the thrill of seeing my first Mistletoebird near Dight's Falls in Melbourne well over 15 years ago. I first became involved with Birds Australia when I accidentally established the Victorian Regional Group Conservation Committee in the mid-nineties, mainly to fight for better protection of the central Victorian Box and Ironback forests and their avifauna. I spend as much time as I can in these fabulous woodlands and I have carried out some studies on the mammals and birds of this region in conjunction with Birds Australia and the Field Naturalists Club. Apart from spending a reasonable amount of my leisure time wandering around Victoria trying to find and identify birds I also spent most of my holidays traveling through countries to our north in search of more exotic animals. As convenor I encourage you all to enjoy your involvement with Birds Australia.
 Ruth Woodrow - Secretary
Growing up in central Victoria my pet budgie and I went everywhere together (tucked up in my jacket!). He provided hours of entertainment for me and I have always had a special fondness for birds. After school I moved to Melbourne and spent 13 years working in law firms as a personal assistant (mainly to fulfil my travel bug). Then I realised that I needed to be doing something I really care about, so I completed a Diploma of Applied Science in Conservation Ecology and my passion for conservation and birds was revived. I commenced working for Parks Victoria and my husband Paul and I started visiting all the parks that Parks Victoria manages. At every park we were discovering new birds and started writing down what we saw. And slowly the addiction began. We invested in good camera lenses to help with identification and in 2005 we started officially recording our bird sightings. Paul and I now base our spare time and holidays around what birds we want to see. With an eventual goal of seeing every bird, we are finding the journey extremely rewarding. We have made and renewed lots of friendships along the way and are continually amazed at the generosity of fellow birdwatchers.
Lois Martin - Treasurer
My interest in birds began in the UK. At university, I enjoyed a week's study of the behaviour of Herring Gull on Lundy Island just north of Devon as part of an ethology subject in my psychology degree. I also studied mathematics, which I have found most valuable in my job as Treasurer of BA-Vic, have been involved in hearing research for many years and now am developing an interest in teaching and training. Recently I completed the Certificate in Ornithology, Charles Sturt University which has given me a much greater insight into birds, ecology and conservation. I passionately believe that contributing to a team is not only rewarding for the individual but enables organizations to achieve much more than the individual efforts alone. In psychology, they say that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts - and I am happy to be a part of the vision that Birds Australia has for conservation through knowledge.
 Penny Johns - VicBabbler Newsletter Editor
Having recently inherited my father's 1923 edition of Leach's Bird Book and with my father being instrumental in stopping quail shoots in our district in Tasmania I suppose I was destined to have an interest in birds. Soon after we acquired a holiday house at Flinders on the eastern edge of the Mornington Peninsula, in the mid eighties I began observing and recording the waders, particularly the Sooty Oystercatchers who are resident there. I was soon cajoled into the Wader Study Group by Clive Minton and so began my more serious interest in waders. Having retired 2 years ago the VWSG, wader recording and Birds Australia has become a consuming and enjoyable passion. My husband and I have been members of Birds Australia for about 20 years. I have been the co-editor of Vic Babbler for the past year, ably assisted by Sally Symonds, and a member of the BA-Vic Committee for the past 2 years.
 Fiona Parkin - Speaker Coordinator
I recall as a toddler getting up ecstatic every morning to watch the galahs feed on our front lawn in Adelaide. Now in my 30's I'm just as excited listening to the dawn chorus and watching birds go about their morning activities. I have always known that I would spend my life doing things to benefit Australian birds. After completing a BSc Honours in Conservation Biology & Ecology I worked in medical research, then at the Melbourne Museum looking at the population genetics of Australian birds and mammals. On the BA-Vic Committee my main responsibility is to organise our monthly public meetings and coordinate our invited speakers. I also assist with the Twitchathon, New Members' Night and festivals and enjoy promoting BA.
 James Dickson - Activities Coordinator
One of my first birding moments was when I was ten years old at my grandfather's house in Metung. There was a bright yellow, black and white bird hunting bugs on the window ledge. My dad identified it as a male Golden whistler.
Starting off in finance, I decided to bite the bullet several years ago and undertake a Science degree, where I majored in Zoology. I'm a camper/naturalist and this has allowed me to track down and observe much of Southeastern Australia's birdlife as well as make trips to Cape York and Kakadu. On my first trip with BA-Vic we were lucky to observe the rare Plains-wanderer. It is a big thrill to see a new species and it makes me think that some things are going right in conservation. It's fascinating when nature comes to the city as well. Just recently, I saw an Australian Hobby at Royal Park chase down a Starling in flight and a regular visitor to the Flagstaff Gardens, the impressive Powerful Owl.On the BA-Vic committee my main responsibility is to organise and coordinate activities.
 Tim Dolby - Twitchathon, Birdline Victoria Moderator
My background includes working as a rare books librarian and in publishing-and I'm currently teaching at Victoria University. I've been a birder all my life, receiving my first pair of binoculars when I was 2 years old. Some selected birding highlights include seeing flamingo at the Camargue, getting caught in a typhoon on a floating boardwalk at Mai Po, birding in the desert of Syria, a Wallcreeper in Montcuq en Query, stumbling across (literally) my first Powerful Owl near Bendigo, and listening to Olive-backed Oriole calling in my inner suburban backyard.
 Chris Lester - Pelagic Trips
I have been birding for 20 years (as I was a relatively late starter). I have travelled extensively around Victoria and Australia through that time and, more recently, in this current century have expanded my birding horizons to the rest of the world- most recently to South America. I am particularly interested in waders and seabirds.
 Paul Dodd
My entire working life has been sitting at a desk working with computers and technology, so having outside activities has always been important to me. Birding has been a relatively recent activity, having been persuaded by Ruth to go looking for the mythical Blue-billed Duck! Since successfully finding one of those we have travelled over a fair bit of Australia looking for birds, and also ventured overseas on birding trips. One of my regrets is that I was brought up in the UK and have travelled much of the world before being interested in birding, so who knows how many birds I have missed out on seeing! In addition to birding, I am also a keen scuba diver and I hold a private pilot's licence.
Volunteers Assisting the Committee
 Mark Anderson - Conservation Committee Convener
I have had a lifelong interest in wildlife, in particular birdlife, the beauty of wild things and wild places and in the preservation of our environment. I joined Birds Australia some years ago to further that interest and to try to contribute in some small way to our knowledge and to the preservation of birds and their environment. I have been on the committee for 4 years and have been the convener of the conservation committee for the last 18 months. I live in Melbourne and work in the field of computer information systems as they are applied to health and safety.
Richard Alcorn - Birdline Victoria
I've always enjoyed being in the bush, observing the plants and animals and helping out as a volunteer with various conservation projects. It's more than just fun; it's a passion to help preserve the diversity of life on earth.
 Barbara Burns - VicBabbler Newsletter Co-Editor
I have recently taken over the job of joint editor of The VicBabbler, working with Sally. I have been a member of Birds Australia for a couple of years but have been interested in birds for much longer. I partially retired two years ago to have more time to do the things I really enjoy. I love camping, travelling, bird watching, reading, learning about the natural world and being useful. I am a qualified accountant and as well as editing the VicBabbler I am the Honorary Treasurer of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. I work for various publishers on different types of projects and teach on a sessional basis at RMIT and Victoria University.
Naomi Hall - VicBabbler Newsletter Co-Editor
 Roger Richards - Devilbend Conservation Park
I have always been interested in the environment but really became involved in birds after a trip to the Antarctic in 1991. I then joined the Victorian Wader Study Group and Birds Australia and consider myself reasonably active with both when time permits. Originally trained as a civil engineer and spent 15 years mainly on construction of bridges, dams and tunnels before I saw the light. My wife, Annabel and I have thus spent the past quarter of a century running our own educational supplies business. We are both passionate about practical conservation activities and have spent much time involved in tree planting and weeding. We have worked on Wader Banding expeditions to Broome and Delaware Bay (USA) and went on an ecology study expedition through Siberia in 2002. We have 3 grown up daughters. I completed a Grad Dip in Ornithology at Charles Sturt University (Bathurst and Albury) in 2002, and am currently working on analysis of Broad-billed Sandpiper biometrics and moult (AWSG catch data between 1982 and 2000). I have been on the BA-Vic committee and the BA-Vic Conservation Committee for 3 years.
My main passion is forests and their wildlife, especially the birds. Woodlands are also wonderful places. Wetlands are pretty fantastic, too. As long as I am outside and in sight of a tree I am happy. Where there are trees there are birds and animals and mystery. What are the animals and how do they live their lives? Why do they use their habitat as they do and how and why do they interact with each other? Not so much a twitcher, more of a watcher and a wonderer.
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About BA 
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