About Congress & Campout l Campout 2009 Karara

Congress & Campout 2010 Townsville

Birds Australia North Queensland (BANQ) will be hosting this year's Congress and Campout in and around Townsville from 13 - 20 August 2010. The keynote speaker is Birdlife International's Important Bird Areas Coordinator, Lincoln Fishpool.

There is a call for papers and posters addressing the theme of bird conservation activities and how they can be enhanced by working with Important Bird Areas. Topics for papers can embrace monitoring as a conservation tool, accounts of conservation projects, captive breeding, translocation of birds to vacant habitat, habitat restoration, data collection & publication and how to achieve conservation action by influencing agencies and landholders. We would also like to look at the single-species approach vs. holistic ecosystem management. Contact Graham Harrington, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , for more information or to submit abstracts for the Congress.

The Congress will be held in Townsville at the Plaza Inn Hotel, Cnr Flinders & Stanley Streets, an the Campout will be based at Crystal Creek Community Centre, Murtanee – 65 km north of Townsville.

Campout 2009 Karara

The National Campout was held at Karara, Queensland and hosted by Birds Australia Southern Queensland. Karara is in the traprock country 50 km west of Warwick, on the Cunningham Highway. There were visits to the Durakai State Forest, Coolmunda Dam, the Main Range National Park and Sundown National Park. The area has a wide range of habitats from subtropical rainforest to open plains, and a long bird list which includes Squatter Pigeon, Blue Bonnet, Albert's Lyrebird, White-winged Fairy-wren, Regent Honeyeater, Red-capped Robin and Spotted Bowerbird.

Activities included location of calling male Albert's Lyrebirds; searches for Regent Honeyeater breeding sites in the new Traprock IBA; and for Glossy Black-Cockatoos feeding; bird surveys along stock routes;and waterhole counts, as well as lots of friendly social birding. Evening bird call and talks/slide shows were presented on local birds.

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About C & C

A Birds Australia Congress is held every 2 years alternate to the AOC. At each Congress, expert ornithologists and amateurs alike gather to hear fascinating lectures and discussions on a myriad of bird-related topics, attend workshops, catch up with the latest bird news, mingle at the Congress dinner, and go on field trips to places of local ornithological interest.  Since its inception in the early 1900s, the Congress has become an institution. All states and territories have hosted it, not just in the capital cities, but in many different regional centres as well, from Port Arthur in Tasmania to the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland, and from Geraldton in Western Australia to Rockhampton in Queensland. They have even been held as far afield as Norfolk Island, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, much to the delight of the participants.  Due to their popularity, participants need to book to attend the Congress, and advance notice about forthcoming events is published in Wingspan and on our website.

Many Congress' have a Campout as its climax. Each year the Campout is held at an interesting ornithological site within easy travelling distance from wherever the Congress was conducted. Some of the recent Campouts have been held in Kakadu National Park, on Cape York and in Gluepot Reserve.  Assisted by local birdwatchers, participants are able to see local specialties and may participate in local conservation projects, as well as enjoy a relaxing few days birdwatching in some of Australia’s best birding locations, and then catch up with friends (old and new) around a campfire each night. If camping is not your style, comfortable alternative accommodation is generally available nearby.

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