Meet two participants of a sport especially for birdwatchers. This episode is about competitive birdwatching, the magic of the Hunter region of NSW and how birds can bring us together.

Mick Roderick is a Twitchathon tragic. In 2023, he notched up his 25th consecutive Twitchathon – all of them in the main race. To maintain this, he twice flew back from year-long overseas backpacking trips to partake in those years’ Twitchathons, as well as being ‘close to home’ when his first child’s due-date was nearing. Mick works at BirdLife Australia and is the current Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator, as well as being the current Vice President of the Hunter Bird Observers Club. Mick’s other passion is seabirds and he has been running pelagic birding trips since 2010. In between, he has birded on 6 continents as a ‘backpacking birder’ and knows full well how heavy field guides can get inside a backpack (especially South American ones!).

Bastian Fox Phelan is a writer of memoir and environmental essays from Mulubinba Newcastle, Australia. Bastian writes about bodies, binaries, place, and environment. Bastian's debut memoir, How to Be Between, was published by Giramondo in 2022. She is a PhD candidate in Creative Nonfiction at the University of Newcastle, writing an eco-memoir about exploring local ecologies. Bastian participated in the Twitchathon the same year that she discovered the joys of birdwatching and has been hooked ever since.

Links:

* BIGNET Twitchathon (ACT & NSW) website - twitchathon.com.au

* BIGNET Twitchathon (ACT & NSW) on Instagram - instagram.com/twitchathon.nswact/

* BIGNET Twitchathon (ACT & NSW) on Facebook - facebook.com/groups/451411113051359/

* Landcare Victoria Twitchathon website - chuffed.org/project/landcare-victoria-twitchathon-2024

* Hunters Observers Club website - hboc.org.au

* Hunter Observers Club on Instagram - @hunterbirders

* Hunter Observers Club on Facebook - @hunterbirding

* Awakbakal Language Program - seasons.awabakallanguage.org.au/calendar

Weekend Birder online:

* Website - weekendbirder.com

* Instagram - @weekend.birder

* Facebook - @weekend.birder

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