Episode Description
Saving birds was never supposed to be Mick Roderick’s career, but somewhere between university ecology fieldwork and friendly arguments over bird field guides, birdwatching stopped being a pastime and became an identity. Mick did not grow up as a birder. His family were bushwalkers, and birds were simply part of the landscape. It wasn’t until studying ecology at university that he began paying closer attention, and before long birding shifted from a social activity into something much deeper. Over time it became both his profession and his obsession, an unusual pairing that has worked remarkably well.
Mick now works as the Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator at BirdLife Australia, an organisation that has been protecting Australian birds for more than 125 years. Based in the Hunter region of New South Wales, he is also deeply involved with the Hunter Bird Observers Club, where long-term citizen science has played a crucial role in understanding population trends. For nearly three decades, volunteers have conducted monthly shorebird surveys in the Hunter Estuary, creating a dataset of immense value. Those records reveal an uncomfortable truth: migratory shorebirds, including the eastern curlew, continue to decline despite decades of monitoring and effort.
More Information
https://www.twitchathon.com.au/
https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/
Image Attribution
Mick Roderick (Robert Virtue) ABC
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