About us

Since returning to live in far north Queensland about 10 years ago, I’ve been based in Cooktown, at the start of Cape York. It is a meeting place for our birds, and I’d like it to be more of a meeting place for our birders. Meanwhile, I spend time helping to organise the monitoring of our unique Queensland grasswrens further west. That’s what is so great about our region – there is much to still learn and discover!

I originally grew up in Western Australia but have lived in northern Queensland for over forty years. Professional career at James Cook University in environmental science and continue as an Adjunct Professor. My focus is on long term conservation and advocacy to the wider community for a better outcome for our birds. I am a keen birder, successfully completed the Bird-a-day challenge in 2016 and love to spend much of my spare time enjoying and photographing our birds. A recent highlight was finding and photographing Letter-winged Kites.

I moved from Werribee, Victoria to tropical North Queensland in 1979 and have developed a deep appreciation for the region’s remarkable birds and landscape. Birding brings together many of my passions: birds, flora and other fauna, walking in beautiful wild places, and travel. As Birds With Altitude Project Leader and Cassowary Coast Area Coordinator, I particularly value the chance to support bird monitoring, research, and community involvement that strengthen conservation in the Wet Tropics and beyond. For me, being part of BirdLife Northern Queensland is not only rewarding, but also a great source of connection, purpose and enjoyment.

I moved to Cairns with my family in 2009. Being a birdwatcher for 23 years and particularly interested in waders. I have also been interested in nature conservation and completed my diploma in Conservation and Land Management in 2003. I have a number of volunteer experiences including Little Tern Taskforce and Helmeted Honeyeater Recovery project. I taught myself website designing and found that I could help conversation by designing the first Birdlife Northern Queensland website.

Doug launched Birdwatching Tropical Australia’s tours in January 2012 after many years of recreational birding in Australia and South Africa. Doug Herrington’s accumulated experience of 20 years birding and exploring the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia has given him him an intimate knowledge of the birds and wildlife of Northern Queensland.

WA born and raised: long-time birder. Travelled widely in Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, and South-east Asia. Assisted in fauna surveys for National Parks WA and Perth Zoo; Environmental Consultant WA and SE Asia for Government and private enterprise. Enthusiastic about wildlife education, particularly birds: eg cub scouts and primary schools; eight years Perth Zoo Docent (Volunteer Guide); Birds Australia WA’s schools, and adult “Birds for Beginners” programs. Retired 2006 then travelled widely around Oz photographing birds and learning lots. Now living in Cairns using photo collection in research and writing about birds and ecology to educate and interest everyone possible before its too late!

My interest in conservation started with the Mammal Survey Group in Victoria in the early seventies and has continued to this day. I worked for QLD Parks and Wildlife Service from its inception in 1975 until 1985, mostly with nocturnal mammals and both species of cranes. I then worked in wildlife tourism in Australia and the US until recently. Living on a small but important migratory bird stopover island in the Gulf of Mexico led me to work independently and with FWS to get the island Globally Important Bird Area status. I was VP of an all-volunteer island organisation which placed 10ha of important forest habitat under conservation easement and worked with Audubon to get half of the island – 340ha – under conservation easement for the protection of beach nesting birds.

I grew up on the Island of Jersey in the English Channel and have always been surrounded by nature. My journey with birds is relatively recent, my interests have traditionally been slightly more flying mammal focused both in my previous career as a zookeeper and ecologist. While it may not have been a passion growing up, I still knew my backyard birds and would look forward to the arrival of the Barn Swallows each summer and can remember the story of their migration captivating me at a young age. Fast forward to my 30’s and my partner and I decided to try and see a Great Bittern that was over wintering at a local nature refuge and while I didn’t get to see it, we started looking at all the other wetland birds and we were soon hooked. We moved to Australia later that year and since then have been enjoying birding in Far North Queensland and helping on surveys when we can. I volunteered in 2021 to help coordinate the Crane Count and haven’t looked back.

I was lucky enough to grow up here in Far North Queensland surrounded by wonderful wildlife and incredible landscapes. I studied at UQ, completing my BSc in Zoology, and then worked in the UK for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust for four years before returning in 2019. Coming home coincided with a growing interest in birds and I have enjoyed engaging with BirdLife, attending the talks, and volunteering on surveys. I’m looking forward to getting more involved in local conservation.

I am actively involved in coastal bird conservation with BirdLife Northern Queensland, focusing on threatened shorebirds and wetland habitats in the Cairns region. My work includes monitoring, advocacy and stakeholder engagement, particularly around access, habitat protection and management of key coastal sites. I contribute to survey design and coordination, and work with councils, volunteers and partners to improve outcomes for migratory and resident shorebird species.

I have been tramping the hills around Far North Queensland checking the rainforest Bowerbirds since around 2010. This has been a fabulous project and has given me the opportunity to visit many remote mountain top locations in the Wet Tropics World Heritage area and beyond. We now have a reasonable idea of the status and distribution of the Golden and Tooth-billed Bowerbirds. Although the local subspecies of the Satin Bowerbird remains a bit of an enigma with variable and unpredictable habits. Outside the Bowerbird display season I enjoy travel and am making steady progress with a personal endeavour to photograph all the bird families of the world.

As a BirdLife Australia staff member Golo manages the organisation’s national Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) Program from our most biodiverse corner of the country. He also initiated and coordinates BirdLife Australia’s Indigenous Grant for Bird Research and Conservation. For the North Queensland Branch, Golo runs the ‘Stickybeaks’ Family Group. Golo is happy to speak on a number of birdy topics and can provide volunteering opportunities through the KBA Program.

I am the Wetlands and Coastal Birds Coordinator for BirdLife Australia, based in North Queensland. My work focuses on the conservation and monitoring of shorebirds and coastal species, including threatened nesting birds such as terns and Beach Stone-curlews. I contribute to research, field surveys and habitat protection across the region, working with communities, volunteers and partners to improve outcomes for Australia’s coastal bird populations. 

I have been an active birdwatcher with a particular interest in shorebirds for most of my adult life. My professional path has moved from law, through Indigenous native title and heritage management, to ecological data analysis. I was introduced to shorebirds in Hervey Bay, learning to identify waders through Queensland Wader Study Group counts in the Great Sandy Strait. I birded recreationally while studying in the UK, for connection while working in remote northwest Queensland, and for conservation since moving to Cairns in 2017. Since 2019, I’ve worked with Paul Fisk on BirdLife Northern Queensland’s Threatened Coastal Birds Project. I hold a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Ecology & Data Science) from James Cook University and work for BirdLife Australia in its Data & Analytics team, supporting the Birdata database and volunteer monitoring programs.

I have a longstanding passion for the environment and am keen to contribute my professional skills to BirdLife Northern Queensland. My background includes extensive experience in rural and remote health services as a Workplace Health and Safety Manager and Emergency and Disaster Manager, managing complex logistical and safety challenges. I have also contributed to community initiatives, including serving on the Emergency Services Charity Ball Committee and as a long-term member of Crime Stoppers Queensland. I am an avid photographer with a strong interest in birdlife and have enjoyed being part of Cairns Birders. My current work provides flexibility to support conservation efforts.

I am a professional photographer with a lifelong career in photography, digital imaging and teaching. Based on the Tablelands, I combine my passion for birds with citizen science, documenting species diversity and trends. I lead the very popular Atherton Tablelands Bird Photography Group, which meets monthly and hosts photography challenges, supporting community engagement and contributing visual records to BirdLife Northern Queensland initiatives.