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Contact Call
Connecting the flock
BirdLife Northern Queensland representatives attended the 2026 BirdLife Australia Network Forum in Melbourne, sharing ideas, building partnerships and exploring new opportunities for bird conservation, citizen science and community engagement.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
5 days ago3 min read
The Graham Harrington Student Research Scholarship
Applications are now open for the 2026 Graham Harrington Student Research Scholarship, supporting field-based bird research in northern Australia and helping develop the next generation of conservation scientists.
Renée Jean Cassels
Jun 43 min read
A weekend with the Golden-shouldered Parrots
A personal reflection on revisiting Artemis Station and the conservation success of the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot, exploring predator management, fire regimes and the remarkable ecological relationships surrounding this iconic Cape York species.
Stella Martin
May 274 min read
Ospreys and our shared coastline
Residents of Mission Beach may recently have seen reports about upgrades to Telstra communication towers being delayed after nesting ospreys were discovered on the structures.
Renée Jean Cassels
May 213 min read
What the Crane Counts tell us – and what it doesn’t
BirdLife Northern Queensland’s annual Crane Count tracks Sarus Cranes and Brolgas across the Atherton Tablelands, revealing long-term population trends, habitat use, and the importance of community-driven conservation science.
Ed Bell
May 155 min read
Cliff Frith shares the latest Tooth-billed Bowerbird amazing story
Renowned ornithologist Cliff Frith presents new research on the Tooth-billed Bowerbird – a Wet Tropics endemic with extraordinary courtship behaviour – to a captivated audience at Malanda, Far North Queensland.
Peter Valentine
May 116 min read
2026 Annual General Meeting
Birdlife Northern Queensland (BLNQ)’s 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in Yungaburra on the Atherton Tablelands at the Community Hall, which proved to be an excellent venue with great facilities.
Lindsay Fisher
Apr 284 min read
Conservation Matters: March 2026
Critics say the federal government is weakening environmental protections – allowing unlawful land clearing, mining exemptions, and habitat destruction – prioritising industry over biodiversity, despite known risks, inadequate regulation, and growing concern from conservation groups.
Peter Valentine
Mar 317 min read
Warrina Lakes monthly birding outing: February 2026
The Warrina Lakes birding outing is held on the second Sunday of each month starting promptly at 7 am. Each outing is also advertised on BirdLife Northern Queensland’s Facebook page. We’d love you to join us – rain or shine.
Ceri Pearce
Mar 93 min read
From boardwalks to bush tracks: Discover our new Wet Tropics Birding Guide
BirdLife Northern Queensland is delighted to launch a new Birds With Altitude (BWA) Project Guide to Birding Locations in the Wet Tropics Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA). From smooth, wheelchair-accessible boardwalks to rugged rainforest tracks, this Guide opens the door to birding opportunities for everyone.
Ceri Pearce
Feb 102 min read
Birds With Altitude Campout: October 2025
We attended the BWA campout held on the long weekend of 3 – 6 October 2025. This was based at the South Johnstone Forestry Camp on K-tree Road, in the Misty Mountains section of Wooroonooran National Park.
Lindsay Fisher
Dec 24, 20255 min read
To Perth for the 2025 Australasian Ornithological Conference!
The three-day Conference was held at the University of Western Australia’s School of Business Studies, and over 450 delegates attended from Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.
Lindsay Fisher
Dec 12, 20254 min read
Conservation Matters
Our Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is doomed and there is nothing we can now do to save it. This conclusion has been on the board for a long time, and leading coral reef biologists such as Charlie Veron have been pointing this out for more than a decade, particularly following the impacts of increasing acidity in GBR waters.
Peter Valentine
Dec 3, 20257 min read
Full house at Malanda Hotel for bird presentation by Scott Ritchie
Tableland Coordinator Peter Valentine introduced Scott to the full house, ready and enthusiastic for the talk. Soon Scott was delving into the private lives of many bird species from northern Queensland, North and South America, and even Europe. It seemed no details were safe from the wizard photographer’s snoopy focus.
Peter Valentine
Nov 25, 20254 min read
The Birds With Altitude Project: Citizen science monitoring in the Wet Tropics
In June 2022, BirdLife Northern Queensland, with the support of BirdLife Australia, secured a $10,747 Queensland Government Sustainability Action Grant to initiate bird monitoring activities in Wooroonooran National Park, which spans 114,900 hectares of pristine rainforest.
Ceri Pearce
Oct 30, 20255 min read
Old friends and new places - Our Grasswrens in May 2025
In late October–November 2023, extensive wildfires swept through the core areas for Carpentarian Grasswrens, north-west of Mount Isa in outback Queensland. BirdLife Northern Queensland has been monitoring both Carpentarian and Kalkadoon Grasswrens in that area for several years now, so we have a good baseline of just where we can find groups of both species.
Kath Shurcliff
Sep 1, 20254 min read
Birding for Beginners Workshop brings new eyes to the skies
On Saturday, 9 August 2025, the Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation (C4) Environment Centre in Mission Beach buzzed with anticipation as 33 curious participants gathered for Birding for Beginners – a free two-hour workshop hosted by BirdLife Northern Queensland (BLNQ) and designed to open the door to the fascinating world of birdwatching.
Ceri Pearce
Aug 19, 20252 min read
Strengthening connections with Indigenous Rangers
BirdLife Australia’s Wetland Birds Monitoring Coordinator, Simon Kennedy, and BirdLife Northern Queensland Convenor, Denis Walls, attended the recent Indigenous Ranger Event at the Cairns Convention Centre: a gathering of Senior Rangers and Coordinators from across northern Australia, including Torres Strait.
BirdLife Northern Queensland
Jun 17, 20252 min read
Warrina Lakes monthly birding outing: May 2025
Despite the morning rain, three keen birders explored Warrina Lakes Parkland, Innisfail on Sunday 11 May. Raincoats, umbrellas and gumboots were definitely essential, as were waterproof binos, but the perseverance of the team was rewarded.
Ceri Pearce
May 28, 20252 min read
2025 Wave the Waders Goodbye event on the Cairns Esplanade
Hidetoshi Kudo (Mikey) | Cairns Area Coordinator Wave the Waders Goodbye is one of our longest-running annual north Queensland events for local and visiting birders, and it has been a great educational and social event over many years. In December 1997 it was casually referred to as farewell the waders (see the Provisionary Program for 1998 below). Our archives indicate that it was a joint event by Birds Australia North Queensland Group (BANQG) and the Cairns Branch of
Hidetoshi (Mikey) Kudo
May 28, 20252 min read
Contact Call archive
Contact Call has been our quarterly newsletter full of great articles about birds, birding, conservation, and opportunities to get involved since 1994. Even though Contact Call is 'going digital', you can still access a full archive of past editions here:
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