My wife and I share a love of bird observing and bird photography which takes us all over Australia. We love meeting other keen birders and sharing our experiences. We are especially interested in encouraging those new to the experience, as a healthy, relaxing and enjoyable family and/or retirement past-time, which is why I have pages on the Benefits of Birding and Birding for Beginners on this website. We always get blessed with the  unexpected experience or gift, as we call it, of new and interesting birds, each time we go out birding.  We love Australia, and the variety that each state and region offers in its wildlife and nature aspects. 

When my wife and I first met we did not know that we were both bird lovers, this was an extra bonus in our relationship and continues to strengthen our relationship, sharing this love in common. The other more important aspect we share in common, that binds us in love and has brought us through life’s storms is our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and Father God. We rejoice in the fact that God had ‘Kept the best till last’. This reminds us both of the incident in the Bible when the wine, towards the end of a wedding reception, had appeared to have run out, and Jesus graciously turned water into a very good vintage wine, better than what they had been drinking earlier. So God brought us together at the right time for each other to continue the last phase of our lives together, and heal from our past. Our heart is for those who have been wounded from past relationships, experiencing social anxiety or exclusion and difficulty in life due to the effects of abuse, bullying and dysfunctional family modeling.

Having retired from a career in medical science and having attained an Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy, I linked my love of Australian birds and birding to produce a website and a weekly birding blog: aussiebirder.com Readers have enjoyed joining my wife and I on our birding dates exploring our beautiful country in search of birds. Showcasing the birds and their interesting behaviours as well as using the birds to teach helpful life skills. This led me in 2015 to write my first book What Birds Teach Us which from its sell out success, was revised and republished in 2020 in its larger and better second edition, and has since had several reprints, as it continues to help the youth of our day, as well as all who read it.

A second book called “Flight of a Fledgling” (Growing Up and Leaving Home) was later published in March 2021. This book targets ages 16 to adult and addresses important  life choices and counselling issues for young adults regarding personal, relational and family life, as they prepare to leave The Nest and launch out into the world. Click the cover the image below find out more.

If you are wondering why the Red-tailed Tropicbird is my avatar and website symbol, it is because this is the first bird I actively pursued, travelling to Lord Howe Island to find it, after seeing it fly backwards during a courting ritual, in a documentary film. From that experience and seeing so many other birds there, I moved from landscape to bird photography. We have so embraced the study of Australian birds, that bird behaviour has become our main focus, relating it to human behaviour. Recent research into bird neurology has found that birds are very intelligent creatures and we can learn many life lessons from the way they do life. 

If you are wondering why the Red-tailed Tropicbird is my avatar and website symbol, it is because this is the first bird I actively pursued, travelling to Lord Howe Island to find it, after seeing it fly backwards during a courting ritual, in a documentary film. From that experience and seeing so many other birds there, I moved from landscape to bird photography. We have so embraced the study of Australian birds, and their behaviour, relating it to human behaviour.

Recreational bird watching (birding)  is a healthy and interesting pastime. Click here to read of the studies that support our view.

Thinking of good gifts for your children or grandchildren? Why not a good Australian bird field guide, a pair of binoculars, a copy of my inexpensive book, ‘What Birds Teach Us’  and time spent with you. Time is the best and most memorable gift you can give your children and grandchildren.

Location: Southern Sydney, NSW, Australia.

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Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy.

To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

And learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyrighted property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.

12 Comments »

  1. Good morning

    My name is Georgina and I live in a birding hotspot just north of Coffs Harbour NSW. I would like to invite birdwatchers to stay. My Facebook page is birdercoastalstay. I was wondering if there was some way you could help me make contact with like minded people? I have not included extensive information about my accomodation as I would prefer people contact me. It is a self contained space, 200m across a paddock from Corindi Beach NSW. Simple clean and comfortable. I am a keen amateur birdwatcher and have identified so many species in my local area. Im sure birders would love it! If you could offer me any advice about how I should network I would be very grateful.

    Kind regards
    Georgina Eliason

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    • Thanks Georgina for making contact regarding your accommodation at Corindi Beach, it is a beautiful part of our state and rich in birdlife. We may ourselves visit there next time we visit my sister in Woolgoolga, possibly later in the year. My suggestions for attracting birds are as follows:
      1) Create a Facebook page with a good name for your accommodation and photos of the place and birds and facilities.
      2) Start a blog and establish a website through WordPress. It only has to be simple photos sharing some of the highlight birding areas around Corindi and photos of birds found and allow comments and following.
      3) Contact bird observer clubs, especially in Sydney regions (some are listed on my Info page) as these will be prime subjects. For a small fee advertise in their monthly newsletters;
      4) I can mention your accommodation freely occasionally through my blog, and I can also list your accommodation on my info page, but would need to see pics and terms etc.
      5) If we manage to visit and stay in your accommodation I can blog it for you and its advantages.
      6) Advertise in US, New Zealand and British birding magazines, as most overseas birders plan their trip extensively before coming. You will have to wait post Covid for this to happen.
      Hope this helps. If you want me to link to a page or website or blog post I may be able to do that and mention your place in my blog posts.
      Kindest regards
      Ash

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  2. Greetings from Japan, I’ve been following your blog for some time, but this is probably my first comment 🙂 I am keen to purchase a copy of your beautiful book. Can you please confirm that it’s possible to ship to Japan?

    Best wishes,
    Takami

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  4. Your blog is wonderful! I’m so excited for the release of your book, because I’m 14 years old, and nature has, indeed taught me a lot 🙂 I really believe in connecting the younger generation with nature because it has so much to offer. Australia seems to be heaven for birds, I’ve visited once only when I was much younger- I do hope to go again! It’s amazing to see pictures of birds from a different continent, since many of the birds I see in Singapore are mainly tropical.

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    • Thank you Lavanya, it is so encouraging to read of your love of our beautiful surrounds. It is wonderful that teenagers are beginning to be nature enthusiasts and bird watchers. I am happy that you find my website helpful, Australia is a wonderful place for birds and nature photography, quite unique from other parts of the world. I will let everyone know when I am releasing the book and in what format. I may have it in paper and PDF.

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    • Thanks Carol, I have pages on my site to help new birders, hope it is helpful. We learn so much watching the birds and photographing them. Most of all, we learn what their unique patterns of behaviour are. I am currently writing a childrens book on ‘What can we learn from birds?’, featuring Australian birds, it is amazing what we can learn!

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