Our activities include conservation and research-oriented projects, educational activities, and activities which provide opportunities to meet with other people interested in birds and birding and to share experiences.
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We produce a range of brochures and other information on birds in Queensland, and on all aspects of birding in Queensland.
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Bird identification can be difficult, even for experienced birders, and many discussions occur during group walks and camps on this subject.
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We produce a range of brochures and other information on birds in Queensland, and on all aspects of birding in Queensland.
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“Of those bird species known to have been present or to have visited regularly in Australia when Europeans settled in 1788, 1.9% are Extinct and a further 11.5 % are considered Threatened. Some 6.0 % are Near Threatened.”
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Organizations like Birds Queensland assist with scientific research projects by raising money each year and allocating it as grants.
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Birds Queensland is a non-profit organisation that finances its own activities. Our logo is the brightly coloured and beautiful Sunbird which is normally found only between Normanton and Bundaberg.
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Access files, videos and the hardcopy library catalogue
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Welcome to the Birds Queensland member’s area. These pages contain information that will only be available to BQ members.
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Twitches

Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis) © Peter Storer

Why we need twitchers

Keen and experienced birders are sometimes called ‘twitchers’. A small proportion of twitchers can go to extraordinary lengths to see as many different bird species as possible, and in as many different situations, regions and countries. There are a great many variations on what an individual twitcher wants to see but it usually involves personal pleasure or challenge, and not necessarily, though sometimes, a sense of competition.

Often it can be a sociable “fun thing”, such as happens with our Queensland Twitchathons. However, the Queensland Twitchathon is primarily aimed at raising funds (through sponsorships) to be used to fund avian research. In addition, most of our team contestants just love to see birds in their natural habitat AND enjoy each other’s company with a common goal.

Twitching has other important side benefits in that keen twitchers usually become experienced bird observers, skilled at identifying many bird species under all sorts of weather conditions. We try and include new birders and young birders so that there is maximum benefit from the Twitchathon. Twitchathon participants are most suitable people to assist with the conduct of bird population surveys. Their reliable observations yield the vital data required to indicate whether bird biodiversity is at risk and whether degradation of bird habitats is putting a given species under threat.

The Queensland Twitchathon

The 2024 Birds Queensland Twitchathon

Is taking place from 16th September to 13th October 2024.

Entries open 16th August to 5th September 2024 – Click here to enter.

Categories:

Open (24 hours), Champagne (12 Hours), Eco (12 Hours), & 3 Hours

Team Sponsorship

You can make either a general donation to Birds Queensland or a sponsorship donation in support of a team/individual on the donation page.
Please note that this year donations are being handled for Birds Qld through a third-party site: justgiving.com.

Rules and details

The following details are available:

  1. See the 2024 Twitchathon Rules page for details about the conditions under which the twitchathon is run.
  2. Team applications can be made online via the fundraising campaign page. Alternatively, email the twitch coordinator with the following details in order to be registered in the system:
  • Team Name
  • Name, Email address, and Phone number for each participant.
  • Highlight who the Team leader is
  • Nominate the race category(s) that you will be competing in: 12 Hours or 24 Hours or Eco Category

Checklists

The following species lists are available:

Birds Queensland Twitchathon Results

Results for 2023

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2023 Queensland Twitchathon. Full results were published in the November newsletter.

Category Place Team Name Team Members No of Species Seen
Open
(24 hours)
Winners
The Chicken Tickers Scott Fox & Paul Marty 190
Champagne
(12 hours)
Winners Shopfront Mannikins Andrew & Lily McDougall 154
Eco
(12 hours)
Winners Zipping Cisticolas Nikolas Haass & Ofalia Ho 123

Special thanks must go to the individual and to the team who raised the highest amounts in sponsorship:

Category Team Name Team Members
Highest Individual Fundraiser Winner: Dollarbird Trophy Adrian Gallagher
Highest Team Fundraiser Golden Hustlers Rae Clark, Andrea Schafer, Adrian Gallagher, Nicky Stafford

 


Results for 2022

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2022 Queensland Twitchathon. Full results were published in the November newsletter.

Category Place Team Name Team Members No of Species Seen
Open
(24 hours)
Winners:
Paradise Parrot Trophy
Leeward Martyns Sue Lee
Paul Marty
185
Champagne
(12 hours)
Winners Shopfront Mannikins Andrew McDougall,
Samantha Jhinku
165
Eco
(12 hours)
Winners Le Tour de Bribie Paul Marty,
Therese Marty,
Chris Marty
98

Special thanks must go to the individual and to the team who raised the highest amounts in sponsorship:

Category Team Name Team Members
Highest Individual Fundraiser Winner: Dollarbird Trophy Adrian Gallagher
Highest Team Fundraiser Golden Hustlers Rae Clark, Andrea Schafer, Adrian Gallagher, Nicky Stafford

 


Results for 2021

For the 2021 Twitchathon over $6500 in sponsorship was raised for the research projects that Birds Queensland supports each year.

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2021 Queensland Twitchathon:

Category Place Team Name Team Members No of Species Seen
Open
(24 hours)
Winners:
Paradise Parrot Trophy
Restless Birdcatchers Ofalia Ho
Russell Yong
Nikolas Haass
196
Champagne
(12 hours)
Winners Golden Hustlers Rae Clark,
Andrea Schafer,
Adrian Gallagher,
Nicky Stafford
153
Eco
(12 hours)
Winners The Oxley Creek Commoners Hugh Possingham,
Matt Gilfedder
118

Special thanks must go to the individual and to the team who raised the highest amounts in sponsorship:

Category Team Name Team Members
Highest Individual Fundraiser Winner: Dollarbird Trophy Adrian Gallagher
Highest Team Fundraiser Golden Hustlers Rae Clark, Andrea Schafer, Adrian Gallagher, Nicky Stafford

 


Results for 2020

For the 2020 Twitchathon, over $4000 in sponsorship was raised for the research projects that Birds Queensland supports each year.

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2020 Queensland Twitchathon:

Category Place Team Name Team Members No of Species Seen
Open
(24 hours)
Winners:
Paradise Parrot Trophy
Restless Birdcatchers Ofalia Ho
Jesse Rowland
Russell Yong
186
Champagne
(12 hours)
Winners The Godfeathers Vernon Kretschmann
Mel Stewart
149
Eco
(12 hours)
Winners La Giro del Sud Paul Marty
Therese Marty
Chris Marty
101

Special thanks must go to the individual and to the team who raised the highest amounts in sponsorship:

Category Team Name Team Members
Highest Individual Fundraiser Winner: Dollarbird Trophy Adrian Gallagher
Highest Team Fundraiser Golden Hustlers Rae Clark, Andrea Schafer, Adrian Gallagher, Nicky Stafford

This year we also awarded certificates in a number of sub-categories as listed below:

Category Team Name Team Members
Youngest Team Restless Birdcatchers Ofalia Ho, Jesse Rowland, Russell Yong
Most Mature Team Gang Gang Gang Rod Cox, Linda Sulakatku, Jean Crow, Peter Crow, Dawn Muir
Rookie Team – no prior Twitchathons Coastal Chats

Warbling Doves

Ian Gibson, Jan Gibson

Andrew Grenfell, Luke Sbeghen, Kerri-Anne Dove

Highest Night Bird Species Tally Cister-ticklers Richard Noske, Detlef Davies, Brian Coates, Chris Barnes

The Paradise Parrot Trophy

Since 1991, the winners of The Queensland Twitchathon have been presented with the Paradise Parrot Trophy which has plaques engraved with the names of the winning teams and the team members plus the number of species seen.

As the trophy is not always on display, this page will give you details of the winning teams between 1991 and 2022.

So, why not join us?

  • Monthly newsletter
    Members receive a monthly newsletter except in January.
  • Library
    Access to over 700 electronic files, videos and hardcopy books and magazines.
  • Outings and activities
    The society holds regular monthly camps and walks for members and guests, as well as monthly meetings.
Sahul Sunbird (Cinnyris frenatus) © Vince Bugeja