Simon STARR
Simon founded Firetail Birdwatching Tours and the Birding Victoria website in 2004 whilst living and working on a rural property in northern Victoria Initially offering tours around the mallee and Northern country, in time, and after a move to Melbourne, this expanded to include the whole of the state of Victoria
Simon was born in the UK and began birding in his teens in the 1970’s. During the 1980’s he traveled all over the British Isles chasing birds. His passion for the natural world led him to complete a degree in Ecology and in the next few years he visited and worked at a number of Bird Observatories, in the UK, Canada and Australia, plus travelled and birded his way through East Africa, Australia and South-east Asia, eventually settling in Australia in 1993 ! This started a new and exciting chapter in his life as with his wife Alex they started up a horticultural enterprise in northern Victoria, and raised a family. Discovering the natural environment in his new “backyard” was like starting over again, and what a backyard Australia turned out to be. Simon quickly realized that many of the fantastic sites he was finding were rarely visited by others. As a member of Birdlife Australia he assisted with organizing and leading a few camp-outs which were successful, and sparked his passion to share his knowledge with others. Simon is a moderator for Birdline Victoria, a site for the reporting of rare bird sightings, an active member of the Bendigo-Echuca district branch of Birdlife Australia, the Friends of Terrick Terrick National Park and Landcare, a grass roots organization committed to improving the health of our environment. He was a contributor to the book “Where to find birds in Victoria” and is involved with the Victorian Recovery Group for the Plains-wanderer, which aims to see an end to the recent decline in numbers of this unique bird. Simon is familiar with and still learning more about the wide range of endemic animals, reptiles, frogs, dragonflies, butterflies and plants that may be encountered during birding adventures
Available all year around for tours of between one and ten days.
CHRISTIAN DOERIG
Christian grew up in Switzerland and has been a birder since his teenage years. He has also lived in the US (Denver and Colorado), Scotland and France, birding all along the journey ! He moved to Melbourne in 2011 to pursue his career in Microbiology research and is internationally recognised for his work. Since arriving in the country ten years ago he has spent most of his free time in the bush, getting acquainted with the local birdlife and wildlife, which started with a memorable initiation Firetail birding tour and from which his love for the local avifauna has never faltered !
Christian has acquired an excellent knowledge of Victoria’s best birding areas and the birds to which they provide a haven. His enthusiasm is infectious and he has taken many friends and acquaintances over the years to good birding spots to assist them.
He will be delighted to take you along on your birding tour and can cater for all-comers from beginners wanting to expand their horizons to those with more specific target birds. Christian’s current availability is for short tours of one to three days on weekends, but weekdays can be arranged.
e-bird profile: https://ebird.org/profile/NTcwOTY4/world
Testimonial: "Christian Doerig is a knowledgeable and personable birding guide. We have done three trips with him and each time successfully sighted the lifer species sought. Highly recommended. - Ben Adler "