The eye of a birder, the ear of a poet
THEIR STORY
Lorne Johnson is a poet, high school English teacher and lifelong birder based in Newtown, Sydney.
He began birding in 1986 and has spent decades birding, from bushland and national parks to the richness of urban birdlife. One of his great patches is Sydney Park, where he has recorded more bird species than anyone else listed there on eBird, including more than 100 species.
Lorne is also the author of *How Best to Feed Reindeer*, published by Pitt Street Poetry in 2026, along with his earlier collection *Morton*, a tribute to Morton National Park. His work brings together the eye of a birder and the ear of a poet, a pretty good way to move through the world.
We first met Lorne during a LYFER roadshow, while taking LYFER to Canberra. A great conversation started before the penny dropped and we realised we already knew his voice from the brilliant *Weekend Birder* podcast. Welcome to BIRD Tales, Lorne, thanks for sharing.
What is one bird encounter you will never forget?
In September 2023, I was on trip with Sydney's Ascham School to Ladakh in Himalayan India. On our last afternoon in the country's high passes, I was very lucky to see a Bearded Vulture, a bird I had dreamt of seeing since I was a kid. We were at a place called South Pullu, close to 5000 metres above sea level.
I saw the raptor's shadow before I saw it. I yelled at our tour bus driver to pull over so I could leap out and watch the vulture glide over this expanse of dirt and rubble. I was ecstatic, in complete awe. A Ladakhi guide I accompanying me was also thrilled. The 7 Yr 10 students I was with all clapped when I saw it! Older birders say a Bearded Vulture is a true birder's bird.
You’ve got a golden ticket to go anywhere in the world to see a bird? Where would you go and why?
This is a very tough question to answer. Almost impossible... I think that the Southern Carmine Bee-eater is my dream bird. The pink, teal-blue and turquoise plumage on the species is staggering. It may well be the most exquisite bird on the planet.
To see a flock of them on a riverbank in Botswana would be a humbling, awesome experience... And Botswana has some terrific mammals I'd love to find too, such as cheetah, leopard, aardwolf, aardvark, honey badger and bat-eared fox.
How is birding part of your life today?
Birding for me today means noticing, documenting and preserving the birds in the inner-west of Sydney, where I currently live. Sydney Park is my home away from home. I've unearthed 116 species there.
No one else has seen that number of species in that location. I'm keen to maintain my No 1 eBird ranking for Sydney Park.
I always love sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm with international birders and fledgling Sydney birders who visit Sydney Park.
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