There are so many to choose from, and the further back I go, the more keep popping up. But I’ll let recency bias win for now. My wife, my three-year-old, and I were walking on the Malleefowl Walk in Wyperfeld National Park in Victoria, where we’d been told that no one ever finds a Malleefowl, our target species. We did the 1 km-ish loop and, as expected, saw nothing that resembled a chicken. Back at the car, as I put my daughter down to sort out her child seat, she pointed out some movement in the bush. It was a Malleefowl, quietly walking past just a few metres away!

We couldn’t believe it. We crouch-walked over to where we thought it might cross the narrow track. Not only did it cross, but it also kept coming straight towards us - so close I could barely fit it in the frame of my camera anymore. Absolute magic!

Now that I think about it, showing a Kiwi near Auckland to my daughter a few months ago was pretty special too. Her first observation: the bird has a very hairy bum! And then there was that time recently when… okay, I’ll stop!

There are so many places I would really love to visit. I’d like to see a Masked Finfoot in Bangladesh, a Narcondam Hornbill on the remote Narcondam Island, any of the Papuan bird-of-paradise, the strange and beautiful Standard-winged Nightjar in Africa, and a Cock-of-the-rock at a lek in South America, among many others.

But if I had a “golden ticket” destination, it would need to be something truly out of reach. I keep coming back to the idea of seeing Emperor Penguin on the Antarctic ice, gathered in their vast colonies, and hopefully getting to record their remarkable trumpeting calls.

My life revolves around birds and birding, both personally and professionally. Almost all my decisions are shaped by them: where I travel, day-to-day outings, stepping onto the balcony at home, glances out the window, and the thoughts and ideas of what to do next.

I’ve made several friends through birding, and I enjoy gently nudging the
unconverted into the world of birds wherever I can. I really value the company of my bird-loving colleagues at work; and I feel fortunate to share this passion with new people all the time through my guiding work with Inala Nature Tours.

Birds are a powerful way of observing the world we inhabit, and they shape how I perceive much of what I do and experience around me.