Birder, Community Builder & Science-Minded Nature Lover
THEIR STORY
Julie McLennan lives in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne but can usually be found somewhere out in the bush, peering through binoculars and pretending not to be out-of-breath. When not chasing rare birds, she’s often chasing down members of the Birds and Birding Victoria Facebook group, the lively online community she helped incubate during Melbourne’s lockdowns.
Some say she helps admin the group just to find more birds. Others suspect she’s secretly collecting birders instead, assembling a small army of people who understand why it’s totally normal to get up at 4:30 a.m. to drive for hours to stand in a swamp.
Julie’s background is in the medical sciences, from chemical pathology to neuroscience to sleep science, which may explain her curiosity about creatures with strange calls and odd sleeping habits.
When she’s not birding, she’s probably thinking about birding… or trying to explain to non-birders why mud, binoculars, and a thermos of lukewarm tea add up to the perfect day.
What is one bird encounter you will never forget?
I've had so many amazing birding experiences but I'm going to talk about the Bittern one because I was alone.
I was driving about Western Lagoons at Western Treatment Plant and I suddenly remembered I was looking for a bittern. My attention had wandered... again. I looked down out of the driver's window and there it was, an Australasian Bittern just below me in the water.
Too close to use my camera, I used my phone to record it. It was relaxed, immersed in fishing, aware of me but not bothered at all. I have no idea how long I sat there watching, a truly magical moment.
You’ve got a golden ticket to go anywhere in the world to see a bird? Where would you go and why?
If I received a Golden Ticket to go anywhere in the world to see a bird, Id go see Atlantic Puffin on Great Saltee Island off the west coast of Ireland because of the spectacle, bright orange beaks and comical expressions.
The island’s rugged cliffs and sea air seem like the perfect stage for these charismatic seabirds. Watching puffins waddling to their burrows or diving into the Atlantic would be pure joy for me, wildness and resilience in miniature form.
To stand among the wildflowers, camera in in my hand, would feel like stepping into a real life postcard.
How is birding part of your life today?
Birding is so much part of my life right now, in a variety of ways. For the last couple of years I've been in the Global Bird-A-Day challenge, trying to observe a different species each day of the year without missing a day, for as long as possible, requires strategy and an understanding family.
I'm also always trying to increase my Victoria and Australia birding lists, preferably with photos. The last couple of years I've travelled to Indonesia on lengthy birding trips and seen fabulous birds there.
But I think the biggest impact on my life is the opportunity to meet so many other birders and share the moment with them. Often that's turned into many more moments and adventures and I have new, close friendships at a time of life when this is not to be taken for granted.
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