Sailing For A Love of Nature & Shorebirds
THEIR STORY
Sebastian “Base” Jones is an exploration geologist turned expedition naturalist and sailor, now Warden of the Broome Bird Observatory, the shorebird capital of Australia. Alongside his wife, Jamie, he helps protect and share the remarkable birdlife of Roebuck Bay through tours, research, and education.
Raised in Western Australia’s Peel region, Sebastian worked for years as an exploration and hydrogeologist across Australia and the Subarctic before taking his skills to sea, guiding on expedition ships through Antarctica, the Subantarctic Islands, Patagonia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Kimberley. A qualified Yachtmaster and passionate birder, he brings a scientist’s curiosity and a storyteller’s warmth to every experience.
A qualified Yachtmaster and passionate birder, he brings a scientist’s curiosity and a storyteller’s warmth to every experience. Whether interpreting geology, tides or bird behaviour, Sebastian’s goal is always the same, to inspire awe and care for the natural world.
What is one bird encounter you will never forget?
Expedition guiding in the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands offered some of the most remarkable bird encounters imaginable, each island alive with species found nowhere else on Earth. One memory that stays with me is from Campbell Island. As our group reached the Saddle, we were surrounded by Southern Royal Albatross among the towering megaherbs, some gliding effortlessly just metres above us on three-metre wings.
When the guests began their descent, I lingered behind and watched as two albatross began sky-calling, soon joined by three more birds performing an elaborate courtship dance, a “gamming” display. Knowing these giants may have spent years at sea before returning to this wild place made the moment feel utterly extraordinary.
You’ve got a golden ticket to go anywhere in the world to see a bird? Where would you go and why?
If I had a golden ticket, I’d choose Heard and McDonald Islands, remote, volcanic sub-Antarctic islands about 4,000 km south of Western Australia. I’ve explored many of the sub-Antarctic islands in the Pacific and Atlantic, but these wild, rarely visited outposts have always drawn me in. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel small, where albatross fly effortlessly above the surf and penguin colonies thrive against a backdrop of ice and lava.
To see those seabirds we glimpse off the WA coast during big storms in their true home environment would be unforgettable. For a geologist and birder, it’s the ultimate combination of dramatic landscapes and extraordinary life.
How is birding part of your life today?
At the Broome Bird Observatory, birding isn’t just something we do, it’s a way of life. Each day begins with birdsong and a cup of tea by the bird bath, followed by a wander to Roebuck Bay to see what the shorebirds are up to. The rest of the day is filled with guiding tours, chatting with visitors, and sharing stories about the birds that connect this landscape, from mangroves to mudflats and plains.
We finish each evening with “bird log,” recording sightings and swapping tales of rare behaviours or new arrivals. Every moment here revolves around birds, teaching, learning, and reminding us how deeply they connect all parts of this remarkable environment.
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