HBOC runs an annual program of events for members, including monthly indoor meetings and birding outings, regular club camps, organised bird surveys and much more.
It is necessary to register for all events you are attending in person, particularly as some locations have restrictions on numbers.
Upcoming Events
The following table provides a summary of upcoming Club events this month. For access to the full calendar of events please scroll down to the relevant section and follow the link:
Members Social Day 21st June
Meeting from 09:00 (opening time) at the Lions BBQ Shelter adjacent to Water Ribbon Swamp. People with HWC membership will have free admission, others will need to pay the normal entry fee of $9.50 adult, $6.00 concession. People may opt to pay the $25.00 HWC membership fee and get additional entry free for twelve months.
A BBQ in the form of a sausage sizzle will be provided by HBOC along with tea and coffee. Participating members are encouraged to bring a plate to share eg salads, fruit, slice, cake etc. all those wishing to attend should register beforehand and indicate, if possible, what their food contribution might be. Some coordination in this regard will be necessary.
A bird walk around the wetlands will be a feature of this event.
October Long-weekend camp at “Witjweri” 2nd – 5th Oct
This camp will be on the private property of Marion and Trevor Wooley at 1611 Martindale Road, Martindale. People can start arriving on the Friday 2nd and we will all depart sometime on the Monday 5th. It is a “bring everything” camp but HBOC will provide the usual camp toilet set up. For those not wishing to camp, there are various places of accommodation in Denman that you can avail yourself to.
The camp site is a reasonably flat paddock adjacent to Martindale Creek but we are invited to walk about other areas (woodlands, rainforest) on the property. Specific instructions will made at the camp.
To get there depends on which direction you are coming. From the west or north you will pass through Denman and head south along the Yarrawa Road. At not quite 2km you will turn left into Martindale Road and drive for 16.11km (hey, resembles the address!). The property is about 2.5km further on (upstream) from Medhurst Bridge, a terrific spot for bird watching that you might like to stop at.
If you are travelling from the east, you may choose to follow the “back road” from Jerrys Plains to Martindale. This way starts out as Queen Street in Jerrys Plains, then Jones Reserve Road, then after passing by Apple Tree Flat and Doyles Creek, becomes Bureen Road. This road ends at a T-intersection with Martindale Road where you turn left and travel less than 12km to the property. Again, you will pass by Medhurst Bridge.
NRMA Myall Shores Camp 20th – 23rd Oct
HBOC has booked our regular sites at NRMA Myall Shores, Bombah Point, Myall Lake. October is a great time to visit this location with lots of spring flowering and many different bird species. The days and evenings are warm and there will be plenty of walks organised; both around the camp, to the nearby National Park, and across on the ferry to Mungo Brush etc. In the evenings members meet to recount their days and do ‘bird call’, and there is often wine and food involved! Our main camp site, at the end of the park has bathrooms and showers, a small bush bbq area and plenty of white sand for those who like to swim or bring canoes to explore the lake’s edge.
Eleven Waterfront Power/Water sites have been booked for the 3 nights. Cost is normally $47 per night but HBOC gets a 10% discount to $42.30 per night (this covers 2 people on the site). Due to flooding, there are only 3 cabins left in the park and only 1 available in October which we are holding. The Cabin has 2 bedrooms with 1 Queen and 2 Single Beds; discounted cost is $179 per night. There are also 2 onsite Caravans with a Queen bed and private bathroom discounted rate of $140 per night (we are not holding bookings for Caravans). There are plain camping sites available (no power/water and they are not too far away from the main HBOC sites) which are discounted rate of $37 per night for 2 people, extra people are $20 per person per night.
Please email me, Juliasalnicki@gmail.com , if you would like to book one of the HBOC waterfront sites or the Cabin. All bookings for Caravans and camp sites please call Sally at NRMA Myall Shores on (02) 4997 4457. Looking forward to great birding and a fun couple of days.
Meeting places and times will be posted when available.
| EVENT | DATE | INFORMATION | MEETING PLACE & TIME | CONTACT DETAILS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid week outing | Tuesday 2nd June | Glenrock Reserve | 07:45 – end of Highfields Parade, Highfields | Jim Stone jimbstone@outlook.com |
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| Long Weekend Camp | Fri 6th-Monday 8th June | Washpools Camp in Towarri National Park | Book Thru NPWS | Tom Clarke 0418411785 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Members Social day | Sunday 21st June | Hunter Wetlands Centre | Meeting from 09:00 (opening time) at the Lions BBQ Shelter adjacent to Water Ribbon Swamp | Tom Clarke 0418411785 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid week outing | Tuesday 7th July | “Bush Haven” | 0800 – 393 Italia Road, East Seaham | Andrzej Karpiel 0427 483 663 |
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| Field outing | Sunday 19th July | The Branch | 781 The Branch Lane, The Branch | Dave Stuart 0436488291 |
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| August | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid week outing | Tuesday 4th Aug | Grahamstown Dam | 08:00 – Finnan Park, Richardson Road, Ferodale | Rowly Smith 0417802005 |
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| Field outing | Saturday 8th Aug | Tabbil Forest | 07:30 – Lioness Park, Dungog then car pool to Tabbil Creek | Miranda Moore 0448745869 |
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| Oct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October long Weekend Camp | Fri 2nd – Mon 5th Oct | “Witjweri” Martindale | See Above | Tom Clarke 0418411785 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid-Week Camp | 20th-23rd Oct | NRMA Myall Shores | See Above | Julia Salnicki 0406 820 132 Juliasalnicki@gmail.com |
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Monthly Club Meetings
The monthly Club Meetings are held at the Hunter Wetlands Centre, Shortland the second Wednesday of each month, except for January during summer holidays. Concurrent Zoom meetings are also held for those that cannot attend, to maximise accessibility. The meeting starts at 19:00, with a pre-meeting social supper at 18:30.
The format of the meetings includes a presentation from a Main Speaker, a “Bird of the Evening” presentation and an open forum for the sharing of recent bird observations. Upcoming activities and other important Club notices are also announced. In February the Bird of the Evening presentation is replaced by the Club’s AGM.
Please register your in-person attendance for a Club Meeting in advance with the Club Secretary, Helen Horn at secretary@hboc.org.au
Monthly Club Meetings Calendar TBA
Club Management Committee Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month from 18:30 at the Hunter Wetlands Centre, Shortland. All members are welcome to attend – please contact the Club Secretary in advance to notify the Management Committee of your intention to attend.
Monthly Field Outings
The monthly Sunday and Tuesday outings invite members to discover an exciting birding location within the Hunter Region and are held on the morning of the third Sunday of each month and first Tuesday of each month.
The format of the outings typically includes an easy to moderate walk and depending on the duration may include stops for morning tea and/or lunch (BYO). It is an opportunity to be guided around a location by the leader of the outing, who will be familiar with birding at this location. It also enables regular attendees an opportunity to socialise with other members and for members who are relatively new to birding to learn field skills and identification tips from those with more experience.
Please register your attendance for a Field Outing in advance by SMS or email with the relevant outing leader.
Sunday Field Outings Calendar TBA
Tuesday Field Outings Calendar TBA
HBOC Fledglings
The Club offers four activities per year especially designed for children aged 5 to 12, to introduce them to birdwatching in a fun and interesting way. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
The outings for 2024 have been carefully planned to be within easy access for families living in Newcastle and Maitland. Each outing will explore a natural habitat (bush, beach, wetland) with enough walking to be an achievable challenge to the children, and to give opportunities for them to look at birds, bugs, bark or in fact anything that captures their attention.
HBOC Fledglings Calendar TBA
Club Camps
The Club organises regular camps over the weekends of public holidays, plus a mid-week camp. The camps typically try and avoid busy and expensive commercial campsites, instead taking advantage of National Park facilities and relationships with private land owners. There is typically a small fee to cover expenses associated with the toilet tent, which the Club facilitates. For those that prefer their creature comforts, there are often accommodation alternatives on site or nearby.
The format of the camps is largely informal, with groups of people doing their own thing, looking for birds in and around the camping location environs. However, more formal excursions and survey efforts are sometimes organised for those who are interested. The day will usually finish with a “happy hour” around the camp fire, in which members will share their observations from the day and socialise together. The Club camps are a great way to meet new people and old friends, experience birding locations that may be off-limits to the public and sometimes venture beyond the Hunter Region. As with the field outings, the camps are an opportunity for members who are relatively new to birding to learn field skills and identification tips from those with more experience.
Please register your attendance for a Club Camp in advance by SMS or email with the relevant camp organiser.
Club Camps Calendar TBA
Regular Surveys
The Club organises regular bird surveys, most notably those of the shorebirds and waterbirds in the Hunter Estuary, which are done monthly. Several other sites are also surveyed monthly, and there are various targeted surveys (for a particular species or a particular area) that occur a few times per year. All HBOC members are welcome to join any of the Club’s surveys; however for some of them there is limited space and you may have to be on a waiting list. To register interest in volunteering to assist with undertaking regular surveys and/or to register interest in tagging along for a single survey, please contact the relevant survey organiser, as listed in the Regular Surveys Calendar:
Hands-on Conservation
Tom Clarke organises regular volunteer work groups to help with hands-on conservation efforts across the Hunter Estuary, with a particular focus on mangrove removal from inter-tidal mudflats, which are important for migratory shorebird conservation. Please contact Tom on 0418 411 785 if you are keen to help out.
Hands-on Conservation Calendar TBA