Tim Hunt

BIRD: linking the biodiversity community

Categories: BEN Award winners | People

In 2001, Tim Hunt moved to the Ballarat area from Western Australia and set himself a target of 2000 1 hour bird surveys across his range of study, which is roughly from Beaufort and Creswick in the north, to Rokewood and Inverleigh in the south.

By mid-2004 Tim had managed about 1500 and had collected information on over 160 species of birds and their distribution across the region — all at his own expense and in his own time.

Tim's detailed observations are recorded on grids of approximately 1.5 km² and are a wonderful resource and record for the future. He has not only passed them on to the Bird Atlas of Australia, but offered them to local groups and is making himself available to conduct further support with bird watching training and landholder survey assistance.

In recognition of his work, Tim was presented with the BEN Environment Awards Max Brooke Recognition Award for 2004.