Now affiliated with BirdLife Australia 
The Bird Group caters for those interested in the study of the birdlife of the Geelong region and well beyond. We are passionate about birdwatching and many of our members are well acquainted with many aspects of natural history.
The Geelong region is richly endowed with bird species, ranging from the birds of our sea-shores to the birds of the wet forests of the Otway Ranges and the dry woodlands of the Brisbane Ranges. These all provide great birding sites, and they are regularly monitored by our members.
Members are regularly involved in bird surveys and all the main club excursions include a species tally which is recorded by a member of the Bird Group.
Monthly mid-week Bird Group Excursions, on the fourth Thursday of the month (except December) to local sites are well attended. Details are publicised in the The Geelong Naturalist or contact us via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information.
Our meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month except in December. A guest speaker is invited to give an informative presentation on birds, local or overseas, usually accompanied by a fabulous slide show. Bird observations from our club members are presented and discussed.
Topics presented at meetings are varied, informative and interesting and recently have included:
- Threatened wading birds
- Bird migration
- Favourite birding locations; locally, nationally and internationally
- Raptor identification
- Tern identification
Our members take part in many counts and surveys :
- Winter Wader Count and Summer Wader Count
- Orange-bellied Parrot surveys
- Swift Parrot surveys
- Hooded Plover surveys and Hooded Plover wardening
- eBird Australia Global BIG days in early May and early October each year
- The BirdLife Australia Challenge Bird Count
- Upper Barwon Landcare Bird Surveys
Members' bird observations are recorded and can be viewed on the web-site. Many members also submit observations and bird lists to eBird Australia (http://ebird.org/content/australia/). Records from eBird Australia and BirdLife Australia Birdata and Shorebirds 2020 are used to prepare the Geelong Bird Report; an invaluable guide to birds and conservation in the Geelong region. The Geelong Bird Report 2013-2016 has recently been published as a PDF and is available to anyone who is interested in the birds of the Geelong region. This can be downloaded from the 'Publications' tab under 'About us' on this web-site or by following this link: https://www.gfnc.org.au/about-us/publications
Members are encouraged to contribute to the Geelong Naturalist. Some of these interesting articles can be found on the Articles page.