17 Aug 2018
A range of different bird calls coming from Bournda National Park did not just belong to the array of permanent feathered residents, but also to a group of schoolchildren competing in The Sapphire Coast Learning Community Bournda Bird Olympics run by the Bournda Environmental Education Centre.
The overall champion from the event was Cobargo Public School's Sonny Burgess, who as the sole competitor from our school, took out both the highest overall and highest school scores.
When asked what his secret was to knowing so much about birds, Sonny said it was "just going out there and talking to them", while he also reads a lot of books about birds.
One of the major events from the day was the bird calling competition, with students giving their best impressions of a range of different birds, from kookaburras to corellas.
Other events the 30-odd students participated in included identifying birds, identifying bird calls, an artwork competition and trivia.
The other schools involved were Bega Valley, Tanja, Towamba and Wolumla Public Schools, who sent students aged from Kindergarten to Year 10 to compete.
Bournda Environmental Education Centre principal Doug Reckord said everyone enjoyed their time at the bird olympics.
"It was great to see kids getting into an art that was extremely popular in the 1950s and '60s," he said of bird calling.
"You can see why it was popular as it was an engaging thing to do."
He thanked Far South Coast Birdwatchers and On The Perch for their support of the event and thought it would run again next year.
Sonny receiving The Jack Lynch Memorial Award for the annual Bird Olympics. Here he is proudly displaying it with his Dad.
Many thanks to Bega News for allowing us to share their article. The original article can be found at begadistrictnews.com.au/news/local-news/5568415/fun-among-feathered-friends-at-bird-olympics/#slide=1
Sonny wins the bird olympics
