Groundswell of interest in Tauranga bird calling event

Western Bay Wildlife Trustee Paul Cuming with Envirohub's Emma Wood are all ears ahead of a sold-out bird calling event this weekend. Photo/John Borren

The chance to tell a bellbird's song from a tui has proven to be so popular, a bird call training event this weekend has sold out just hours after tickets went live.

Tomorrow's Bird calling Identification Training session at Envirohub's Historic Village office reached venue capacity within 24 hours of spaces going on offer.

With the 70 registrations already filled, organisers are now creating a waiting list for the next one.

Western Bay Wildlife Trustee Paul Cuming said the gold coin event was aimed at tapping into the community and sharing an awareness and appreciation for nature's songbirds.

"If you don't know your bird calls, you don't know a lot of animals," Cuming said.

Cuming, who has been studying birds and their noises since 1986, says he has noticed a shift in interest in the hobby over the years.

"There's more children and young people who seem to be showing interest. It could be down to individuals and schools and teachers encouraging more conservational awareness."

Cuming said, tomorrow, he would share his knowledge on how to recognise native and introduced birds by their calls. He would also offer handy tricks to tell the difference between mimicking birds.

"[Tui] and bellbirds are exceptional at this. They are fantastic songbirds but it's a bit difficult to tell them apart sometimes. I can give a few points on that."

Cuming said the ultimate aim was to get knowledge of bird calls out there. The more chance of someone recognising a bird's song, the more likely a person would be aware of the birds and their surrounding habitat. From this, a person could potentially become more aware and more caring of conservational matters, he said.

"If I can help them with at least one bird call in the evening, it's worth it."

The event will involve a presentation and audio of various bird calls, with Cuming explaining the different quirks of each bird.

Envirohub's Emma Woods said there was still so much interest in tomorrow's event she was working on a follow-up event.

"Now I'm taking people for a waiting list and we are thinking about taking it around the region," Woods said.

"I was pleasantly surprised. It's brilliant."

Woods said there had been a lot of interest from groups and families.

"People are definitely coming here because they want to learn more and enhance their experience when in the bush."

The event is the second of its kind. The first was also a sell-out.

It will be held at Envirohub's Historic Village office from 2-4pm. If anyone is interested in future bird-calling events, they can visit the Envirohub website or office.