Kirsty Costa

This episode was recorded on Dja Dja Wurrung country in central Victoria.

I pay my respects to elders past and present, and to the generations of people who have listened closely to this landscape for tens of thousands of years, noticing birds, seasons, and the changing rhythms of country.

Welcome to episode 150 of Weekend Birder.

I'm Kirstie Costa, and I honestly cannot believe I'm saying those words out loud.

When I first started this little podcast, I never imagined that thousands of people from around the world would end up listening in each week.

It still completely blows my mind that this community exists, and I'm so very grateful that you're part of it.

And because this is a milestone episode, I wanted to bring back a fan favourite.

Andrew Skiok is a professional wildlife sound recordist, audio ecologist, and the author of a book called Deep Listening to Nature.

Over the last 30 years, Andrew has documented the sounds of environments around the planet,

And many Weekend Bird listeners will remember him from episode 117, where he shared what he's learnt from years of listening to the dawn chorus.

And somewhere, in all of that listening, Andrew started noticing something remarkable about honey eaters and the way that they shape the Australian landscape.

Andrew has nearly 25 years of recordings from around his home in central Victoria.

And over time, he's noticed that the honey eaters have changed.

Not just the number of birds, but which species are leading.

Listening to Andrew's two recordings side by side feels a little bit like listening to ecological history unfold in real time.

I'm wondering if the changes in bird populations is related to habitat changes.

Andrew says he doesn't think that this is the case.

One of the things that I've learned over 150 episodes of this podcast is that knowing your local birds and their habitats really enables you to learn in lots of different ways.

And that birdwatching is as much about listening as it is about watching.

The more closely you pay attention to birds, the more complicated and fascinating they become.