The diversity of bird life at Hunter Wetlands Centre is one reason to visit this unique Shortland ecosystem.
A bear hunt is another.
The Hunter Wetlands team have never been afraid to think outside the square when it comes to convincing people to visit, and newly appointed general manager James Wilson is keen to continue that tradition during the upcoming school holidays and beyond.
From September 27 to October 4 families can participate in The Great Teddy Bear Hunt: Explore the Wetlands. Pack a picnic lunch, choose your favourite teddy bear and follow the We're Going on a Bear Hunt trail through the long grass, over this and under that, from the on-site playground to the Egret Tower.
Hunter Wetlands Centre hopes to promote the importance of wetland conservation through this and other activities and events including guided walks, canoeing, threatened species trails for children, and reptile encounters.
Wilson says the centre is "a not-for-profit powered by volunteers". Admission fees "go directly towards ensuring that we can continue to protect the natural Australian flora and fauna that is unique to the Hunter".
"We're on a mission to show people in the Hunter region the importance of wetland conservation," he says.
"We're trying to get as many kids and families as we can to properly explore the wetlands through both paid and free, unguided, activities. You can spend a whole day out here, easily."
Wilson and his wife moved to Newcastle early last year following an eight-year stint in Cambodia where they founded a social enterprise working with female entrepreneurs.
His sister-in-law volunteers at Hunter Wetlands Centre and "was raving about it" so Wilson visited and became a fan himself. When the general manager position was advertised, he didn't hesitate to apply.
Hunter Wetlands Centre is situated on a large Hunter estuary wetland system known as Hexham Swamp. For more than a century - until the centre was founded in 1985 - the swamp had been filled for various industrial and recreational purposes.
Today, it's a vibrant wetland ecosystem of national and international importance and, at the 2022 Ramsar Conference of Parties (COP14) in Switzerland, was one of the 23 recipients of the first Star Wetlands Centre Award.
Hunter Wetlands Centre is visited by more than 200 bird species each year, including several vulnerable and endangered species such as Magpie Geese (which were previously hunted to extinction in NSW) and Freckled Ducks.
Bird watcher and professional photographer Stephanie Owen will take visitors on an hour-long guided tour of the wetlands on Saturday, September 16, as part of Biodiversity Month. It's called Breakfast with the Birds.
Owen is exploring Walka Water Works near Maitland when Weekender calls, and the constant chirping of birds in the background serves as a pleasant soundtrack for our conversation.
"I've always liked birds. Growing up, my dad had an aviary out the back," she says.
"We had a hobby property at Gloucester and mum and dad bought me a bird book when I was 14 and I'd sit outside, look at the birds and try to identify them from the book."
At a loss when her son flew the nest, and driven by a desire to find her passion in life, she bought a camera.
It goes wherever she goes.
"In 2013 I started Stephanie Owen Photography as a business and I have never looked back. It took over my life," she says.
"I love bushwalking so I naturally started taking photos of birds," Owen says.
"I love their behaviours, how inquisitive they are. If you stop still for five seconds you'll actually have a bird come over and look at you."
She joined Hunter Bird Observers Club because she "kept meeting these nice people out and about as I was walking and taking photos". Hunter Wetlands Centre is one of several locations she visits regularly.
"The birdlife there is magic. If I'm looking for really lovely photographic shots it is the perfect place to go," Owen says.
"The birds have acclimatised to people. They're still wild, but they're less flighty and more curious. So if you approach them, sensibly, you can get some amazing shots. They just sit there and look at you!
"And there is such a diversity of bird life there because of the different kinds of environments - there's marshlands, rainforest areas and some native Australian bush - so you've got a variety of birds in one area that you'd usually have to travel to find. It's an exciting place."
She says Hunter Wetlands Centre, Hexham and Ash Island are "absolutely essential to survival of shorebirds that fly hundreds of thousands of kilometres" and return to these areas to roost.
- For details about weekend and school holiday activities at Hunter Wetlands Centre visit wetlands.org.au.
