| Dr. Tonia Cochran: Tonia Cochran is the main birding guide and tour leader for the trip. She works with a wide variety of clientele in Australia, but really enjoys working with birders who are also interested in Australia’s fantastic wildlife. She moved from Melbourne in Victoria to Tasmania and established the Inala Reserve in the late 1980s. She works full time as a guide and tour leader throughout Australia, but she loves to return to the Inala Reserve where she has resided for over thirty years. Tonia has a PhD in Biology with a broad knowledge of Australian birds, marine and terrestrial fauna and flora and has almost twenty years of experience in designing and leading birding and wildlife tours throughout Australia. Tonia is recognized as an expert on Australia birding and wildlife. She has participated in documentaries for the Discovery Channel, the BBC and several international film companies. She has appeared in National television series such as "Getaway" and "Totally Wild". Tonia also regularly acts as guest speaker at a number of venues around Australia and overseas, discussing wide ranging topics such as Antarctica, ecotourism and guiding, threatened species conservation and ornithology. She has been guest speaker at various wildlife tourism workshops and conferences in Tasmania, and she overseas travel conferences. She is also a regular contributor of articles to various magazines and the subject of numerous newspaper articles. Tonia is heavily involved with the conservation of threatened species. She is a member of the National Recovery team for three endangered birds (Forty-spotted Pardalote, Tasmanian races of the Wedge-tailed Eagle and White-bellied Sea Eagle) and is a contributor to the Swift Parrot Recovery program in Tasmania. She also works as an environmental consultant on a number of projects, ranging from advice on University postgraduate projects to conservation management plans. She remains involved with various environmentally focused school projects. She also cares for orphaned and injured wildlife, which are released either on her reserve or in the area where they were found. She is committed to promoting a tourism industry that is ecologically sustainable and educational, which underpins the programs she leads and offers. Tonia’s academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Science degree (with a double major in Zoology and Botany), a BSc (Honors) degree and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Melbourne. During her residence in Melbourne, she gained extensive teaching experience, including a lecturing position in one of the top Universities in Victoria. She has worked in close association with the Invertebrate Zoology Department at the Museum of Victoria. Tonia has also worked as a scientific illustrator at the University of Melbourne and was involved in sub- Antarctic and Antarctic research from 1985 to 1996, which included participation in several Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) Marine Science voyages to several sub-Antarctic and Antarctic localities. She has also consulted with the Australian Antarctic Division in Tasmania between 1990 to 1996. Tonia is one of our most popular bird tour leaders, as she is enjoys sharing her knowledge of Australian birds and wildlife, and her unassuming personality makes every one of the trip feel comfortable as they enjoy a birding and wildlife trip of a lifetime. |
| For more information or to register for any of our birding trips, call Charles at 888-203-7464 or Charles directly at 720-320-1974 or by email at info@PIBird.com. |
Birding
and Wildlife Watching
in Australia
and Wildlife Watching
in Australia
| Key Staff and Leaders |
| Photos (above and below) by Bob Lewis. |
