"...An early morning flight from
Hobart to
Melbourne and we were met at the airport by Steve Davidson, local bird guide and good mate of Sean Dooley's who had put us in touch. We immediately clicked with Steve and knew we were in for a good day. Many thanks, Steve, for great birding and a really enjoyable day; we really hope we can bird together again one day, top bloke. Check out Steve's website and if you're in the area give him a shout for great birding and great company.."
Ruth & Alan, The Biggest Twitch www.thebiggesttwitch.com (Nov 08)
"...spent a day birding with The Melbourne Birder, aka Steve Davidson. One of the best day's birding ever, Steve is a top birder, and extremely knowledgeable as well as being funny and friendly too! It felt like I'd been out for a day's birding with a mate rather than a guide. Saw 123 species of which about 80 were lifers..." Iain Johnson,
Auckland NZ. (Jan 09)
"...We went out for a days birding with Steve on 25th Jan 2009, having never birded
Victoria before. We had a brilliant day out, 138 species with 21 lifers! Steve was fantastic company, took us to some great places to see some wonderful birds. Very professional, very focused, so how come it felt like birding with one of your mates? Highly recommended and can't wait to bird with Steve again..." Jon, Alison & Lyn. (Jan 09)
"...Having spent some time in the Dandenongs, and birding along the Yarra River, I decided I needed to see species from the drier habitats close to Melbourne. The Melbourne Birder (Steve Davidson) seemed to me to be the best offer on the web, and I took a day tour out to the Greater Bendigo National Park Area. The day was exceptional. Steve is an exceptional birder. He knows his species (by sight and call) really well, and more importantly, exactly where to find them. Ten honeyeaters, six thornbills, and really good views of Musk, Little and Purple-crowned Lorikeets were a treat for me, amongst a long list of other species. Steve's company is also warm and his local knowledge of plants and habitats very useful when these details are as important as are the birds. There's no doubt that I will be back for more..."
Steven L. Chown Director, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology Stellenbosch University
Matieland 7602 South Africa
"...I travel to Australia frequently on business. I have come to rely on
Steve Davidson (The Melbourne Birder) to help me rapidly grow my life
list and help me to obtain quality photographs of Australian birds.
His assistance has been instrumental in obtaining quality photographs
of species that I would not have otherwise seen. Some of these
species can be seen on my website www.wildlifehobbies.com. He has
access to areas that a common tourist could not get into such as the
Werribee Waste Treatment facility. This spot is a world known location
for waders. I have birded with him in a quest for waders as well as a
search for bush birds. I have used his services multiple times on
separate occasions. I highly recommend him and intend on relying on
him as a guide during my next visit to Melbourne..."
Eric Skrzypczak, Marylands, USA. (Oct 09)
"Being in Australia for the first time and with only a few days spare I decided that a bit of help might be a great way to get started. I'd never hired a guide before and wasn't really sure what to expect. However, Steve picked us up at 6am and I think I can sum up Steve's enthusiasm and dedication with an example, because it was only at 7.00pm that evening when he turned to me and said "If you’re tired we can call it a day but we could go and try to find a few more!" (Thirty minutes later and five more species seen we did then decide to head home). It was a phenomenal day's birding. I had said to Steve that being new to the area it would be great to see a wide variety, so we visited, forests, dry bush areas, coastal wetlands and also stopped in-between whenever we saw, or Steve thought he heard, something interesting. What was particularly impressive was Steve's local knowledge of what might be around and where to go and look for it. Many times he stopped the car saying "There have been a few of these just around here recently and we might also see a few X, Y and Zs too". More often than not we got back into the car a few minutes later having seen (or at least heard) what Steve had suggested might be around. They may not seem so exciting for locals but my particularly fond memories are of excellent views of a scarlet honeyeater, mistletoebird, southern emu-wren and cape barren geese. However, we identified over 140 species (seeing most of them) and as testament to Steve's advice I even found myself identifying birds by their calls during the following days. Steve was excellent company, only stopped when we said we needed something to eat or drink and I would recommend his fantastic services to anyone looking for a local expert to help them have a great day's birdwatching" Ed Champness, UK.
"We started birding at sunrise in a marshy area to catch up with ducks and wading birds, moved on to grassland birds and raptors, and ended up about 6 hours later with a wonderful sighting of two species of corellas (related to cockatoos). We really took the time to watch the birds' activity, enjoying such sights as ducks feeding on water plants, a black falcon chasing a galah (species related to cockatoos) but eventually letting it fly off, a small flock of magpies feeding and fussing, and so forth. We saw many birds on my "would be great to see" list, and probably the most exciting bird for me was a red-rumped parrot -- iridescent green! We covered a lot of ground, and over the half-day I was able to identify 76 species.
I DEFINITELY would recommend Mr. Davidson to anyone who wants to bird in Melbourne!"
