Dr Andrew Hingston
About Andrew
Dr Andrew Hingston is an expert in Tasmanian birds.
Background
Andrew grew up on a farm in northern Tasmania, and from a very early age developed a love of birds. He saved enough money from collecting and recycling beer-bottles at the age of 10 to buy his first binoculars, and has been fascinated and committed to birds ever since. He completed a bachelor of science in forest ecology before going on to complete an honours and PhD on aspects of bird ecology in Tasmania. He is currently Honorary Research Associate at the University of Tasmania, has published 30 research papers on the ecology of Tasmanian birds, works as a guide with Inala Nature Tours, and on the conservation of birds with the Bruny Island Environment Network.
Articles by Andrew
Saving Forty Spotted Pardalote chicks from blood-sucking maggots!
A critical problem for Forty Spotted Pardalotes breeding is a native fly which lays its eggs inside their nests. When the eggs hatch, the maggots come out and burrow under the skin of the 40-Spotted Pardalote nestlings and suck their blood. But a unique conservation project might have found a solution
The open water migration of three rare parrots
It is unusual that there's only three species of parrot that migrate across open water in the world. They all migrate across Bass Strait, and they're all on the threatened species list. These are the Swift Parrot and the Orange-Bellied Parrot, which are both critically endangered, and the Blue-Winged Parrot, which has just been listed as vulnerable.
From discarded bottles to a lifelong love of nature
Dr Andrew Hingston collected discarded beer bottles as a kid on the east Tamar highway to save up money for a second-hand pair of binoculars. From there came a lifelong love of birds and the natural world
Ecology of the Forty-Spotted Pardalote
The 40-spotted Pardalote is a very specialised bird and one of the rarest on planet Earth. Expert Dr Andrew Hingston explains some of this beautiful endangered bird's ecology.
Why old trees are so important for endangered woodland birds
Why are old trees so important for endangered woodland birds? It takes a tree 100 years or more, generally, to start developing hollows. These hollows are critical for nest sites for these birds
A hopeful road-map for saving the Forty Spotted Pardalote
There is a lot of positive stuff and a nice road map laid out to recover the endangered Forty Spotted Pardalote, including through a project that's being run by the Bruny Island Environment Network called the Threatened Woodland Birds of Bruny Island.
Bruny and Maria Island critical for Swift Parrot's survival
Swift Parrots are critically endangered. The one thing that has kept the Swift Parrot going, is that there are two islands, Bruny Island and Maria Island, where there are no sugar gliders. And on these islands, the birds can breed successfully if there is sufficient food.
Helping Forty Spotted Pardalotes nest
An extraordinary conservation project on Bruny Island is building nest boxes tailored to help one of the world's rarest birds. The project is figuring out how to let Forty-Spotted pardalotes in but keeps others out.
The incredible diversity of Bruny Island
Bruny Island is a really special place. It's got an incredible diversity of habitats. It's relatively undeveloped, relatively undamaged. So on Bruny Island you can see things like threatened species of birds, still breeding on this island, which is really a wonderful thing.
The Swift Parrot - An incredible bird
The Swift Parrot is a little bright green parrot, it's about 60 grams or so - about half the size of a Rosella, that flys at very high speeds - up to 88 kilometres an hour, making it the fasted parrot on planet Earth. It breeds in Tasmania and migrates across Bass Strait each year.
8 critical challenges for saving the Swift Parrot
Do we want to have a world with Swift Parrots, or don't we? If we do, we've got to act right now because we're running out of time fast. Here are 8 critical challenges for the Swift Parrot.