Dr Eric Woehler

About Eric

Dr Eric Woehler (OAM) is a seabird and shorebird ecologist based in lutruwita/Tasmania who has been involved in research, management and conservation of birds and their habitats his entire life.

Background

Dr Eric Woehler (OAM) is a seabird and shorebird ecologist based in nipaluna/Hobart, lutruwita/Tasmania. He has actively been involved in research directed towards conservation and management of birds and their habitats for his entire life. Eric is actively engaged with community-based efforts to protect coastal birds, using analyses of long-term data sets to provide evidence-based, data-driven guidance and advice to land managers.

Eric's current research foci are (1) population assessments (status, distribution and trends) of beach-nesting birds in lutruwita/Tasmania, including islands, and (2) seabirds at sea related to physical and biological oceanography. Seabirds at sea observations are undertaken from oceanographic research vessels linked with underway data to investigate oceanographic influences in seabirds' distributions and abundances at sea.

Eric's research efforts and papers are available:
Research Gate
Google Scholar
ORCID record

A couple of Eric's favourite blogs:

CSIRO ECOS

Schmidt Ocean Institute

Moving Oceans - shorebirds



Articles by Eric

Little Penguin 40600

Little penguin paradise

Bruny Island is a special habitat for so many birds, including Tasmania's 12 endemic species and the amazing little penguin, says Dr Eric Woehler. They nest in a range of habitats, including under garden sheds and overturned boats - and so far, they've adapted to climate change.

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Fairy Tern 51380

Protecting Bruny's beach-dwellers

Dog management on Bruny Island is a big issue, writes bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler. He has many photos of dogs predating on vulnerable eggs, chicks and adult nesting birds - and he's urging dog owners to put them on a lead.

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Short tailed Shearwater 46674

A tiny transhemispheric migrant

Tasmania is the stronghold for the short-tailed shearwater, writes bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler. But they are also a remarkable transhemispheric migrant, flying to Antarctica in two days to find food for their chicks, before travelling north to Japan, Russia and Alaska for the northern summer. Then, they'll do it all again.

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Subantarctic Skua 08837

Macquarie Island: a true wildlife hotspot

“Every time, it’s like the first time. You’re just like a kid in the candy store when you see that much wildlife,” says veteran bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler, of his more than 10 trips to Macquarie Island. Read about his journey.

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Hooded Plover 22183

Plight of the shorebirds

The hooded plover and pied oystercatcher can only live, breed and feed successfully on the beach, writes Dr Eric Woehler (OAM). And that, he says, makes them extremely vulnerable as human activities increase and destroy their habitat. They must be looked after, including here in Tasmania.

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Red necked Stint 34085

The amazing migration

Dr Eric Woehler says he doesn’t need to exaggerate what these tiny migratory bird species can do - “I can simply tell people the bird that sits in the cup of your hand will fly farther than the distance between the earth and the moon over its lifetime."

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Hooded Plover 07050

The great Tasmanian bird count

Bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler once thought it would take about five years to travel around most of Tasmania’s beaches and survey their inhabitants. 31 years later, he has walked 450 beaches of Tasmania - and, he's still going.

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Tasmanian Devil 31579

A lifelong love for wildlife

Dr Eric Woehler has been asked a few times where his passion and interest came from. He grew up in Hobart in a caring home, but nature wasn’t something that was a thread in conversations. That inspiration happened at university.

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Pied Oystercatcher 15128

Canine companion or beach predator?

Research shows that if a potential predator is moving towards a shorebird nest on the beach, some birds, such as the hooded plover, will abandon their eggs or chicks. These ground-nesting birds are extremely vulnerable - and one of the major threats is dogs, says bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler.

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Galleries by Eric

The fairy tern: tiny beach nester

The fairy tern is a similar size to a hooded plover - so tiny, it would sit comfortably in the palm of your hand. They lay just two eggs, onto the beach sand. See these remarkable images from Tasmanian-based bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler.

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Dusky dolphin: ocean acrobat

The dusky dolphin is one of the smaller dolphin species with a maximum weight of about 85 kilograms and a length, of just over two metres. The dusky dolphin is a social species, known for its agility and coordinated acrobatic abilities.

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Woodland birds

We all need a good visual dose of the wonder of Nature sometimes, and we can't always get outside from behind the desk, to breathe it in. Here, we bring it to you, with these beautiful close-ups of our unique woodland bird species, photographed by Tasmanian bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler (OAM). Take a moment and enjoy.

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Galleries Contributed by Eric

Dusky dolphin: ocean acrobat

The dusky dolphin is one of the smaller dolphin species with a maximum weight of about 85 kilograms and a length, of just over two metres. The dusky dolphin is a social species, known for its agility and coordinated acrobatic abilities.

Read more

The fairy tern: tiny beach nester

The fairy tern is a similar size to a hooded plover - so tiny, it would sit comfortably in the palm of your hand. They lay just two eggs, onto the beach sand. See these remarkable images from Tasmanian-based bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler.

Read more

Woodland birds

We all need a good visual dose of the wonder of Nature sometimes, and we can't always get outside from behind the desk, to breathe it in. Here, we bring it to you, with these beautiful close-ups of our unique woodland bird species, photographed by Tasmanian bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler (OAM). Take a moment and enjoy.

Read more

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