BirdLife Australia President, Mandy Bamford, and CEO Kate Millar cordially invites BirdLife supporters in NSW to attend a private screening of ‘Night Calling’ at the Dendy Cinema in Newtown on Friday 29 November 2024 at 2pm.

Night Calling is a documentary on Masked Owls and the campaign for stronger protection for all birds affected by the scourge of second generation rodenticides.

As a ten-year-old, Boyd Wykes was thrilled to find an injured Tawny Frogmouth on his way home from school. Learning to care for the bird has sparked Boyd’s lifetime passion for night birds throughout his ornithologist career.

Now in retirement, a chance sighting of a rare Masked Owl near his home in Margaret River turned Boyd’s passion into an obsession. In partnership with bird photographer Steve Castan and a dedicated band of “Mowl” enthusiasts, they diligently tracked down several mating pairs and their nests, gathering invaluable scientific information along the way.

However, their world was shattered when the joy of discovering several mating pairs of Masked Owls turned into a heart-wrenching tragedy. The lifeless bodies of these majestic creatures, victims of common rat baits, were found on the side of the road. This stark reality exposed Australia’s weak protections for birds.

Thus began the Owl Friendly education campaign - a testament to their unwavering determination to ban the sale of “one dose kills” rodenticides. As Boyd passionately declared: “If that meant creating safe havens, one community at a time, then so be it!”
Following the documentary, Vice-President Professor Hugh Possingham will facilitate an interactive panel discussion with BirdLife experts and the audience.

Tickets to this event are free of charge to BirdLife supporters, i.e. anyone who loves birds.

While we have the whole cinema to ourselves on the day, seats will go quickly. So please book early!