Sean Dooley remembers life radically changing aged 10, when his teacher took his class to a swamp at the school’s edge, binoculars firmly in hand.
As they looked for birds, he knew he'd stumbled upon a lifelong passion.
He initially tried to hide his interest in what was then considered a pastime for “little old ladies" but the secret got out when he changed schools.
“I didn't know a soul and I was outed by a teacher on the first day as a bird lover," Dooley says.
“It was social death in the schoolyard”.
As a young adult, he hung out with "literal punks" who had a “Gonzo attitude to bird watching” before taking on 'the big year', a challenge in the birdwatching community to identify as many birds in 365 days.
Dooley travelled the breadth of Australia and broke the national record, identifying more than 700 species.
“To me, it was really cool. It was my punk rebellion but convincing anyone else? No," he says.
"Birdwatching had this just very dowdy, nerdy reputation”.
But the times are changing.
Birdwatching is attracting hordes of fans from all corners of society. Among them, NRL star Mitch Kenny broadcasts his avian passion on social media.
The results of BirdLife Australia's annual bird count released this week underscores how popular the hobby has become.
In one week, 64,000 people took part and counted more than five million birds across the country.
There were 621 species identified, with the magpie taking the crown as the most often spotted.
The rainbow lorikeet claimed second position ahead of the native noisy miner and sulphur-crested cockatoo.
It's arguably Australia’s biggest annual citizen science event and serves as proof birdwatching’s reputation has been rehabilitated.
For one ordinary bloke, it was noticing birds at his local cricket club that started the path to a profession.
“Everyone knows I'm a birdwatcher at that club and they all get around it. They're really interested in it actually, all the boys there," Ryan Kilgower tells AAP.
“There's no, ‘oh, you're a weird person,’ or, ‘this is an unusual hobby,’ or anything. It actually genuinely interests a lot of people”.
The 26-year-old Melburnian now works at BirdLife Australia as a conservationist trying to save the orange-bellied parrot.
There were only 17 in the sky a few years ago but a captive breeding program has boosted the population to 86.
One disaster could mean extinction.
"They could be gone in a blink of an eye. One bushfire - gone", Ryan says.
Despite the struggles of conservation, he enjoys his work and has been able to travel widely.
“I've been to so many different places … some of the most weird and unique places, just to see birds, that no one else would ever venture to," he says.
But social media can turn connecting with nature into a double-edged sword.
In addition to his job, Ryan is an admin for one of Victoria’s biggest birdwatching pages on Facebook.
He has seen first-hand how social media is allowing a younger audience to access a once-derided activity.
But the negatives associated with a tech-dominated world are an oft-cited reason for taking up birdwatching, according to Sydney Bird Club founder Stephanie Chambers.
When they started SBC 10 years ago with partner Amy Ranck, two people showed up to the park for their first walk.
But since the pandemic, the interest has overwhelmed Stephanie, who has to cap the walks to some 50 attendees. Interest in them is four times that.
"People were depressed, especially after COVID, and then they went outside and they sat on a bench in their local park across the street and they just started watching birds," they say.
"It brought them such joy, and part of that is that they’re having an experience of the world, not on their phone".
It's become so popular Sydney Bird Club member Elena McNiece, 26, can no longer get her hands on tickets.
She has celebrated switching scrolling social media for strolling in nature.
“I know the birds that live in my neighbourhood, I know when they're having little chicks, I know what birds I can find when I go on my daily walks", she says.
"And I just think that's really beautiful".
As a teacher, she has been spreading the word in her classroom about the joys of birdwatching.
“I did the BirdLife count with my kids last year and they probably didn't have more fun all year. They were screaming with joy," Elena tells AAP.
“For the rest of the year, anytime they saw one of the birds that they recognised, they would scream its name. It was awesome.”
Maybe more awesome is the idea the next Sean Dooley was sitting in her classroom.
Maybe even more than one.
