Tathra Public School wins bird olympics in Australia — ABC News Australia

In the Australian town of Merimbula, on the far south coast of New South Wales, Tathra Public School won the Bournda Bird Olympics 2026. Forty students from seven schools took part in the competition, imitating the calls of bird species native to Australia, ABC News reports.

Imitating bird calls

For an hour, the schoolchildren reproduced the sounds of kookaburras, Australian ravens and yellow-tailed black cockatoos. Judges assessed the accuracy of the imitations, technique, tone, as well as the participants’ creativity and courage.

Judge Bob Harris said the event aims to encourage children’s interest in nature and engagement with the environment. According to him, the contestants’ results were close, making it difficult to determine the winner.

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Debut by a school from the Snowy Mountains

The competition, organized by the Bournda Environmental Education Centre, was held for the ninth time. Most teams represented schools from the far south coast of New South Wales, including Tathra, Bega, Pambula, Wyndham, Central Tilba and Wolumla.

This year, Nimmitabel Public School from the Snowy Mountains took part for the first time. Its six students prepared for the competition for two months, while the entire school, which has 13 children, travelled for more than an hour to the coast to support the team.

Former bird-call imitation competitor Bruce Chapman, who competed in the 1950s, said the schoolchildren’s participation was important for their introduction to birds and nature.