Roger Thomas marks 40 years of Nature Notes in The Courier

But he did know he would still be indulging his passion for birds, plants, fungi and all things nature - a lifelong interest that began when he was in primary school.

"I've been interested in birds since primary school and I don't know how or what started it. It wasn't a trendy thing to be doing at primary school or secondary school," he said.

Over the decades the nature enthusiast estimates he has written more than 2070 editions of Nature Notes, published weekly in The Courier.

In that time he's seen many species come and go particularly around his beloved Lake Wendouree which remains one of his favourite spots for bird watching.

It was there, in the 1960s, he learned from his friend and mentor John Wheeler who was the previous Nature Notes contributor.

"In early high school we visited a farm and there were baby starlings there who needed a home," Mr Thomas said.

"I bought them home and when it got time to almost release them I contacted Jack Wheeler, who I had never met before, and he wrote me an encouraging letter and told me when to release my young starlings.

"I told him some of the birds I had been seeing at Lake Wendouree and he was interested and encouraged my interest in the birds of Lake Wendouree.

"We met and went to a few different places together and he taught me quite a bit."

Mr Thomas assisted Mr Wheeler during his final years of penning the Nature Notes column, then took over on September 24, 1983, after Mr Wheeler retired.

Among the changes in the Ballarat environment over 40 years is the bird population.

"Some things have moved in, others have become scarcer," Mr Thomas said.

"The crested pigeon is one example in the Ballarat region - it was classed as rare but not it's a regular bird in Ballarat when previously it was only on the very edge of Ballarat. It has expanded its range."

Other species though have declined, including the robin and thornbill.

"It's getting to be a bit of a worry but I don't like to concentrate on the decline too much otherwise it gets too depressing," Mr Thomas said.

One of the reasons he believes bird numbers are falling is the decline in insects, which could be linked to climate change.

The internet has also changed how nature enthusiasts communicate - and it has given a new following to Nature Notes with keen readers jumping onto The Courier website weekly to read the column online as well as in print.

"I used to get a lot more Australia Post mail which I would pick up each week, letters on all sorts of things sometimes with enclosed photos or the occasional specimen," Mr Thomas said.

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"I used to think I was fairly well informed with most rare bird sightings around Ballarat but that's changed now, with more people interested in nature or digital photography placing their observations on various websites so I'm not kept in the loop as much, not that I demand it, it's just the way things have gone."

In addition to his regular bushwalking excursions to bird watch, listen to bird calls and look at various plants and fungi in the region, Mr Thomas draws great satisfaction from answering the questions of Nature Notes readers.

"The Q&A section has been popular with all sorts of questions about plant identification, fungi identification, bird identification and people asking how rare various things are," he said.

"I enjoy digging and delving and finding answers and that's still occurring."

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