Fourteen-year-old Curtis found a passion for bird-watching in mid-2008 when he was just nine.

Since then, he has expanded his knowledge through self-research and has taken on the role of monitoring birdlife and learning about the natural environment significant to the Moree shire.

A highlight of Curtis’ bird-watching stint occured last month when an ornithologist (a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds) from the University of New England (UNE) invited him to participate in the BirdLife Northern NSW Campout in the Clarence Valley. He said the opportunity was one of a kind.

“We had a fruitful bird information exchange and I have been encouraging them to come out here, offering my assistance with bird guiding,” he said.

Adding to his list of achievements, Curtis was a recipient of the Ella Bella Scholarship which has helped pursue his interests in further education.

“I am a major contributor to the NSW Birdline and to Eremaea eBird submitting thorough observation and survey lists for observation sites and extensive, detailed reports regarding rare and unusual sightings. I was previously an active and the youngest contributor of the NSW Bird Atlassers,” he said. His impressive photographs of bird sightings have also been recognised as he contributes to Michael Dahlem’s page on bird wildlife around Australia.

“I am also up against the acts of coal seam gas mining near Maules Creek in the Leard State Forest campaign. I provide environmental guidance, presented and explained local knowledge about our birdlife and area, taken groups to observation sites, recommended other bird sites, suggested useful information to several ecologists and birders who’ve travelled through Moree,” he said.

Curtis has created local bird guide flyers and Gwydir Wetland birdlife flyers and has them displayed and available at the local tourist information centre.

Curtis said he had a love for all birds and could not choose a particular favourite.

“I officially started bird-watching in 2009 when a friend and I started and we have gone birding regularly ever since. Together we go on field trips to cotton farms, the pecan nut farm, the Gwydir/Gingham Wetlands, Combadello Weir, Whittaker’s Lagoon, Ruth Leitch Bridge, the local common and out near Terry Hie Hie, Pallamallawa and Moree which is where I monitor,” Curtis said.

Curtis said ultimately he would like to continue focusing on learning more about the local environment but would like to study environmental science/zoology.

“Birds are an intricate component of the ecosystem, they keep the climate stable, oxygenate the air and transform pollutants into nutrients. If birds disappear, it means something is severely wrong with our environment and that we need to take action,” he said.

Another passionate bird-watcher and influencer of Curtis’ love for birds, Ainslee Lines, first met Curtis after being introduced at the library in 2009.

“He first came bird-watching with us when he was 10 and now he has improved so much. He has young ears and eyes and will always hear a bird before we do,” she said.

Ms Lines said his expertise was self-taught and his impressive memory was a bonus for him.

“One day we were out at Whittaker’s Lagoon and we saw a Jacana land on a weed. It was a lucky sight to see as the weed it lands on doesn’t usually grow and they don’t land if there is movement, so we were lucky to be standing still at the time. Curtis was quick and grabbed a photo to make it even more special,” she said.

Ms Lines said each time they went birding Curtis increased their bird count.