When he was shown a copy of the guide - an innovative tourism venture shared between Tenterfield Tourism, the Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority and the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program - Mr Torbay, Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly and independent Member for the Northern Tablelands found some inspiration in the names of birds found in the local district.

And with the local area home to such birds as the Hardhead, Noisy Friarbird and Spangled Drongo, you can easily guess what the inspiration might be.

“I liked the ‘Spangled Drongo’,” Mr Torbay said, “I think I might use that the next time I’m speaker of the house.”

The Tenterfield Birdwatching Guide is a unique guide devised by John and Peter Sommerlad to take advantage of the birdwatching tourists that were previously overlooked as a market.

John Sommerlad, President of Tenterfield Tourism, said the guide was a unique addition to the local tourism industry because it detailed which birds can be seen in summer and winter in a number of areas around the shire and also lists possible lodgings for the birdwatchers in each area.

He said the accommodation listed in the brochure would give visiting birdwatchers unprecedented information and access to the local birds.

The brochure is the culmination of three years of work from Peter Sommerlad in detailing the local birds, though not that he was counting.

“It was a labour of love; it’s just something I loved doing,” he said.