During his time at UQ, he was involved in both anatomical
research (mainly concerned with wild animals) and ecological research (mainly on
birds). This has resulted in a
publication list of over 150 journal articles.
Peter Woodall was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and began a
life-long interest in birds when he was 9 years old.
He attended the University College of Rhodesia (B.Sc.), University of
Rhodesia (M.Sc.) and the Animal Ecology Research Group, Oxford University on a
Rhodes Scholarship (D.Phil). In 1978
he came to Australia and joined the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, University
of Queensland and remained with the university until his retirement.
His
interest in population dynamics led to several projects to establish the
baseline information on the distribution and abundance of several groups of
birds: garden bird surveys; forest
bird surveys; coastal raptor surveys.
These projects, many using volunteer observers but conducted in a
rigorous scientific manner will enable us to monitor changes in these
populations into the future. A
feature of Peter’s research has been to involve amateurs in scientific projects.
This has occurred during seven of the QNC’s long excursions.
In addition to his
publications in scientific journals, Peter has written many popular articles in
journals such as Australian Natural
History, Queensland Science Teacher
and the newsletters of the QNC and Birds Queensland.
He wrote the chapter on Kingfishers in the multi-volume
Handbook of Birds of the World.
Recognising the need for an illustrated guide to the wildflowers of
Girraween and Bald Rock National Parks, Peter and Leith Woodall produced a small
booklet with this title in 2005.
Peter has
made significant contributions to several professional and amateur organisations
during his career. He was the Assistant Editor of the RAOU’s journal
Emu (1986-88) and Editor (1988-89).
He was
Vice-President (1987-88) and President (1989)
of the Queensland Naturalists’ Club Inc. and has been the Editor of its journal
The Queensland Naturalist for 21 years
(1996- ). He was the Vice-President of The Queensland Ornithological Society in
1980-81 and its President in 1982-83. He was awarded Hon. Life memberships of
both these societies.
He has given many talks on
natural history to community groups including Birds Queensland, Neighbourhood
Watch, Probus, Queensland Naturalists Club, Queensland Finch Society, and SGAP.
He has also led many excursions for both Birds Queensland and the
Queensland Naturalists’ Club, including three long excursions for the QNC.
Peter has
donated 90 recordings of bird calls, mainly from Australia, to
www.xeno-canto.org, and over 2250 images, covering 1847 taxa to www.
www.igoterra.com to aid others in the identification of species.
Peters’
major contribution has been to increase the scientific and public awareness of
natural history, particularly birds, in Queensland.
This has come from both his scientific publications, popular publications
and from his talks which have brought this information to a much wider audience.
His enthusiasm for birds and also for natural history in the broader
sense has made him an excellent teacher and leader and he gathers around him
willing volunteers for any of his activities.