Dawn has written and illustrated many semi-scientific and popular articles in magazines worldwide, has acted as scientific and/or technical adviser and/or associate producer to various feature and television film makers.
She has much experience of giving personal presentations at both popular and scientific levels, and also carries out ecological and avifaunal surveys for various environmental agencies in tropical north Queensland, Australia.
Dawn started her professional career as a zoology lecturer in England (1968–1973) before taking a year's absence from her position as a visiting scientist at the Royal Society of London Research Station Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean.
Since 1977, Dawn, with Clifford B. Frith, has studied various aspects of tropical rainforest avifauna in Australia, New Guinea and elsewhere for over three decades.
Her studies have resulted in many scientific publications (84 to date) on the behaviour, nesting biology, mating systems, and systematics of bowerbirds, birds-of-paradise, and other rainforest-dwelling bird species.