Celebrate Bird Week and the Aussie Backyard Bird Count

Posted on 18 October, 2016 by Tanya Loos

From 17-23 October 2016, thousands of people from across the country are heading out into their backyards, local parks or favourite open spaces to take part in the third annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count!

On Saturday, October 15 2016, Connecting Country’s Woodland Bird Project Coordinator Tanya Loos and BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley kicked off Bird Week and the Aussie Backyard Bird Count with a joint presentation in the Macedon Ranges .

Sean spoke passionately about growing up with birds in the Melbourne suburbs of Seaford, and his love for imperiled woodland birds such as the Grey-crowned babbler. He showed us how simple bird surveys conducted by citizen scientists all over Australia have enabled some alarming trends to be picked up – such as the decline of Laughing Kookaburras which are down some 40% in recent years.

Tanya then followed with an overview of the extensive on ground works program of Connecting Country, and how this work will help woodland birds and in particular the feathered five. She shared some exciting graphics which show the results of the citizen science program in the area – in particular for the Diamond Firetail and Brown Treecreeper. (Coming soon!)

Sean then took us outside and we used the Aussie Backyard Bird Count app to do a simple twenty minute survey, the highlight of which was a Sacred Kingfisher sitting on a little gate above a dam next to the Newham Mechanics Institute. The app is so easy to use! For those without a smart phone – the website is also very simple and really aesthetically pleasing.

To get involved all you need is 20 minutes, your ‘green patch’ of choice, and some keen eyesight (or binoculars!) And it doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert—we’ll be there to help you out along the way! Simply record the birds you know and look up those you don’t on our ‘Aussie Bird Count’ app or the website. You’ll instantly see live statistics and information on how many people are taking part near you and the number of birds and species counted not just across your neighbourhood but the whole of Australia!

Not only will you get to know your feathered neighbours, but you’ll be contributing to a vital pool of information from across the nation that will help us see how Australian birds are faring. Check out the results from the 2015 Aussie Backyard Bird Count here.

Any questions about the Aussie Backyard Bird Count? Get in touch with Tanya at the Connecting Country office at tanya@connectingcountry.org.au