Latest News

Displaying 1 - 10 of 474

Spring is a season of new life – and heralds not only the breeding season for many of birds, but also migratory movements of some of our most beloved, (and some of our most controversial) species. We had 1327 surveys come in from 523 gardens across Australia for the Birds in Backyards spring survey period – with 323 different bird species seen.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the winter 2024 bird surveys! Whether you're a seasoned birdwatcher or new to the team, your participation is critical to understanding the birds that live where we live. Let’s dive into some of the fascinating trends we saw this winter, with some surprising shifts and exciting breeding activity.

 

As Bird Week fast approaches (Oct 14-20), here at BirdLife Australia, we’re excited to offer two awesome ways for bird lovers to help out: the Aussie Bird Count and the Birds in Backyards seasonal surveys. While both projects aim to gather important data on our feathered neighbours they each have their own unique focus and method.

The team at Federation University is excited to invite you to participate in new citizen science project, “The Litter Bird-en” (Ethics application 2024/143).

University of Sydney Honours student Liam Doherty has just completed his thesis looking at the potential for different types of artificial hollows (aka not the traditional timber nest boxes) to provide habitat for Gang-gang Cockatoos. This research was funded by the NSW Twitchathon and done in collaboration with BirdLife Australia and Campbelltown City Council. Liam writes:

 

We're happy to be hosting an art creation webinar on 26th June.

We can sometimes think that our garden visitors are the same day in and day out. But even taking a look at the Top 10 list from Birds in Backyards this Autumn, we see some major changes compared to our common Summer birds.

Here’s a snapshot of the top 10 species and their reporting rates (% of times they were seen in surveys) - out of a whopping 290 different species sighted:

 

 

 

BirdLife Australia often advises on laws and regulations that may impact wildlife. We work in consultation with communities, researchers and regulators to take holistic approaches to complex issues. We’ve invited Nell Thompson, an industry expert, to share insight into the nuances of domestic cat management in Australia.

 

 

Birds in Backyards recently co-supervised Genevieve Heggarty as she undertook a research project to tackle the question of what determines whether small birds, like Superb Fairy-wrens, can survive in urban areas. Genevieve shares her findings here.

 and   @birdsinbackyards
                 Subscribe to me on YouTube