Latest News

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.

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 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.