What are Shared Sites?
In Birdata, we maintain a network of ‘Shared Sites’. Shared Sites Sites’ are predefined areas for bird surveying using designated Birdata survey protocols and are designed to support long-term monitoring using consistent survey methods over extended periods of time. Shared Sites make it easier to cluster surveys that have been conducted at multiple survey points (latitude/longitude locations) within a larger area (the Shared Site). Data from these surveys can then be grouped for analysis, enabling scientists to estimate species distributions and population trends over time.
How to identify a Shared Site in Birdata?
A Shared Site is represented in Birdata’s mapping features by a purple polygon (shape). The shape and size of each polygon match the habitat and survey protocol that have been selected as most appropriate for monitoring target bird species at the relevant location. For this reason, some Shared Sites are 2 hectare squares, circles, or rectangles, where monitoring is conducted using the 2 hectare, 20 minute survey protocol. Others are circular, oval, rectangular, or irregularly shaped areas that are large enough to support 500m area search surveys.
How many Shared Sites are in Birdata?
To date, we have defined over 5,000 Shared Sites for General Birdata – BirdLife Australia’s most general, volunteer-based Program for monitoring Australia’s bird species. These include around 1,000 Shared Sites within Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) that have been mapped by the KBA Partnership as critical biodiverse habitat for threatened birds. Many of these Shared Sites are monitored by KBA Guardians.
Even more Shared Sites have been defined for our specialised Programs that coordinate the monitoring efforts of staff and trained volunteers. These diverse Programs include BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds, Bittern, Birds on Farms, Colonial Nesting Birds, Orange-bellied Parrot, Shorebirds, Swift Parrot Search, Wetland Birds, and threatened Cockatoo species recovery Projects. For more details of these specialised Programs, and to find out how you may be able to contribute to them, visit BirdLife Australia’s Programs and Volunteer Opportunities.
Shared Site Review
In 2026, we will be systematically reviewing our existing General Birdata Shared Sites to reassess how they are contributing to long-term monitoring of Australian birds. This review will make it easier to identify areas where existing monitoring efforts have been concentrated in the past and will assist us to recognise, prioritise and support quality monitoring projects into the future. While this review is being completed, we will not be accepting applications for new Shared Sites in General Birdata.
In the meantime, if you wish to discuss the future potential for setting up a Shared Site monitoring project within General Birdata, please contact birdata@birdlife.org.au.
Do I need a Shared Site to conduct long-term monitoring in Birdata?
No, you do not require a Shared Site to contribute long-term monitoring data to Birdata. You can set up a survey point anywhere within Australia and share details of your surveys with friends or other volunteers. The name of your survey point is personal to your Birdata User account, but other people can conduct surveys of the same area that will be combined with yours in scientific analysis if they use the same survey protocol and are located within a reasonable distance of your survey point (the latitude and longitude does not have to be a precise match). For general monitoring of terrestrial bird species, we suggest using our 2 ha, 20 minute or 500m area search standardised survey protocols, and conducting repeat surveys using the same protocol at the same survey point location(s) on a regular basis.
For more information on how to conduct standardised surveys, consult our How to Guides or enrol in our free eLearning course.
What does this mean for existing Shared Site projects in Birdata?
If you are actively using Birdata Shared Sites to conduct a monitoring project, please continue to survey as usual. Shared Sites will not be archived in our review if they are active and have a history of long-term monitoring. Similarly, if there is an existing Shared Site in your area that you have identified and would like to contribute to, you can still do so, provided that you use the designated survey protocol.
Disclaimer: Not all Shared Sites are actively managed and therefore it is the responsibility of the user to ensure they do their due diligence prior to visiting a Shared Site on accessibility and safety.