In late May this year, the birding world was made poorer by the loss of Alan Keith Morris, husband, father, friend, and bird mentor. Alan was often referred to as “Mr NSW” because of his intricate knowledge of birds in NSW, both past and present. But to many birders, Alan was known simply as “AKM”. …
A season of increased migration and nesting As weather starts to warm or dry across the country and plants begin to flower, we see enormous amounts of activity from our wildlife. Birds in particular are taking the opportunity to eat the sweet nectar of blossoming flowers, nibble on insects, and even sound their alarms as snakes come out …
H5 bird flu has now been detected on the Australian mainland and at the time of writing this the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has reported 220 confirmed or presumed positive detections of H5 bird flu in Australia, based on samples tested, with new cases increasing daily. Whilst this is distressing, the Birdata team …
Winter birding in Australia Complex and diverse responses to changes in the weather and food availability As a large continent, Australia has multitudes of different habitats and climates. Whilst much of Australia becomes cooler over the winter period, this is not uniform across Australia. For over 65,000 years, Indigenous Australians have been in tune with the natural …
To understand how birds are faring, long-term monitoring of birds is essential. Setting up standardised surveys at specific locations that are repeated over time is an effective way of detecting changes in bird populations. ‘Wings on King’ is a dedicated long-term monitoring program on King Island that uses Birdata to collect, collate, and monitor birds. …
Monitoring birds alongside restoration Birds can be great indicators of ecosystem health, and whilst many birds use degraded habitats, monitoring species composition changes and any breeding events over time as habitat restores can provide more insight into the health of the restoring ecosystem. In late May, Birdata’s Engagement Officer, Emma Hawthorne, hosted a community workshop …
Whilst birding is often a beautiful, relaxing activity to engage in, it’s not always a walk in the park. Bird surveying can sometimes mean crawling through muddy mangroves, getting tangled in wait-a-while vine in the rainforest, or even witnessing the impacts of a catastrophic environmental event as the Gulf St Vincent Migratory Wader Survey team …
Christine Heiser from Birdwatchers of Hervey Bay recently finished a multi-year project of entering into Birdata the historic bird lists maintained by the late John Knight. This amounts to over 1300 surveys translated into Birdata! What dedication! Since Birdwatchers of Hervey Bay formed in the late 1990s, John Knight had recorded all the group’s bird …
Autumn birding in Australia Complex seasonal interactions of birds across a widely diverse continent Whilst Australian seasons are much more subtle than the northern hemisphere and many species do not conform to seasonal trends, as we shift into autumn, days start to get shorter and cooler, influencing bird behaviour and life cycles. Two of the most energy-demanding events …
For over 60 years, volunteers have tirelessly given their time to count migratory shorebirds on Australia’s coasts and important inland ecosystems. These high quality, repeated surveys have enabled identification of important migratory shorebird habitat across Australia.
Birdata is thrilled to introduce The Australian National Directory of Important Migratory Shorebird Habitat, hereby referred to as “the Directory”. This is BirdLife Australia’s newest and most comprehensive assessment of critical migratory shorebird areas within Australia. Designed as a tool to support habitat protection and land management for conservation organisations, government, and land managers, the Directory includes 15 years of data from dedicated volunteers.