Open a zoomable and printable version of our ‘How to survey with Birdata’ poster here.

For every survey in Birdata, you’ll need to choose a survey type before you get counting.

Standardised surveys encourage citizen scientists to record birds in a way that’s more consistent in space and time, improving the scientific depth and power of the data you share. This approach is most powerful when surveys are repeated at the same location. Try surveying the same location at consistent intervals to build a richer picture of the local bird community over weeks, months or even years. 

Standardised surveys require slightly more effort than a general bird list, but the reward is high-quality data crucial for conservation. The consistency of these surveys makes it much easier for our scientists to compare surveys across different time periods and regions of the country. This makes standardised surveys ideal for seeing how bird populations are changing over time – for better or for worse. 

Standardised surveys submitted to Birdata have formed the backbone of several important publications on the plight of our native birds: for example, the Threatened Species Index and Action Plan for Australia’s Birds (2020), as well as local-scale publications like the State of Tasmania’s Birds report. These incredible publications rely heavily on the surveys submitted by everyday citizen scientists, so don’t be shy about giving things a go!

There are three main survey types we would encourage you to use if you’re carrying out a standardised survey: 2-hectare, 20-minute searches, 500m (or 5km) area searches, and embedded surveys. If you see a bird you think is important to share with us, or just want to log an exciting record, you should submit an incidental search. 

There are also several other survey types that are used mostly by people volunteering with BirdLife Australia’s conservation programs; for example, Swift Parrot Search volunteers will be familiar with the five-minute point search. If you’re not participating in one of these programs, you can stick to the options we’ve listed here. 

If you have any questions not answered here, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at birdata@birdlife.org.au or over the phone at (03) 9347 0757 (press 7).

We have put together a helpful infographic to help simplify standardised surveys for Birdata volunteers of all skill levels. You can open a fully zoomable and printable version here.