Want to get started quickly? Then dive into our free downloadable and printable 'How-to' guides.
They will walk you through how to create an account, submit surveys, explore the Birdata site, and more!
Getting Started
Creating a Birdata Account
Haven’t participated in any BirdLife Australia or Birdata programs before? Don’t worry, it’s easy to create an account. You can create your Birdata account through either the app or website. Read, download or print our easy step-by-step download below.
Submitting Basic Surveys
Incidental Searches
For every survey in Birdata, you’ll need to choose a survey type before you start counting. The simplest survey type is the ‘Incidental search’. An Incidental search survey method is quick and easy to use, and great for times when you see birds that you’d like to record but haven’t set out to do a dedicated bird survey in a more structured, standardised way.
Read, download or print our easy step-by-step Incidental search guide below.
Submitting Standardised Surveys
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 that is 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!
Read, download or print our easy step-by-step guides for standardised survey guides below.
Not sure which Survey to Choose?
Choosing a survey type can feel daunting! If you’re not sure which survey to choose, take a look at our ‘How to choose a Survey Type’ guide below. It has a short questionnaire that will help guide you to the right survey for you! There are also some handy survey tips and tricks to help you in the field.
Logging dead, sick, or injured birds
Birdata Impact Tracker (BIT) feature
Have you ever come across a dead, sick, or injured bird whilst conducting a bird survey and wondered what to do? Birdata now allows you to log dead, sick or injured wild birds through the Birdata Impact Tracker (BIT) embedded in all General Birdata surveys. Whilst we might prefer logging healthy birds, with birds facing so many threats, it is important we also track sick, injured, or dead birds to support conservation efforts.
Learn about how to utilise this feature in one of your surveys in the guide below.
Exploring your data and Birdata's nation-wide data
Once you submit your bird surveys to Birdata, you may wonder what happens next. Your data feeds into our national online database, giving BirdLife Australia and our data partners valuable insights into where birds live and migrate, and how their populations and ranges shift over time. This data is also shared with scientists, researchers, consultants, government, council, volunteers and industry to support bird conservation. You can explore your surveys in the My Data section of Birdata or explore all the bird observations and surveys entered into Birdata through the Explore feature.
My Data
Once you have submitted a bird survey on the app (or web portal), it will appear in the My Data section of the Birdata website. From here you can visually see on the map where you have surveyed, edit your surveys, share your surveys, and download your data or species list/s.
Read, download or print our easy step-by-step guide to searching, editing, and exploring your Birdata surveys below.
Explore Feature
Birdata has over 30 million bird sightings and you can explore these through the Explore feature. You can explore the species that have been observed in your area, explore other parts of Australia, and see what species have been recorded the most. You can use a variety of filters to search and sift through the data including spatial, temporal, seasonal, and species specific filters. There are even some basic species statistics which can give you insight into how often and when species have been observed in Birdata since the mid 1990s.
Read, download or print our easy step-by-step Explore feature guide below or watch our instructional video to start exploring the birds around you today.
Creating a Species List for your area
Want to know what species are around you so you can improve your birding knowledge? Creating a targeted species list for your area is a great way to learn and tick off birds for your ‘life list’. Maybe you are heading on a holiday soon and want to know what birds to look out for whilst you are visiting. You can create a species list for any area you are interested in in the Explore feature.
Read, download or print our easy step-by-step guide to creating a species list below.
Extra Resources
Promotional Resources
Want a Birdata poster to print or distribute through your organisation? See our downloadable posters with QR codes to our free App below.
Aussie Bird Count 2025
All Aussie Bird Count surveys are stored in Birdata. To search, edit or export your Aussie Bird Count surveys, use this step-by-step guide below.
Still need more support?
If you still need more support, we suggest reading our Frequently Asked Questions or signing up for our free eLearning course Birdata Basics and Beyond. For any further support, please contact birdata@birdlife.org.au.