Welcome to our Latest Stories page. This a place where you can explore recent interesting sightings, read about fantastic volunteer efforts, hear about Birdata’s latest features, and learn more about birds and bird monitoring for conservation.
Striated Pardalote – Michael Hamel-Green
Birds don’t always follow rules and are always evolving as landscapes and climates change around them. Sometimes they are found completely out of their range, sometimes they are found in huge numbers together, sometimes they fight for territory and resources, and sometimes even their plumages change due to genetic mutations. Over summer we saw large flocks of Budgerigars logged near Birdsville, the elusive Ruff spotted in Mandurah, WA, endangered Lord Howe Woodhen chicks spotted on Lord Howe Island, and the difficult to identify, Swinhoe’s Snipe in Darwin.
Whilst we do not require photographs for every bird sighted (as this would be especially difficult under survey conditions), we do get some wonderful photos of birds come through Birdata. Here is a taster of some of the rare, quirky and spectacular bird sightings we have seen recently.
Julie Smith, Dec 2025.
Matt Grover, Dec 2025.
Sean Dooley, Feb 2026.
Zephyr Jones, Dec 2025.
Nick Hamilton, Dec 2025.
Richard Letheby, Dec 2025.
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
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
Without volunteers dedicating their time and expertise, we simply would not have the capacity to influence bird conservation over such a vast and diverse continent.
Volunteers are the backbone of our organisation and we want to acknowledge you for the amazing efforts you make every time you enter a Birdata survey.
Check out some of our most recent Volunteer Spotlights!
🦉 If you have a Birdata story or sighting you would like to share, please reach out to birdata@birdlife.org.au
Meet the Birdata crew! It is a huge responsibility to uphold, maintain and curate BirdLife Australia‘s online national monitoring platform. Birdata might have a small team but they are always developing, improving and adding tools to Birdata to support bird conservation within Australia. Birdata also works collaboratively with many departments across BirdLife Australia.
Check out some of their latest editions and ways you can utilise and engage with Birdata.
The Bird Impact Tracker: a way to track the birds you love Have you ever been surveying and come across a sick, injured, or dead bird and wondered what to do with this information? With Birdata’s newest feature, the Bird Impact Tracker (BIT), you can now record these observations and
Want to become a citizen scientist bird surveyor? Sign up for the new eLearning Birdata course! Conducting bird surveys might seem like a daunting task. You might think you need a degree, extensive ecological knowledge, and exceptional identification skills to partake in science, yet Birdata is here to make your
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
Whilst Australia doesn’t have as distinct seasons as some of its northern hemisphere counterparts, there are many shifts in birds to, from and within Australia throughout the year. Many Australian birds are sedentary and remain in their general regionall year round, yet others may migrate to follow more favourable weather conditions, food sources, or breeding sites.
Indigenous Australians have been tracking natural cycles for over 65,000 years. Indigenous seasonal calendars are therefore distinctive to each region and follow changing environmental cues rather than calendar dates.
Our seasonal birding guides let you know of some of the different species’ movements across Australia. Check them out today to learn about what might be visiting, leaving, or breeding in your area.
Surveying for birds can be daunting, especially when you are just getting started. Read tips from the Birdata team on ways you can improve your birding, bird surveys, and make the most of Birdata features.
If you or a group you are involved in use Birdata for your bird monitoring projects and would like your story or a sighting to be featured, please reach out to the Birdata team at birdata@birdlife.org.au.
