You can help support researchers and conservationists tracking the impact of H5 bird flu by logging your sightings into Birdata.
Recently, Birdata has launched the Bird Impact Tracker (BIT) feature. This enables users to log sightings of sick, injured, or dead birds to help support conservation efforts. The BIT feature has been funded by the Australian Government to help preparedness efforts for H5 bird flu, however the feature is a broad tool to monitor a variety of threats including disease, car strikes, predator attacks, window strikes, and entanglement. We anticipate that the BIT feature will be used by our Birdata champions and become a critical tool in supporting management actions and monitoring the recovery of bird populations.
If you do suspect a bird is suffering or has died from H5 bird flu, it is very important to follow the H5 bird flu response protocols: Avoid, Record, and Report. Logging the sighting into Birdata should come after you have ensured yourself, others nearby, and any pets are at a safe distance from the suspected infected bird. Ensure you note the location, date, and time you saw the bird, then report this immediately to the Emergency Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 which operates 24/7.
Once you have called the Emergency Disease Hotline, enter this record into Birdata with the following methods:
Veterinarians, wildlife rescuers, and wildlife carers can enter sickness, injury, and death into Birdata if they are not reporting this into another database (as this could cause duplicate entries across data platforms). If entering sick, injured or dead birds as a veterinarian, wildlife rescuer, and/or carer, it is important the birds are logged at the location and time they were found, not the location and time the wildlife carer received the bird. Regarding euthanised birds, we would prefer these were not logged, as the death is not a natural occurrence that someone has stumbled across. Euthanasia is in the domain of veterinary services and is best added to a veterinary database. There is more information for people who handle birds here.
BirdLife Australia’s new BIT feature is a forward-thinking analytical tool designed to better detect trends and identify disease or threat hotspots. This will help guide conservation decisions and recovery efforts in response to H5 bird flu. Everyone has a shared responsibility to care for Australia’s birds. By logging any suspected cases of H5 bird flu, BirdLife Australia and other organisations using the data can have the best chance to support H5 bird flu recovery. Although H5 bird flu is confirmed only in our external territories – Heard Island, the time has never been more important to be alert and ready to report.
“Help track the fate of the birds you love” – Tanya Loos, BirdLife Australia’s Avian Influenza Response Coordinator
For more information on how to use Birdata, please visit Birdata or enrol in their free online course Birdata Basics & Beyond: Make your birding count
Stay informed and prepared for the possible arrival of H5 bird flu.
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