BirdLife Australia is excited to announce a new collaboration between Birdata and eBird Australia.
The free eBird mobile app is available to download on the App Store and Google Play.
To save your bird observations in eBird, you’ll first need to create a free Cornell Lab account.
Open the eBird app and click on Settings in the bottom right corner.
In your app Settings, scroll down and select Portal. Select eBird Australia from the dropdown list and click Done.
When you’re ready to submit a survey, select Submit in the bottom left corner and click Start checklist.
Click the settings icon in the bottom left corner of your checklist, and select Observation Type.
Under Choose an observation type, select either BirdLife Australia 20min-2ha survey or BirdLife Australia 500m radius search.
Now you can conduct a BirdLife Australia survey in the eBird app!
When you submit bird surveys in eBird and/or Birdata, you’re contributing to our collective knowledge of Australia’s birds and the places they call home.
By selecting a BirdLife Australia protocol in the eBird app, your surveys will also contribute to Birdata and support the research and conservation of Australian birds.
These bird survey techniques are used locally, regionally and nationally to track how bird populations are changing and faring. We share this data with scientists and governments to advocate for the protection of threatened birds and inform conservation actions, such as preventing inappropriate developments, recommending key habitat for protection and developing species management plans.
To ensure consistent, long-term data collection for scientific analysis, bird monitoring efforts follow established protocols.
The two hectare, 20-minute bird survey and 500 metre radius search have been a standard of Australian bird monitoring for decades, and are widely used by scientists, researchers and citizen scientists.
These surveys are quick, efficient and rich in data, and especially useful in monitoring how bird populations are changing over time and between different habitats.
By using the same methodology across multiple surveys, it’s easier for scientists to compare surveys across different time periods and locations and draw evidence-based conclusions about bird distribution, movements, behaviour and population trends. Repeating surveys at the same location at consistent intervals can help paint a detailed picture of the local bird community over weeks, months and even years.
2-ha, 20-minute search
This standardised survey method involves recording all species seen and heard over a 20 minute period and within a two hectare (100m x 200m) area, preferably a single habitat type.
500m area search
A more flexible option, this bird survey technique involves searching an area within 500 metres from a central point. Record all species seen and heard within a set time period of 20 minutes or longer, and for as long as you like (up to one week).
Make sure you understand and follow the correct procedures when in the field for each of these survey types.
For more information, download our helpful guide below.
Find out everything you need to know about Birdata and bird surveys with this helpful explainer.
To save birds, we need reliable data. Birdata is where we collect, keep and share this information. Compiled almost entirely by citizen scientists, Birdata is Australia's largest and longest running database for birds, with more than 22 million records (and counting).
Do you wish the fun of the Aussie Bird Count could go on all year? It can - with Birdata! Join thousands of Australians who submit bird surveys through Birdata.
