BirdLife Australia announces new collaboration with eBird

BirdLife Australia and eBird join forces

BirdLife Australia is excited to announce a new collaboration between two of Australia’s leading online bird observation databases, Birdata and eBird Australia.

Both BirdLife Australia and eBird Australia are committed to collecting the scientific data we need to better understand and protect Australia’s birds. With this shared purpose, both organisations have joined forces to share knowledge and inform Australian bird conservation efforts.

We are thrilled to release the following statement of collaboration:

Statement of collaboration

“BirdLife Australia and eBird Australia are excited to collaborate more closely to ensure that bird sightings from across the continent have the greatest conservation impact.

With many common and rare Australian birds in decline, birders can help focus conservation efforts by reporting their observations through Birdata, eBird Australia or a combination of both.

By enhancing information sharing and highlighting the strengths of each platform, our goal is to continue delivering the highest quality data possible for important science and conservation work. Over the next year or so, we hope to devise specific recommendations and arrangements to build this cooperative relationship. Thanks to Birdata and eBird Australia, every birder can help save the birds that we love.”

Submit a BirdLife Australia survey via the eBird app

As a first step in this partnership, BirdLife Australia’s standard bird  monitoring protocols are now available through the eBird app.

The two hectare, 20-minute bird survey and 500 metre radius search have been a standard of Australian bird monitoring for decades.

Learn more about standardised bird surveys here.

About eBird Australia

Among the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects, eBird is a global online database of bird observations providing real-time scientific data about bird distribution, abundance, habitat use and trends.

Like Birdata, BirdLife Australia’s national bird monitoring program, eBird users enter when, where and how they went birding either online or via a free mobile app and complete a checklist of all species seen and heard. Across both platforms, this data is a vital resource for science and conservation efforts – helping researchers identify threats, monitor changes in bird populations over time and target conservation efforts to where they’re needed most.

eBird is managed by the prestigious Cornell Lab of Ornithology  and comprises a network of local, national and international partners – including eBird Australia.

Contribute to bird research and conservation

By selecting one of these protocols in the eBird app, your surveys will also contribute to Birdata and support the research and conservation of Australian birds.

These protocols are used in monitoring and reporting on the status and trends of bird populations at a local, regional and national scale 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 data collected from these surveys directly informs government decision making around development applications and other activities. This data also contributes to conservation efforts such as recommending key habitat for protection and developing species management plans.

So, next time you go out eBirding, consider submitting a standardised survey to support Australian bird research and conservation.

Find out how to submit a BirdLife Australia survey via eBird here.

For technical support or for any questions about this collaboration, please email birdata@birdlife.org.au