Birds to look out for in October

Birds to look out for in October

What birds might you see this month? Here are a few to look out for…

• Large flocks of migratory shorebirds returning to southern Australia from arctic breeding grounds  
• Dollarbirds returning to eastern and northern Australia from New Guinea
• Channel-billed Cuckoos to the Top End  
• Flocks of White-breasted and Masked Woodswallows in southern Australia  
• Oriental Pratincoles in northern Australia  
• Return of Fork-tailed Swifts to northern Australia  
• Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes arriving back in Tasmania  

Interesting historical records from October:

15/10/2010   Island Monarch  |  Cassini Island, WA  |  4th record for Australia  

6/10/2010   Red-billed Tropicbird  |  Lord Howe Island  |  1st record for Australia  

31/10/2008   Great Shearwater  |  off Abrolhos Islands, WA  |  1st record for WA  

26/10/1997   Blue Rock-Thrush  |  Noosa Heads NP, Qld  |  1st record for Australia  

19/10/1991   Black-headed Gull  |  Broome, WA  |  1st record for Australia  

15/10/1983   Dark-sided Warbler  |  Marble Bar, WA  |  1st record for Australia  

26/10/1986   Spotted Redshank  |  near Port Hedland, WA  |  1st record for Australia  

Tell us what birds you see this month

Spring has sprung, which means it’s spring survey time!

Over October, simply spend 20 minutes in your backyard (or nearby outdoor space) and count how many birds you see of each species and the kind of habitat they’re using.

Then, log your survey on Birdata either online or through the app – you can do as many surveys as you like, as often as you like.

This data helps us track the health of Australia’s urban birds and monitor the impact of our gardens, outdoor spaces and behaviour, so every survey counts!

Find out more about Birds in Backyards seasonal surveys, or watch our handy video tutorial below to find out how to submit a survey of your own.