Read our FAQs for Swift Parrot Search for answers to commonly asked questions about survey methods, identification of birds, plant species and survey locations for surveyors.
On this page you will find answers to common questions that have been raised by birdwatchers and other naturalists about BirdLife Australia’s Swift Parrot Search, including survey methods, Swift Parrot identification and information about survey locations and plant species.
View and download the FAQ PDF, including detailed screenshots:
Due to a range of historic and on-going threats since European colonisation of the Australian continent, the migratory Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor now finds itself on the brink of extinction in the wild. Although many of the challenges and opportunities for the species’ recovery are in its Tasmanian breeding habitat, there is also much that can and is being done by governments, researchers, NGOs, community groups and individuals to improve the Swift Parrot’s prospects within its winter foraging grounds across south-eastern mainland Australia.
A particular mainland challenge is the presence of critical knowledge gaps that are constraining the implementation of effective and timely conservation action. For example, there is not a clear explanation for the observed geographic shifts in the Swift Parrot’s winter habitat use over recent years. Similarly, we have an incomplete understanding of triggers for the species’ movement patterns within and between seasons, and the variability in food availability over space and time. To an uncertain extent, most of these knowledge gaps appear to be directly or indirectly related to climate change.
We are extremely grateful to the many volunteer birdwatchers that have participated in the existing long-term biannual citizen-science monitoring program for Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters. The data collected over many years – going back to the mid-1990s – continues to improve our understanding of the ecology of these species. However, the program was not designed to answer the new and pressing conservation questions with level of accuracy and urgency now required. The standardised monitoring program – termed Swift Parrot Search – has been specifically tailored to address these questions with an enhanced scientific rigour and repeatability.
While it has a central focus on Swift Parrots, the new method is also expected to benefit many of our ‘at risk’ woodland birds, including the Regent Honeyeater. This approach is designed to complement (not replace) non-standardised searches via biannual counts, which will remain required and on-going, to improve the collective monitoring effort for the species.
Using the Swift Parrot Search module within the Birdata database, volunteer birdwatchers will undertake a 5-minute search for Swift Parrots and any other birds present at fixed locations – for which there are 2,218 sites found throughout the species mainland range. The availability of eucalypt and mistletoe flowering, lerp and water is also to be estimated at each location, as well as indications for the status of Golden Wattle (presence/absence; flowering intensity). Detailed descriptions of the survey method and data entry process are provided on the Swift Parrot Search webpage via registrations. This present document aims to clarify particular uncertainties and regular queries regarding the revised approach.
The specific dates of the biannual monitoring periods will adjust from year-to-year, but will typically cover 6-week windows as follows:
Swift Parrot Search is a volunteer-based monitoring program developed by BirdLife Australia’s woodland bird program in partnership with Australian National University’s Difficult Bird Research Group, the National Swift Parrot Recovery Team, and relevant government agencies and community groups. Swift Parrot Search is supported by Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government, and environmental offsets provided under state and Federal approvals.
Short surveys of small areas allow us to cover more ground in the field. This is really important when searching for rare species with large distributions like Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters.
Whilst there is a small chance you may miss some Swift Parrots in a five-minute survey, there is a higher chance they are actually just somewhere else. By all means, stay for longer than 5-minutes if you think there may be swifties or regents there (e.g. the trees are in heavy flower and lots of birds are present), but please only record the birds you find during the 5-minute survey period on the official datasheet and in the “Swift Parrot Search” Birdata module. This is really important to keep the data as standardised as possible. If you do find swifties and regents at a site only after the 5-minute period is completed, please still let us know (see Questions 3 and 4 for notes on how to do this).
This 5-minute-50-metre radius survey method has been tested and refined over a number of years by ornithologists from BirdLife Australia and the Australian National University (ANU) at a range of high priority Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot locations. It has also been used by ANU as part of targeted surveys for the Swift Parrot in Tasmania. Whilst it may seem a little strange at first, we are confident you will get used to it very quickly!
For those interested in delving deeper into this survey method, below is a list of further reading. These are available for downloading as PDFs from the following website – https://www.difficultbirds.com/research-output:
Fifty metres is not too far, particularly in woodlands. We anticipate that you should be able to detect swifties and most other birds by sight or sound while standing at the centrepoint of the 50-metre radius search area. That said, if you feel the need to wander off centre to check a flowering tree on the edge of a site, or to confirm the ID of a bird – go for it!*
*Note: In some situations, the centrepoint of a monitoring site is within public land, but the broader 50-metre radius search area extends into adjoining privately owned land. On these occasions, you will not be able to walk across the whole 50-metre search area. But it should be generally OK to walk up to the public-private land boundary, and look into the private land only. We are not expecting there to be sites where the owners would be upset by people looking into their private property, but the judgement and discretion of the birdwatcher should be used if there is a possibility of disturbing the landholder.
It is important to remember that each completed individual surveys is a sample from a particular time and location. The value of the information collected using this survey method is enhanced by an increased number of samples undertaken.
Yes, please do. We are still strongly encouraging all observations of Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters to be reported to us in the Woodland Birds team – as we will continue to maintain an annual database of sightings. This includes observations that were made:
However, the new “Swift Parrot Search” module in Birdata can only be used to record sightings made from designated monitoring points using the standard 5min-50m radius method. There are a range of other ways to let us know of your opportunistic sightings of a Swift Parrot or Regent Honeyeater outside of a designated monitoring point survey.
An example using the Birdata website is provided in the Questions about the bird searches section of the FAQ document.
This can be very frustrating when it occurs. However, to maintain the scientific rigor of the dataset, please do not add this observation retrospectively to the official 5-minute survey ‘sightings’ results. Instead lodge this pre-survey or post-survey sighting of a Swift Parrot as a separate Birdata survey using the incidental survey option under the General Birdata Survey module. The response to Question 3 provides guidance on how to do this.
In addition, you may also wish to add an explanatory sentence to the ‘Notes’ section of the submitted 5-minute “Swift Parrot Search” survey.
No, it is not essential that you record other bird species during a 5-minute ‘Swift Parrot Search” survey – particularly if you think it will reduce your ability to detect any Swifties or Regents that may be present. However, if you can comfortably record other all bird species – and their counts – from within the 50-metre search area without a significant reduction in your ability to detect any Swifties or Regents, then please do so.
If you cannot reasonably document all species within the 50-metre search area, then an option is to record all nectar-feeding bird species as a first priority. The nectar feeders (e.g., honeyeaters, wattlebirds, friarbirds, lorikeets) are closely aligned ecologically with Swifties and Regents, and are therefore understanding their occurrence and distribution is more insightful than birds that do not feed on nectar and lerps (e.g., waterbirds, insectivores, birds of prey).
If you only document a sample of the total range of bird species, then we encourage you to make a note of this in the details page. You can also uncheck the box indicating that all species were recorded.
Yes. If you see Swift Parrots – or any other bird species – flying over or through the circular 50-metre radius search area during a 5-minute count, then it should be counted. The 50-metre radius for the search area only refers to the horizontal distance from the centrepoint. The circular 50-metre radius search area can be considered to extend infinitely in a vertical direction (rather like the shape of a cylinder). Thus, Wedge-tailed Eagle circling high overhead should be recorded if it is considered to be directly above the search area during at least some of the 5-minute search period (even if only for a few seconds). Similarly, a Swift Parrot or other bird flying low through the search area without stopping or perching should also be recorded.
Yes. If you can confidently identify the birds by their distinctive vocalisations alone (e.g., kookaburra), then you can record them as part of the survey – assuming that you are also confident that the call came from a bird that was situated within the 50-metre radius search area. You will also need to estimate the number of birds present, based on the calls only – in which case it is better to underestimate the number of birds present rather than overestimate.
If you hear Swift Parrots or Regent Honeyeaters, it is highly recommended that you attempt to track down the birds to get more detailed and accurate information – e.g., the number of birds, their behaviour and foraging activity, any coloured leg bands, etc. However, particularly for the Swift Parrot, there may be occasions where the birds are only seen flying rapidly through the site with no opportunity to gather detailed information before they have disappeared. In this latter case, a best estimate of bird numbers will be required.
There is no permission for volunteer birdwatchers to enter private land as part of this project. As a volunteer participant, you are only able to enter areas of public land.
If you walk onto private land, it may be considered trespassing by the landowner. Therefore, even if you see a Swift Parrot or Regent Honeyeater within a private property, do not enter the property – unless you have explicit permission from the owner beforehand.
For every monitoring site, the centrepoint is located on public land. However, for a relatively small proportion of the sites, there broader 50-metre radius search area may encompass some of the adjoining private land. When implementing the “Swift Parrot Search” survey method, it is expected that the birdwatcher will be standing at the centrepoint only, and will arrive and depart from this point via public land. However, if you do need to walk more broadly across the circular search area to confirm the identification of a bird or tree, then it should be generally OK to walk up to the public-private land boundary, and only look into the private land (from the public land side). We are not expecting there to be sites where the owners would be upset by people looking into their private property from the adjoining public land, but the judgement and discretion of the birdwatcher should be used if there is a possibility of disturbing the landholder.
Yes. The use of the Birdata app is necessary for accessing and navigating to centrepoint of formal survey sites, and with this requirement, it is most efficient to use the automatic 5-minute timer and enter your sightings directly via the app in real time. However, if you prefer to write your sightings down and enter them into Birdata when you get home, datasheets are available for download via the directed links you will have received in your automatic email after registering for surveys via the website. This datasheet has been designed to collect all of the same information as the app.
From the information collected on the datasheet, you can then submit the survey results into the Birdata website. A step-by-step guideline document has been developed to assist you to do this, and it can be downloaded via the automatic email you will have received after registering.
No. At least in the short term, Birdata is the only app (and website) that has all the required data collection fields for the “Swift Parrot Search” monitoring program. As noted in response to Question 9, there is also a paper-based datasheet option for those that are not able to use Birdata.
Yes, but… For opportunistic sightings of Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters, our preference is that these are lodged in Birdata. We consider that this will maximise the value of these observations to provide immediate conservation outcomes. For example, throughout the whole of Birdata, (a) you will be prompted to provide additional relevant information whenever you lodge a sighting of a Swift Parrot or Regent Honeyeater, and (b) specialist ornithologists are immediately notified whenever one of these species is lodged in Birdata.
It also fine to lodge your sightings of these species and other species across multiple platforms (e.g., a birdwatcher lodges their sighting of a Swift Parrot flock in both their Birdata and eBird accounts). However, it is notable that the Regent Honeyeater is considered to be a ‘sensitive species’ in Birdata, and therefore exact sighting locations are ‘hidden’ from the general public to minimise the likelihood of disturbance to the bird. Therefore, it will show up in your personal results, and will only be viewable by you and others that have administrator rights to Birdata.
BirdLife Australia Woodland Bird team members also regularly undertake a search for sightings of these two species that may have been lodged in eBird and BirdLine – and then add them to our annual mainland sightings database where appropriate. We undertake a limited review of opportunistic sightings lodged solely in Facebook, iNaturalist and other platforms. Therefore, it is recommended that any sightings lodged in these other platforms are also separately submitted into Birdata or a direct notification is sent to a Woodland Bird team member (see response to Question 3 for details on how to do this).
No, but….Like many woodland birds, Swift Parrots tend to be most active and vocal during the first few hours after dawn and in the final hour or so leading up to sunset. Accordingly, these are the times of the day when Swift Parrots tend to be most easily able to be detected by birdwatchers. Therefore, where possible, surveys should be undertaken at times of the day when the likelihood of detecting any birds is higher.
NB: For obvious reasons, “Swift Parrot Search” surveys should only be undertaken during between dawn to dusk. However, it should also be noted that Swift Parrots are very occasionally detected in flight between dusk to dawn (e.g., flying to or from roost sites, heard calling overhead while on migration).
Yes. Our ability to detect birds diminishes as weather conditions become more ‘extreme’. Partly this is due to the reduced ability of the birdwatcher’s various senses (e.g., sight, hearing) to detect birds within the canopy of a tree or shrub during high winds and/or heavy rain. Increasing the level of difficulty, most birds are also less vocal and active during these conditions. As a result, in poor conditions it is much more difficult to detect either of the target species, or other birds, that are present at a site.
However, this also does not mean that you need to wait for ‘perfect’ weather conditions to undertake surveys. Swift Parrots and other birds are usually still readily detectable during light to moderate winds, and during rain that is light or intermittent.
Given the birds are present on the mainland during the cooler months (approx. mid-March to mid-October), it is unlikely that extremely high temperatures will be an issue during surveys.
Extreme cold weather does not necessarily reduce the activity of Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters. However the birdwatcher must consider their own safety and well-being during these conditions (e.g., hypothermia and related health risks). The health and safety of the birdwatchers are more important than continuing surveys in adverse conditions. A copy of the Risk Assessment for the project can be downloaded from the website.
The priority is for as many as the fixed points as possible to be visited during each of the biannual 6-week survey periods. However, surveys undertaken at other times of the year (i.e., at the fixed points using the recommended survey method) are far from wasted efforts.
If “Swift Parrot Search” surveys are undertaken at times of the year when the Swift Parrot is typically on the mainland (approx. mid-May to mid-October), it is still providing us with useful information on the occurrence or absence of the species from a particular area and the flowering patterns.
Surveys undertaken at these points at any time of the year (including when the Swift Parrot is typically in Tasmania) still provides us with information on other woodland birds, whole-of-year flowering patterns and may still pick up a Regent Honeyeater or unexpected Swift Parrot.
But, if you only have a limited capacity to contribute to the Swift Parrot Search surveys during a year, our preference is that you pre-dominantly undertake these within one or both of the designated 6-week survey periods. The exact dates will change from year-to-year, but generally the Round 1 survey will be from the last week in April to the first week in June, and the Round 2 survey will be from mid-July to late August.
Yes please. It is probable that the majority of the sites that you visit will not have Swift Parrots or Regent Honeyeaters present. Documenting the absence of the target species from a particular location is crucial data, and has been largely missing from the previous monitoring approach.
During these visits, you will also be recording information on flowering intensity of potential feed trees, the occurrence of drinking water and counts for other bird species – each of which is valuable information to understand why the Swift Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters are not present. It may also have other useful implications for understanding the ecology and conservation status of other bird species.
Yes. We recognise that birdwatchers across south-eastern mainland Australia use a variety of approaches to successfully detect the presence of Swift Parrots. This includes fixed route walks, 20 minute-2 hectare surveys, ad-hoc approaches and driving slowly through forests and woodlands with the windows down while listening for the Swift Parrots distinctive calls etc.
For some birdwatchers, these methods have been used consistently for many years at the same locations. If your preference is to continue using these methods to search for Swift Parrots, this is OK. The information collected is still valuable and useful. Your sightings of Swift Parrots and other species can be added into Birdata as ‘General Birdata Survey’, and there are other ways to let us know as well. However, they are unable to be added into the “Swift Parrot Search” module in Birdata, as this has been specifically designed only for the 5 min-50-metre radius method at fixed monitoring sites. See response to Question 3 for more detailed information on how to document your Swift Parrot sightings collected from outside of the Swift Parrot Search monitoring sites.
However, we would also encourage you to direct some time to using the Swift Parrot Search approach in areas where sites are established, as it provides important information that other non-standardised search methods cannot provide.
Yes. Our priority is to see that as many sites as possible are visited at least once during each survey period. However, if a site is visited more than once in a survey period, this only strengthens our dataset. The 5-minute count is a rapid sample of the birds present, and so an increased number of samples leads to an increased confidence in our conclusions.
For example, you may have a particular site – or small cluster of sites – in your favourite local patch of bush. You can reasonably decide to undertake a survey of these once per week during the 6-week period.
However, we do request that the same observer does not visit the same site more than one time per day.
Yes. Similar to the response to Question 17, it is fine for the same monitoring point to be visited on more than one occasion during the same survey period. Preferably there would not be two surveyed on the same day, but there is no problem if this occurs by chance.
No, but… We encourage you to respond to the questions provided and document your observations of these important habitat elements occurring within each site. In the case of documenting lerp and flowering, a simple rating of “None” will often be required when no specimens of within the search area are flowering at all. This simple information will be invaluable when we analyse the movements of Swifties, Regents and other nectar feeders across space and time.
However, if documenting flowering intensity and other elements go beyond your comfort zone, then you can continue to undertake the “Swift Parrot Search” surveys without recording this information.
Similarly, these habitat assessment questions are intended as a rapid assessment. Once you’ve got your eye in for the local eucalypt identification, it should not take more than 2-3 minutes to complete the flowering assessment at each site.
For further information on how to identify various habitat features, please see our “Introductory Support Guide to Identifying Eucalypts, Mistletoes, Wattles and Lerps” document that you will have received via email after registering for surveys.
Once you have lodged the survey ‘location’ details into Birdata, the tree and mistletoe known to occur at that particular site will be pre-loaded into the ‘details’ page. This will greatly reduce the number of trees and mistletoe species that you need to choose from.
Over time, user guides will be prepared for each cluster of sites within a locality. These user guides will:
This information will also be made available in the Shared Site description for each monitoring site. An example of the information provided for each site is displayed in the Questions about plant species, lerp and and flowering intensity section of the FAQ document.
When BirdLife and ANU staff were first establishing these monitoring points, there were semi-regular occasions when it was not possible to accurately determine the identification of a tree species to species-level. In these cases, the trees have been labelled using a broader category such as Gum sp., Ironbark sp., Box sp. and even Eucalyptus sp. These categories are more commonly used in peri-urban areas where the search area includes planted eucalypts that are not indigenous to the area.
Due to the widespread challenges in the identification of stringybark eucalypts – and their typically low value for Swift Parrots – these have all been categorised as Stringybark sp.
Even for experts, it can be difficult to quickly and accurately identify eucalypts if there are no fruits or distinctive leaves present (e.g., juvenile leaves are often a good characteristic to distinguish between similar species). In these cases, if you have two or more pre-loaded options to choose from, you may instead decide to add in a new broader category with a flowering rating. In the two step example in the Questions about plant species, lerp and and flowering intensity section of the FAQ document, Grey Box and Yellow Box have been identified as present within a search area, but the user has instead decided to not provide any rating for either of these and gave a ‘low’ flowering rating to a new Box sp.
Similarly, if you have skills in plant ID, add in the more accurate name if you know what it is. You can add this into the notes and/or as an additional plant species. The BirdLife ecologists will then make the changes to Birdata so that the appropriate species are listed for future surveys.
Conversely, if there are no flowers at all within the search area for any species, you can immediately rate all of the pre-loaded tree and mistletoe options as “NONE” – even if you are not able to identify all of them immediately.
For some species, there are only a small number of specimens within the circular 50m search area – and sometimes even only one specimen. These could be tricky to detect as part of a rapid assessment, especially if they are similar to other more common species. Similarly, it is possible that some trees or mistletoe that were present at the time of the site set-up have since died – or fallen down. (There is also a possibility of occasional mis-identification of plants during the site setup).
In these situations outlined above, it is fine to leave the flowering intensity for these trees and mistletoe species in the default setting (that is, “SELECT INTENSITY”).
Conversely, if there are no flowers at all within the search area for any tree or mistletoe species, you can immediately rate all of the pre-loaded tree and mistletoe options as a flowering intensity of “NONE” – even if you are not able to find or identify all of them immediately.
When BirdLife and ANU staff were first establishing these monitoring points, there have been semi-regular occasions when it was not possible to accurately determine the identification of a tree species to species-level. In these cases, the trees have been labelled using a broader category such as Gum sp., Ironbark sp., Box sp. and even Eucalyptus sp. These categories are more commonly used in peri-urban areas where the search area includes planted eucalypts that are not indigenous to the area.
If you come across these examples, and you are able to accurately identify the species down to species-level, then (a) leave the broader species category with the default flowering intensity rating (that is, “SELECT INTENSITY”), and (b) add a new row with the accurate species name and flowering intensity. You may also wish to add in a note to the details page.
Similarly, it is also possible that occasional tree and mistletoe species may have been missed during the site set-up process. In these cases, it is fine to add in the additional row.
Firstly, ’Lerp’ are the sugar-rich casings secreted and attached to eucalypt leaves by sap-sucking insects called ‘psyllids’. These casings are white in colour and up to 5mm in size, and are made up of solidified honeydew and wax.
There are numerous species of Psyllid in Australia which produce lerp, which can result in slightly varied appearances of these casings depending which species occurs at a given site. Often lerp is circular and has hard, defined edges, but in other instances it can have a fluffy/fuzzy appearance and can appear more oblong in shape. Despite these variances in shape and form, it is always white in colour.
Lerp is found on the surface of eucalypt leaves, and can be identified at close range amongst low-lying foliage, or through binoculars where small, white specs can be identified. You may even see Swifties or other bird species actively foraging on lerp though which they detach these casings from the leaf surface. Searches for lerp must be undertaken using binoculars during surveys, as it is simply too hard to confidently detect or identify lerp amongst canopy foliage, or even consider it absent, without these optics.
For further information on how to identify lerp and other habitat features, please see our “Introductory Support Guide to Identifying Eucalypts, Mistletoes, Wattles and Lerps” document that you will have received via email after registering for surveys.
In situations where you are unsure if lerp is present or not, it is fine to leave the answer for the presence of lerp for a site in the default setting (that is, “Select…”).
However, if you are able to adequately scan the occurring trees through binoculars and can confidently conclude that you cannot see any Lerp among the foliage from those vantage points, then this would be sufficient grounds to conclude that lerp is not present at a site.
Golden Wattle (A. pycnantha) is a shrub or small tree that can grow up to 8 metres tall. They do not produce true leaves, and instead produce broad, leathery modified leaves known as “phyllodes”, which are generally 6 to 20 cm long and bright green in colour. Both leaves and branches are typically “drooping” in form, and the bark is smooth, and dark brown-grey in colour. Juvenile plants are very flexible, with the stems and branches typically a red, maroon colour. In spring, large fluffy golden-yellow flower-heads with up to eighty small scented flowers provide a vivid contrast with the foliage and light up the landscape. In some instances, large areas of Golden Wattle can also be stripped of its foliage by newly hatched insect larvae, leaving shrubs standing as mere stems and branches.
Depending on where you are surveying, you may be able to rule out Golden Wattle as not present simply based on location. Golden Wattle occurs in the understorey of open forest or woodland and in open scrub formations in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, in temperate regions with mean annual rainfall of 350 mm to 1000 mm.
For further information on how to identify Golden Wattle, please see our “Introductory Support Guide to Identifying Eucalypts, Mistletoes, Wattles and Lerps” document that you will have received via email after registering for surveys.
If after reading up on the identifiable features of Golden Wattle you find yourself unsure as how to identify the species at your site, it is fine to leave the answer for the presence of lerp for a site in the default setting (that is, “Select…”).
For tips on how to identify Golden Wattle, please see our “Introductory Support Guide to Identifying Eucalypts, Mistletoes, Wattles and Lerps” document that you will have received via email after registering for surveys.
Yes please! If you are aware of an area of suitable habitat which is historically known to be used by the target species, or could potentially be used by them, please let us know. We have a spreadsheet of future suitable locations to be assessed and added. We will then endeavour to undertake a ground-truthing assessment of the proposed site, and collect all of the relevant details, prior to the next survey period.
Email us with the details of the proposed location, preferably including a photo or two and the mapping coordinates for the centrepoint.
Ideally, any new proposed survey sites would meet the following criteria:
No. To maximise the coverage of all locations, it is encouraged that you register to take part in surveys each season. Doing so will forward on your registration details onto a relevant regional coordinator active in the area you have nominated in your registration. The system has been established so that the regional coordinator adds value and efficiency to the process, but are not critical for participation. Please note, there are also some localities that are not yet covered by regional coordinators.
Regional coordinators aim to have most of the survey points in their area visited at least once during each survey period. If you do decide to make contact with a regional coordinator, they may be able to allocate a set of monitoring sites to you as a one-off (e.g., if you are a visiting an area for a single occasion), or on an on-going basis (e.g., if you are a resident or regular visitor to the area).
It is possible that the regional coordinators may already have all of their local sites covered by volunteers. In this case, they may be able to direct you to sites that would benefit from having multiple visits during a survey period. Alternatively, you may then decide to offer your assistance elsewhere within another locality that is not currently covered by birdwatchers. The BirdLife Australia Woodland Birds team can help direct you towards these under-resourced localities.
Yes. We have not established a standard protocol for monitoring for Swift Parrots and other birds when travelling between monitoring points on foot, in a vehicle or by other means. However, if you can safely keep an eye and ear out during this transition between sites, please do so. Any successful sightings could be added into Birdata as a ‘General Birdata Survey”. See response to Question 3 for more detailed information on how to document your Swift Parrot sightings collected from outside of the designated Swift Parrot Search monitoring sites.
No. At present, we have received funding support for the establishment of publicly available monitoring points on mainland Australia. In future years, it is possible that additional sites may become publicly accessible within the Tasmanian distribution of the Swift Parrot.
There are a range of reasons why you may not be able to reach the centrepoint of a monitoring site – e.g., flooded or damaged access tracks, fallen trees or branches, temporary road closures, etc. If there are no other reasonable routes to reach the site by vehicle, and it is also too far or unsuitable to walk there from the nearest accessible location (e.g., more than 200 metres away), then it is completely fine to leave this site as unsurveyed.
Please feel free to email and notify us of any access issues via swiftparrot@birdlife.org.au.
No, but… Like the measurements of flowering intensity, it is not essential to document the presence or absence of open freshwater at the time of survey within the circular 50-metre search area.
However, it is encouraged, as it is important piece of information about the possible triggers for the movements and distribution of Swift Parrots, Regent Honeyeaters and other birds.
For the purposes of the “Swift Parrot Search”, water is considered to be present within the circular 50-metre radius search area, if there is a source of freshwater that could potentially be used for drinking by Swift Parrots, Regent Honeyeaters and other woodland birds. This could include:
You should also only answer yes to this question if there is actual water present at the time of the survey. If waterbodies, creeks and other potential water storage vessels are all completely dry at the time of survey, then the answer should be ‘no’. Similarly, the presence of ‘dew’ on leaves and other foliage at the time of survey is not considered to compromise the presence of water – and if this is the only source present, then you should answer ‘no’ to this question.
Join in the Swift Parrot Search and help to collect crucial data across the mainland range of this critically endangered migratory species.
The Swift Parrot can be hard to identify from Australia's other green parrots, but this handy guide can help you learn to tell them apart
The Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater is a medium-sized honeyeater with striking black and yellow plumage.
