To help understand the extent and causes of this decline, as part of National Bird Week (23rd - 29th October) Birdlife Australia conducts the annual 'Aussie Backyard Bird Count' and is calling on all bird lovers across Australia to join in this year's count - anyone who is interested in birds can join in!  

Last year saw a record 61,000 nature-loving Australians take time out from their busy schedules to count more than 1.4 million birds.

National Bird Week — a tradition dating back nearly 100 years — celebrates the incredible variety of beautiful birds found in Australia, and the Backyard Bird Count is an ideal way for bird lovers to experience them by taking part.

With only a few days until the count begins, if you haven't already done so, you need to register your interest by heading to the official website at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au.

The Aussie Bird Count is a great way to connect with the birds in your backyard no matter where your backyard happens to be — a suburban backyard, a local park, botanical gardens, schoolyards, a patch of forest, down by the beach, or the main street of town.  

You can count as many times as you like over the week; each count being completed over a 20-minute period. The data collected assists BirdLife Australia in understanding more about the birds that live where people live.

The Aussie Bird Count app - available for download at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au -  allows you to take part anywhere - it's easy!  The national total will be updated in real time, and the app allows you to see which species are being seen in your local area.

Whether you take part by yourself or in a group, every bird counted will help BirdLife Australia reach its target of 1.5 million birds counted in 7 days to smash last year’s record.  With three years of data from the counts already collected by Australian birdwatchers, BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley says the results provide a picture of how our birds are faring, both locally and across Australia.  

“We are fortunate to have a wonderful array of birds in Australia, many that can’t be found anywhere else in the world,” Mr. Dooley said.

“The information we collect from the Backyard Bird Count each year not only shows how much Australians care about birds, but also provides clues to what’s happening with different bird species.”  

In 2016, Australian birdwatchers  recorded more than 583 species, with the Rainbow Lorikeet, Noisy Miner and Australian Magpie topping the list of Australia’s most counted birds.

Further information, other events and activities during National Bird Week can be found at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au

I will definitely be 'doing' the count again this year, and hope as many of you as possible will participate - it's just one small way in which we can all help our feathered friends!

Until next time - take care all – Kay.