Spring Survey - 2018 Results!
Submitted by Monica on 06 Dec 2018.
Another round of applause please, your Spring Surveys are complete! For our third Birds in Backyards seasonal survey, 285 people surveyed 371 sites around the country and counted a total of 26,317 birds across 326 species. Not a bad effort and only one more survey for the year to go, let’s keep up the great work!
Your top 10 birds counted nationally were (with reporting rates in brackets)…
- Australian Magpie (51%)
- Rainbow Lorikeet (41%)
- Red Wattlebird (34%)
- Magpie-lark (32%)
- Noisy Miner (30%)
- Common Blackbird (26%)
- Willie Wagtail (24%)
- Crested Pigeon (22%)
- Galah (21%)
- Welcome Swallow (21%)
The species surveyed nationally continue to looks similar to your Autumn and Winter surveys, with small variations in the order of the list. Magpies continue to dominate your counts and are consistently reported in over half your surveys, along with the usual suspects including Rainbow Lorikeets, Noisy Miners, and Red Wattlebirds.
It’s all in the details
Over 100 surveys recorded an interaction this Spring. Not hugely surprising given all the breeding activity and general raised levels of crankiness over territories and resources. The most commonly recorded interactions were with Australian Magpies, Pied Currawongs, Willie Wagtails, Rainbow Lorikeets, Magpie-larks, Red Wattlebirds, and of course Noisy Miners who got into scraps with pretty much any other bird that dared to cross their paths! Where an interaction was initiated by a predatory bird, it was usually associated with nest defence (e.g. Pied Currawongs and Kookaburras), otherwise most interactions were over a resource and the majority were for no particular reason that you could observe. What a cranky lot!
It was also nice to see that almost half of you (42% to be exact) are putting out water for our birds on a regular basis! Of people who regularly provide water, 83% daily, 19% weekly, and 0.05% occasionally. Just remember that with the temperatures quickly soaring, the best thing you can do to help our feathered neighbours is to provide a cool bath and drink. Read more about bird baths here.
How are we tracking since the Autumn & Winter Surveys?
The numbers are slowly creeping up, with more surveyors adding more species and counting more birds this spring. Let’s see if we can drive participation and survey numbers up this summer and end the year with a bang – why not try one of the survey challenges next year and see if you can beat your personal best?
| Autumn 2018 | Winter 2018 | Spring 2018 |
# of surveys submitted | 446 (62% complete) | 431 (62% complete) | 655 (59% complete*) |
# of people surveying | 175 | 202 | 285 |
# of survey sites | 210 | 227 | 371 |
# of species seen | 222 | 258 | 326 |
TOTAL # of birds counted | 16,698 | 20,405 | 26,317 |
*complete means you have entered all of your site details on the web version of Birdata
Next year we’ll take a look at all of your seasonal surveys for 2018 and see what’s been happening throughout the year, including changes in the birds we see in different parts of the country and at different times of year. And any patterns with your sites or behaviours as well.
The app is on the way – we promise!
Well, it hasn’t happened yet but we promise it’s coming! The full version of the Birds in Backyards survey on the Birdata app is scheduled for completion in early 2019, just in time for the Autumn Surveys in March. It’s been a very busy year for the Birdata team with a lot of work going on improving the platform so we’ve had to be patient! In the meantime, please don’t forget to log into the online version and complete your surveys – because your seasonal survey is more than just counting birds! And the more detail you send us, the more interesting and complete the results become over time.
It’s great to have you with us and enjoy your Summer Survey this December 2018 & January 2019. Read more here about the many great prizes up for grabs. Happy birding!
