Hi Mark
I agree that a coordinated process like the Atlas would be a much more effective way of getting a national picture of bird population trends and it is the trends that we should be concerned about. Species can be recorded
but it is the numbers that is the critical aspect and we (AWSG and the Asian Waterbird Census that Wetlands International does in SE Asia)) have been seeing this with declining numbers of shorebirds (with over 40 years of data collected) and waterbirds more
broadly.
I am happy to canvass the idea of another Atlas with both Kate and Sean Dooley and see what they think. It is of course a big exercise but if done and done properly we would get a much clearer national picture of bird
population trends which also has the benefits of giving governments and other decision makers solid information. Part of any Atlas survey must have funds for the essential analysis of data collected plus other data that could be included.
Regards
Alison
Good morning Alison,
I meant to reply to your original email but got tied up with other things. Like Chris I think this is an excellent idea and happy that I suggested it. Several comments to my original post missed the point, it is not just in certain local
areas where things are rapidly declining, it is a national problem. I have been saying this for a long time now but keep getting the same reply “but people are still recording species x, y and z” but just don’t realise that their numbers are way down.
If Birdlife Australia doesn’t want to do a National Atlas then perhaps COG could/should redo the local one that was done quite a few years ago now. Things like the GBS and Blitz weekends don’t really show what is happening long-term and
across broad areas, they only cover very small areas at best.
Mark
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Hi Alison, I think that would be an excellent suggestion as long as the protocol is the same as the previous Atlas.
Chris
From: Canberrabirds
On Behalf Of
Sent: Monday, 23 October 2023 2:44 PM
To: 'Mark Clayton'; 'Philip Veerman';
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Blitz wind up
Hi Mark and others
It might be a very good time to propose to BirdLife Australia that an Atlas of Australia would be a very god idea sitting on both the Blitz and the Aussie Bird Count. I have just met with the new CEO of BLA and would
be happy to raise this suggestion with her if it is felt this would be a good thing to do.
Regards
Alison
Alison Russell-French OAM
PO Box 101
Curtin ACT 2605
M: +61 419 264 702
From: Canberrabirds <>
On Behalf Of Mark Clayton via Canberrabirds
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2023 12:50 PM
To: Philip Veerman <>;
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Blitz wind up
I know that Philip is a very good birder and for him to say that things are not good bird wise just backs up what I said in an email to Nicki this morning and have been commenting on for quite a few years now. Climate change with the two
extremes in weather we have had, coupled with the excess removal of trees, both natural and planted, for the expansion of suburbia and on farmland, and the general “cleaning up” of paddocks has had a major impact on birds EVERYWHERE. I have been surveying
birds both professionally and as an amateur for nearly 60 years. I think it is now time for Birdlife Australia, if it wants to continue as supposedly Australia’s premier birding organisation, to redo an “Atlas of Australia’s Birds”, I think they will get an
almighty shock as to just what is happening. I can remember 30 – 40 years ago driving down country roads and seeing Willie Wagtails and Yellow-rumped Thornbills fly off the road, other Thornbill and fairy-wren species doing much the same. Now the occasional
Magpie-lark, Apostlebird and a lot fewer White-winged Choughs are to be seen. There are some birds on the ACT”s Threatened Species list that I, and I know a lot of others, consider should not be on it, and a lot more that should. We are finding the same is
happening with our bird banding site near West Wyalong, an area that still has a lot of native vegetation in the general area. I was surprised to find species like the Noisy Miner, Common Starling and Common Myna were in very few numbers in areas I have surveyed
in previous years.
Be interested in hearing people’s comments.
Mark
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From:
Sent: Monday, 23 October 2023 10:31 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Blitz wind up
I did 10 sites over the 2 days, with about 95 km travel, which is the most travel I have done for birding for a very long time but probably a lot
less than most other people. Even though pleasant being out, the low numbers of birds in species and individuals is getting concerning. For example at Castle Hill which in most years it has been so full it has been a struggle for just me to get to find most
of what is there, yesterday I had to look pretty carefully to come up with the list I did. Though it was nice to be there. Previously it has had Hooded Robin, Brown Treecreeper, Diamond Firetail, Leaden Flycatcher, White-browed Woodswallow, none of them left
(at least within the area I look at).
Good bits were a Tawny Frogmouth on nest with at least one chick in I think exactly the same spot on a tree as last year (or was it 2 years ago?).
A pair of kestrels, male seen hunting and female seen flying around a group of trees so presumably nesting in one of them, although the tree they were nesting in 2 years ago has now fallen down. Unlike 2 years ago I was not accosted by a woman who saw me at
Kambah Pool and I thought she wanted to know what I was looking at (the above mentioned Tawny Frogmouth on nest) but she saw I was standing still and rushed at me and launched a barrage of preaching Jesus at me. The car park at Kambah Pool on Saturday afternoon
was totally full of cars, even along the access road.
Otherwise fairly ordinary.
Philip
