Australian Bird Count
Encyclopedia
The Australian Bird Count (ABC) was a project of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union
(RAOU). Following the first and successful Atlas of Australian Birds project, which led to the publication of a book on the distribution of Australian birds in 1984, it was suggested by Ken Rogers that the RAOU should next look at bird migration
and other movements in Australia. Methodology for a suitable project involving volunteers was worked out through experimental fieldwork and a workshop on ‘Monitoring the Populations and Movements of Australian Birds’ .
A project manager, Stephen Ambrose
, was appointed and project fieldwork ran from January 1989 to August 1995. Some 950 volunteer observers carried out 79,000 surveys, for fixed 20-minute periods in 1700 three-hectare locations over Australia .
Project management started at the Australian Museum
in Sydney
and was later moved to the RAOU National Office in Melbourne
. Financial support came at first from the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and subsequently from BP
Australia which pledged A$260,000 to the project over five years.
While much of the data has yet to be analysed, significant seasonal movements of several species of birds, (demonstrated through geographical shifts in seasonal abundance) have been quantified. A report on some of the findings of the project was published as a supplement to the RAOU’s magazine Wingspan
in 1999.
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...
(RAOU). Following the first and successful Atlas of Australian Birds project, which led to the publication of a book on the distribution of Australian birds in 1984, it was suggested by Ken Rogers that the RAOU should next look at bird migration
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
and other movements in Australia. Methodology for a suitable project involving volunteers was worked out through experimental fieldwork and a workshop on ‘Monitoring the Populations and Movements of Australian Birds’ .
A project manager, Stephen Ambrose
Stephen Ambrose
Stephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a long time professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many best selling volumes of American popular history...
, was appointed and project fieldwork ran from January 1989 to August 1995. Some 950 volunteer observers carried out 79,000 surveys, for fixed 20-minute periods in 1700 three-hectare locations over Australia .
Project management started at the Australian Museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and was later moved to the RAOU National Office in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Financial support came at first from the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and subsequently from BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
Australia which pledged A$260,000 to the project over five years.
While much of the data has yet to be analysed, significant seasonal movements of several species of birds, (demonstrated through geographical shifts in seasonal abundance) have been quantified. A report on some of the findings of the project was published as a supplement to the RAOU’s magazine Wingspan
Wingspan (magazine)
Wingspan is the quarterly membership magazine of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union . It was first issued in 1991, replacing the RAOU Newsletter. The current Editor is Sean Dooley....
in 1999.
See also
- BioBlitzBioBlitzA BioBlitz, also written without capitals bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a short, usually 24 hour, time...
("24-hour inventory") - Breeding Bird SurveyBreeding Bird SurveyA breeding bird survey monitors the status and trends of bird populations. Data from the survey are an important source for the range maps found in field guides. The North American Breeding Bird Survey is a joint project of the United States Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service...
- Christmas Bird CountChristmas Bird CountThe Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer birders...
(CBC) (in the Western Hemisphere) - Systematic Census of Australian PlantsSystematic Census of Australian PlantsThe Systematic census of Australian plants, with chronologic, literary and geographic annotations, more commonly known as the Systematic Census of Australian Plants, also known by its standard botanic abbreviation Syst. Census Austral...
- Tucson Bird CountTucson Bird CountThe Tucson Bird Count is a community-based program that monitors bird populations in and around the Tucson, Arizona, USA metropolitan area...
(TBC) (in Arizona in the US)