Spending 20 minutes in our backyards or out in our state’s fabulous outdoor places and spaces during Spring is a great way for Tasmanians to get involved in National Birdlife Week, running this week.
Birdlife Australia’s ‘Aussie Backyard Bird Count’ is a fantastic example of the sort of citizen science Tasmanians are renowned for supporting.
The ‘Aussie Backyard Bird Count’ will be the biggest citizen science project Australia has ever seen, and Tasmanians have a key role to play in it because our bird species are unique indicators of Tasmania’s environmental health.
12 bird species are unique to Tasmania while over 260 species have been spotted here in the wild.
All we need is 20 mins, somewhere nice and green outside, and maybe some binoculars.
Record the birds you know and look up those you don’t recognise on the http://aussiebirdcount.org.au/ website or the ‘Aussie Bird Count’ app for iphone and Android.
I know that Tasmanians have already provided hundreds of critical contributions to Redmap, a project that is using citizen-provided data to map Australian marine species that may be extending their distribution range in response to changes in the marine environment, such as ocean warming.
Citizen science has always been a great Labor cause so I encourage my fellow Tasmanian wildlife lovers to participate in the ‘Aussie Backyard Bird Count’ and add their findings to the important trove of information from across the nation that will help us see how Australian birds are faring.
SENATOR THE HON LISA SINGH LABOR SENATOR FOR TASMANIA SHADOW PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER
