Citizen scientists count nearly 2 million birds and reveal a possible kookaburra decline

October 31, 2017 7.05pm GMT

Mark Baker/Reuters

Kerryn Herman

Research Ecologist, Deakin University

Disclosure statement

Kerryn Herman is a research ecologist employed by BirdLife Australia. BirdLife Australia is Australia's longest running conservation organisation and works on the conservation and advocacy of Australia's native birds and their habitats.

The Conversation UK receives funding from Hefce, Hefcw, SAGE, SFC, RCUK, The Nuffield Foundation, The Ogden Trust, The Royal Society, The Wellcome Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Alliance for Useful Evidence, as well as sixty five university members.

The fourth Aussie Backyard Bird Count has just ended, with nearly 2 million birds from 635 species submitted to the BirdLife Australia app. The count, which is in its fourth year, has created a national database of birds found in our backyards.

We don’t know yet exactly how many people participated this year, but more than 60,000 people submitted checklists in 2016. Participants span the whole country, though participation is highest in our urban areas. By surveying our backyards (rather than “good” bird spots), these citizen scientists provide ecologists – like me – with information from urban areas we would not otherwise sample.

This includes data on a range of common bird species that are not frequently analysed because these species are believed to be secure. One of the most surprising results is a decline in the frequency of occurrence of the laughing kookaburra across southeast Australia

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It is generally quite well-known that kookaburras live in family groups: a bonded male and female, plus a retainer of their offspring. Numbers matter in kookaburra society because a neighbouring tribe may have its eye firmly on the expansion of territory – and may invade a smaller group.

This means the injury and eventual death of one bird – most crucially of one of the parent birds – can have disastrous effects for the remaining group. They could be evicted from their home, which is likely to lead to their death. 

I once told all this to a human family of five. The oldest of the three children, a 12-year-old boy, had found an injured kookaburra on the grounds of their own expansive rural property in country New South Wales, and he had taken the bird to his parents, who then rang me for help. 

The bird had a fractured wing – and 21 days later, after it was completely healed and able to fly again, I asked them whether they would like to witness the release. They did. 

Before the bird re-entered the wild, I told them how important it was to the kookaburra family that they had saved this female – it had potentially saved them all from eviction, and death. I explained that we had to pick our spot well: territories were not usually very large (some 2.5 sq km) and, if released in a hostile territory, the bird could have been killed as an intruder. 

I added that once the released kookaburra had landed on a branch, the other members should soon join it, and together they would sing a resounding chorus in triumph of their reunion. And so it was. I released the bird, and, sure enough, other kookaburras soon landed on the same branch and they all sang together. 

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'Killer kookaburra confirmed': Man spots terrifying native Australian bird on his roof - which then started pecking at his window

Reddit user posted a picture of a frightening native bird sitting on his roof

The bird is said to have been pecking on the man's kitchen window

According to Birdlife Australia, kookaburra sightings have dropped by 40 per cent

By ALISHA BUAYA FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 06:17, 22 October 2015 | UPDATED: 08:33, 22 October 2015

A menacing kookaburra with beady, black eyes has terrified a couple by perching on the roof their home.

Reddit user, impr0mtu, shared a photo of a native Australian Kookaburra sitting on his roof, captioning the photo as 'the kookaburra on my roof frightens me...'

'Worst thing is, about an hour later he started pecking at the kitchen window whilst my wife and I were cooking. Killer Kookaburra confirmed,' impr0mtu's said in the post.

Reddit users have joked that the ice epidemic is to blame for the iconic bird's intense stare 

The light-hearted poke at the native Australian bird generated a range of hilarious comments.

'Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, merrily plotting your death. Laugh Kookaburra, Laugh Kookaburra, maniacal your laugh seems to be,' user AussieEquiv wrote with the classic Australian nursery rhyme in mind.

'The Ice epidemic has spread to our native animals. This is the start of Emu Wars II', user beyondtherange commented.

However user TidusLovesYuna defended the Australian icon saying: 'maybe he or she just wants to be friends.'

'I looked up "sinister" in Oxford Online Dictionary and that image appeared... Channelling the spirit of Alfred Hitchcock,' Reddit user fewdforthort said. 

A report by Birdwildlife Australia found that Kookaburra sightings have dropped by 40 per cent across the south east of Australia - particularly in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

'We've known for some time that many rare bird populations are declining, but we were not aware of the decline of these very common and iconic Australian birds,' Birdlife Australia chief executive Paul Sullivan said. 

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