From the 20th to the 26th of October, Australia’s biggest citzen science event is set to take place.
What is Citizen Science?
Citizen science means anybody, like you and me can contribute to science. This could be doing a bird survey or just taking photos of organisms on your phone. A good way to get started is iNaturalist, where you take photos of organisms, then other naturalists and AI help you identify it.
What is the Aussie Bird Count?
The Aussie Bird Count is run by Birdlife Australia, Australia’s leading bird conservation charity. Anybody can participate, from experienced birders to someone who can’t tell a magpie from a parrot. You don’t even need binoculars! All you need to do is download the Aussie Bird Count app on your phone (or you can write it down and submit it after), 20 minutes and the great outdoors. Just sit outside for 20 minutes, mark down the birds you see (or hear) and identify them using the app’s find a bird feature. Or, buy a field guide (I recommend the Compact Australian Bird Guide). Then, you are contributing towards protecting Australia’s Birds!
What happened last year?
More than 57,000 participants counted an astonishing 4.1 million birds as part of the week-long national event in October last year. View the full results here .
How else can I do citizen science?
As aftermore metionted, upload your organism photos to iNaturalist to contribute to the Atlas of Living Australia, which is used by governments and decision makers.
If you are an have a bit more experience as a birdwatcher, consider uploading your sightings to Birdlife Australia’s Birdata or eBird (both contribute to the Atlas of Living Australia)
For more, check out Parks Victoria’s page on Citizen Science and the Atlas of Living Australia’s page on more ways to contribute. Happy counting!