NSW Woodland Birds Project Coordinator, Kristy Peters, said that if you wanted to travel further than your own backyard or local park, there were ideal places in Cumberland where you could assist conservation efforts spending just 20 minutes observing and counting the birds you see.
“The Sydney Olympic Park area is ideal, with over a quarter of Australia’s bird species spotted there, especially at Bicentennial Park including Lake Belvedere,” she said.
“There are a lot of water birds there as well as at Newington Nature Reserve Wetlands and the River Walk at Blaxland Common along Duck River.
“Expect to see Superb Fairy-wren, Double-barred Finch, Spotted Pardalote, Grey Fantail, Red-browed Finch, White-bellied Sea-Eagles, Black-shouldered Kite, Nankeen Kestrel, Red-rumped Parrot, Mangrove Gerygone, Red-necked Avocet and Black-winged Stilts.”
Kristy said it was good to see communities of smaller birds because they were the first ones to drop out of a local eco system due of habitat loss.
“The count aims to assess which bird species are thriving and which ones need conservation attention,” she said.
The Aussie Bird Count runs from October 16 to 22 and if you’re unsure about bird identification, a built-in ‘bird finder’ tool is available to help you out.
Details: aussiebirdcount.org.au.
