WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT NATIVE BIRDS
Thanks for coming out to bird with us and Yarra City Council. Thanks also to our guides Jonathan Tickner and Gary Dickson. We hope you enjoyed the experience and learned some new skills to continue your ethical birding practice on your own. Birds are not only beautiful, in sight and song, but they are critical to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Ensuring they have suitable habitat in our urban landscapes is critical to their survival. We’ve rounded up a few ways you can support bird conservation below.
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Garden
If you have a garden, plant natives indigenous to the local area. Consider planting native grasses and small to medium shrubs to provide habitat for smaller birds.
Keep it cool
Particularly on hot days, put out a bird bath or bowl of cool water (avoid metal bowls as these will get too hot) to help our avian friends keep cool. If you can, keep it in the shade and near some greenery so if needed birds can make a quick escape to safety.
Stay informed
Sign up to the Biodiversity Council newsletter for updates on biodiversity science and news.
Donate
To BirdLife Australia or to organisations in your area focused on native habitat rehabilitation and conservation, like the Abbotsford Riverbankers.
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Volunteer
Join local birding or conservation groups, like Friends of Merri Creek and Abbotsford Riverbankers, and volunteer your time to help rehabilitate habitats along the Birrarung.
Engage
Continue to practice ethical birding on your own and / or join a group like Birding in Yarra. Educate your friends and family on what you learn and the importance of protecting our native birdlife in urban areas.
Participate in local bird surveys, logging what you discover in Birdata and iNaturalist, helping scientists and conservationists around Australia.
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Speak up
Tell your local MP that you care and are concerned about the effects of climate change and habitat loss on our native birds.
Advocate for stronger environmental protection laws and actions at all government levels.
Stay informed + participate
Review the Action Plan for Australian Birds, a report from BirdLife Australia, and follow and participate in their Birds in Backyards initiatives.
Sign this petition for stronger nature laws from the Australian Conservation Foundation. And find out more about the nature laws shaping Australia’s future:
The four steps needed to align Australia’s environmental laws and policies with a nature positive future, Biodiversity Council Australia
What will it take to strengthen Australia’s nature laws and protect wildlife, WWF Australia