3.5
Birds the traditional way
The BirdLife Australia two-hectare, twenty-minute survey is the standard method in this country. Its value is comparability: your results sit alongside everyone else’s, in the same format, going back decades.
Protocol — two-hectare, twenty-minute survey1
- Where and when
- A fixed two-hectare plot (3.1). Early morning is best. Avoid wind and rain.
- The survey
- Twenty minutes, staying within the plot. Record every species seen or heard.
- For each species
- Number of individuals; what it was doing; any breeding activity — nest, carrying material, feeding young.
- Also record
- Start time, observers, and whether there is water in the plot. Water makes a large difference to what turns up and is needed to interpret the results.
- How often
- Once per season, four times a year, in the same plots.
If you can’t identify birds by call, join a round rather than starting cold. Local Landcare groups and birding networks run surveys and are generally glad of company — it is the fastest way to learn, and you end up with the data either way.
