Cooling off

With temperatures soaring, our little band of Striated Thornbills regularly find respite in a couple of our bird baths with a drink and a bathe. So they will be likely candidates to be recorded in the Australian Bird Feeding and Watering Study which kicks off today. This is a citizen science project that runs for four weeks twice a year and aims to assess the impacts of providing food and water on bird ecology and diversity. It also looks at the hygiene aspects of bird baths and feeders, and aims to deveop guidelines for people who feed birds to do so with minimum risk to the birds.
Anybody can get involved – simply sign up on the website, follow the set-up directions from there and then spend 20 minutes watching for birds at your bird bath/feeder.

Another way of getting involved with birds locally this week is to join the Murrindindi Birders’ Morning Walk with the Birds at the Yea Wetlands on Thursday 2nd February, starting at 7.30am. Meet from 7am onwards at the Y Water Discovery Centre with your binoculars and/or camera for a guided walk through the wetlands, hoping to see a range of birds and maybe even a Platypus or Rakali. A light breakfast will be provided by the Wetlands Committee following the walk. You are asked to email wetlands.yea@gmail.com if you plan to attend.