The Bird Emergency (Grant Williams)

Meet the Plains-wanderer, one of the oddest birds in Australia, living in the last remaining intact tracts of grassland habitat in south east Australia. Daniel Nugent is trying to unlock the many secrets held by this bird, in an effort to develop effective strategies to preserve the last populations.

Female Plains-wanderer

Daniel Nugent undertaking fieldwork with the Plains-wanderer

Photos courtesy of Julain Teh

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

This episode of The Bird Emergency introduces you to Dr. Rob Davis, who is based at the Edith Cowan University in Perth, which sits on the Indian Ocean.  However, Rob has a passionate interest in the birds of the small islands of the Pacific Ocean, many clinging to existence. He tells us about the Palau Megapode, one of the unusual mound-making birds, who incubate their eggs in piles of leaf litter, scraped into sizeable heaps, and carefully tended by the parents.

The website for his lab is http://wildlifelab.org

The Palau Megapode website is www.palaumegapode.com

Palau Conservation Society is here https://www.palauconservation.org

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Camilo Carniero is a biologist and ecologist and postdoc researcher at the South Iceland Research Centre, after completing a PhD in Biology and Ecology of Global Change; University of Aveiro.

His masters thesis was the "Breeding parameters, diet and growth of the Red Heron (Ardea purpurea) in Salreu, Aveiro" and his PhD thesis was about whimbrels in Iceland, titled "Bridging from the arctic to the tropics: implications of long-distance migration to individual fitness."

I spoke with Camilo about his long-term observations of the Whimbrels in Iceland, and what it was like to work in a location that many people wish they could visit.

Keep up with his latest Twitter posts - https://twitter.com/Camilo_Carneiro

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

This episode began as a celebration of one of the most curiously named, most loved and interesting migratory species of North and Central America, the Prothonotary Warbler.  It became a very free-flowing and wide-ranging discussion about a bird that Jarod is obviously very passionate about, his connection to the migratory birds that he sees and appreciates each season, and the efforts he takes to encourage the PROWs that visit his area to breed in artificial nest boxes, made from juice or milk cartons.

The Prothonotary Warbler breeds in the northern parts of the USA and Canada in wooded country, but heads south to avoid the northern winter to spend the cooler months in mangroves in central America.

It's a bit of fun, as Grant and Jarod appreciate a mutual love of birds, albeit in very different places.

Visit the page for this episode on thebirdemergency.com/PROW for a lot of great photos provided by Jarod.

Follow Jarod Hitchings on Twitter - @ilwarblers

Check out the Rare Bird Alert Facebook Group  for Jarod's area 

Bob Dolgan is also a big fan of the Prothonotary Warbler, and has produced some very striking T-shirts that celebrate the PROW. You can check out one of Bob's articles here, and also check out the t-shirt.

Interested in a fabulous Prothonotary Warbler T-shirt, that will also send some money towards the American Bird Conservancy? Then follow this link...

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

In this episode, I am joined my Kevin Burgio, PhD, to discuss the rapid decline and eventual extinction of the Carolina Parakeet, the only endemic parrot of continental North America.

Kevin has been using historical records to examine the known rages of both sub-species of this parrot and shed some light on why this bird declined so rapidly.

Hopefully some lessons can be learned from his work to prevent future losses.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @KRBurgio and check out the NYC chapter of the Audubon Society.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

Just for a bit of fun, here's Looking For Lewis and Clarke, by the Long Ryders,  as discussed by Grant and Kevin

My guest in this episode is Dr. Clare Hawkins, Citizen Science Co-ordinator at the Bookend Trust, and the driving force behind Where? Where? Wedgie? which could be referred to the Great Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle Count, which monitors the whereabouts of Australia's largest eagle over a couple of weekends in May each year.  2020 was the fourth time volunteers have spread out all over Tasmania to mark the sightings (and non-sightings of eagles).

https://naturetrackers.com.au - see all the Where? Where? Wedgie! details and check out their social media Facebook and Twitter  

Photo: Peter Vaughn

Follow Clare on Twitter @Ottercivet

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

This episode is a little different than our usual "regular" episode, in that is the audio of the video live stream, and a number of images and videos are referenced in the recording. Because the subject matter is so shocking, and really should be a wake up call for many people (listen for the distressing stats of how many chicks are found to have ingested plastic in the colony of Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Lord Howe Island). 

Dr. Jennifer Lavers is on of the co-leads of The Adrift Lab, based at the University of Tasmania. Jenn has been studying the same colony of Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Lord Howe Island for almost two decades. There is continuous data for this entire, except for one breeding season, when fieldwork was not conducted due to pandemic restrictions.

Joining Dr. Lavers in this discussion are two PhD candidates, Lill Stewart and Alix de Jersey and Honours student, Nina Jones. Each of these students have a different focus in their respective projects, but I am sure each with turn out to be significant when it comes to how the wider community deals with the ubiquitous issue of plastic pollution.

It is important that you watch the video we discuss in the episode. You can see it here thebirdemergency.com/adrift

Here are the links for this episode

• The Adrift Lab
• Dr. Jenn Lavers
• Lill Stewart
• Alix de Jersey
• Nina Jones
• Dr. Alex Bond
• Dr. Alex Evans (not Adrift Lab!)

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Claire Greenwell is two years into her PhD, which she is doing at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

Claire is undertaking a comprehensive study of the Australian sub-species of the Australian Fairy Tern, currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.  Claire is adding to the knowledge of the diet, feeding habits, nesting and distribution of this sub-species, hoping to avoid the catastrophic decline that has been suffered by the New Zealand sub-species.

You can follow Claire on Twitter @cn_greenwell

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Here is the audio of the recent live stream, in the Monday with Holly regular Monday spot, where Dr. Matt Herring talked about his current crowdfunding campaign, to raise about $70,000 dollars to attempt to track about a dozen of one of the least known, and rarest birds in Australia, the Australian Painted Snipe.

Please make a contribution to the campaign - https://chuffed.org/project/paintedsnipe

If you would like to check out the Bitterns In Rice project, just visit https://www.bitternsinrice.com.au/

Thanks to Leo and Patrick, two terrific photographers and friends of birds, who have shared their photos on Flickr. Go and visit their respective pages;

Leo - https://www.flickr.com/photos/0ystercatcher/

Patrick - https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick_k59/

Visit the Birds In Backyards site for some inspiration for making your backyard great for birds.

If you want to see The Bird Emergency interviews as they happen, bookmark thebirdemergency.com/live

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

How does art influence attitudes to nature, and how can it help to create positive outcomes in conservation?

These two artists who put nature and wildlife at the centre of their art, and birds feature prominently.

Meet Brenton See and Sally Edmonds, prominent artists based in Perth in Western Australia.

See the artwork mentioned in this episode, and get all the links at thebirdemergency.com/Art

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

What is it like to be involved in a breeding program and managing part of an insurance population of an endangered species that is under human care?  How important are the birds that you see in free-flight displays at zoos and sanctuaries around the world? How do the birds in those shows get selected, and is it a good purpose for those birds to be put to?

If you have ever wondered about any of those issues, you will enjoy hearing Chad Crittle, Senior Keeper of Birds and Free Flight at Adelaide Zoo, who supervises a wonderful team of animal professionals, delivering care for 1000 individual birds from over 100 species, talk about these issues.

Adelaide Zoo is part of Zoos SA, a private foundation, which also includes Monarto Zoo, and Zoos SA participates in the captive breeding and management programs for the Regent Honeyeater, Orange-bellied Parrot, Plains-wanderer and Malleefowl.

As well as supported research with animals in human care for species such as Little Penguins, Australian Sea Lions, New Zealand Fur Seals, Swift Parrots, Regent Honeyeaters, Regent Parrots, Palm Pockatoo and many others. His main passion is sharing the stories of wildlife with people who visit the Zoos SA sites, as well as directly contribute to vitally important conservation work both on site at the zoos and in the wider community.

SInce 2009, Chad has presented over 3500 large scale animal shows, highlighting the work of good zoos in the conservation space and highlighting species to the thousands of visitors good zoos receive each year. Chad has also worked directly on several conservation programs including captive breeding of the critically endangered Western Swamp Tortoise, Swift Parrots, Orange-bellied Parrots and Regent Honeyeaters.

You can watch the unedited conversation with Chad, many of the past conversations, and see the upcoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

What do you think is the rarest bird in New Zealand?  Perhaps, you immediately think of the Kakapo? But the title probably belongs to a seabird, or a little-known shorebird, the Southern Dotterel (or the Southern Red-breasted Plover) (Chadrius obscurus), which has been described as a distinct species and listed as such on the IUCN Red LIst. It is listed as Critically Endangered and the population trend is indicated as Decreasing.

Last assessed in 2017, the IUCN estimates that the population is between 60 and 80 individuals, which is limited to one population, which occurs (fortunately) within the boundaries of the Rakiura National Park, on Rakiura (or Stewart Island), off the southern tip of the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Alasdair Burns spoke with Grant, from Stewart Island (Rakiura) about the Southern Dotterel, and recounted his work previously with the species, and explained why the specialisation of the species, and it's limited range makes it extremely vulnearable, especially to feral predators, such as cats, rats, mice and possums.

See the grim IUCN Red List assessment for yourself here.

Check out Predator Free Rakiura on the web here; https://www.predatorfreerakiura.org.nz/contact-us/

And they are also on Facebook; https://m.facebook.com/100852492507299/

There is a lot of Southern Dotterel info from the New Zealand Department Of Conservation website; https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/nz-dotterel-tuturiwhatu/

Vote for Southern Dotterel for New Zealand Bird of the Year on Instagram (Voting begins in October - so set yourself a reminder!); https://instagram.com/southern_dotterel_boty

See the full show notes at thebirdemergency.com/dotterel

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

In this episode, Scott Mouat, documentary filmaker from New Zealand - Aoteoroa - who has worked on presenting the plight of the Kakapo, the strange Night Parrot, that teeters on the edge of existence on pest-free offshore islands, supported by the extraordinary work of the Kakapo Recovery Team.

Scott explains the challenges in preserving the Kakapo and the swamphen-like Takahe, and the way remote reserves serve as the last bastions for both these species.

All of Scott's work is on his Elwin Films website - https://www.elwin.co.nz/

Please do take the time to watch Scott's film, The Unnatural History of the Kakapo on YouTube.

There is also a short feature on Takahe on YouTube from Scott.

If you have never seen the famous Last Chance To See BBC footage, here it is...

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Please share or subscribe to the show here - https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or leave us your thoughts about the show here - https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Meet the Far Eastern Curlew, perilously close to disappearing, subject of this Episode of The Bird Emergency.

Every year as the days begin to get shorter in the marshes of the Arctic, the entire population of Eastern Curlews leave their breeding grounds in northern hemisphere and embark on a 10,000km journey to the coast of Australia, potentially calamitous for a bird that cannot swim! If the trip becomes too arduous and a bird is exhausted, drops into the sea below, further reducing the limited population.

The Far Eastern Curlew has undertaken this back-and-forth for tens of thousands of years, following the invisible flyways along the coasts of Australasia, the Indo-Pacific, east Asia to the Arctic Circle, in what is one of the most taxing migrations of any bird. Harry Saddler was so fascinated by this migration, the effort it places on the birds and how people view the birds as they pass through so many human territories.  His discoveries about the places and the challenges the Eastern Curlew overcomes, prompted Harry, an award-winning writer from Melbourne, to share his knowledge about this migration with the world.

Sometimes a book is a total surprise & this little tome by Harry Saddler sure is.

How can an unknown & unnoticed bird be the subject of a real page-turner? Because this bird has an amazing story!

Good Reading magazine said in a review, ‘It might be surprising that Saddler can wrangle a whole book centred on just one, relatively little-known species of bird, but there is no shortage of material."

Enjoy this conversation about an exceptional bird, & it's perpetual journey between Australia and the Arctic, as much as I did! Such a great story, told by a master storyteller.

Check out the book here at Affirm Press, or ask your local bookshop to get it for you (if they don't already have it!).

Harry is active on Twitter, and shares a lot about the birds he sees around his home and workplace, described as only an award-winner author can. I recommend following him @mondaystory 

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

The people at Pint of Science asked me to be part of #PintAU21 Takeover - where we takes science and scientists like Elodie Camprasse to the masses and showcase their work and experience! Elodie shares her visits and fieldwork with penguins and albatross on Kergulen Island. Could you work in the sub-antarctic?

Check out the range of activities during #Pint21Au at https://pintofscience.com.au

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Dr. David Watson, is an ornithologist, and Professor in Ecology in the school of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences at Charles Sturt University, in Albury in regional, New South Wales, Australia. David and post-Doc researcher, Elizabeth Znidersic have recently released a paper where they present a new approach for the resoration of habitat on the broad scale, acoustic restoration, where broadcasting soundscapes can entice animals to recolonise areas that have been disturbed, or suffered major impacts from events such as bushfires.

David shares his thoughts in this episode.

You can read the article in Ecology Letters here (open access)

Check out Dave on Twitter, and catch his fabulous reviews of his local birds, that he calls #AwesomeBirds..

Have a look at David's Google Scholar back-catalogue.  Bit of a rock star!  

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

Should we be feeding our local wild birds? Dr. Holly Parsons, Manager of the Urban Birds program at Birdlife Australia, Dr. Johanne Martens and Prof. David Phalen from the University of Sydney, discuss this issue with Grant, who has been feeding his local birds in the park. Where did they end up on this disputed topic? 

If you are interested in this issue, be sure to batch Grant talking to Darryl Jones, who wrote "The Birds At My Table" which you can find at thebirdemergency.com/live

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

The term "biodiversity" is thrown around and inserted into conversations all the time. But when one person says biodiversity, is the full meaning of the term conveyed to anybody listening? Dr. Holly Parsons from Birdlife Australia (Birds In Backyards) is joined by Jacinta Humphrey, a PhD candidate at LaTrobe University in Melbourne. Her research focuses on the impacts of urban development on birds at the landscape scale.
Holly and Jacinta kick around a lot of the issues that are picked up in any discussion about biodiversity in an urban setting with Grant.

Did we reach any consensus?

BTW Sign the petition - it's urgent, and it pertains to the Blue-billed Ducks that we referenced in the show. https://www.kes.org.au/home/campaigns/lakeknox

You can watch the unedited conversation for the show, and see the upcoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Doing something a little different for a while- an irregular feature to help those bird nerds who have developed a business sharing their knowledge and their favourite birding locations with other bird nerds!  A global pandemic doesn't help tour operators, so I thought I could feature some great bird-focused tour operators!

First up is Janine Duffy, co-founder and Director of Echidna Walkabout Tours. 

Janine is passionate about birds and Australia's unique wildlife, Koalas in particular.  Janine is a tour guide and operator who takes the values of "tread lightly" and preserving (and improving) habitat seriously.  Meet Janine, and maybe taking a trip to some of the places she talks about, to see some of the stunning Australian birdlife.

You can find out more about the tours Janine offers here - https://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au/

Instagram - @echidnawalkabout_

If you are interested to check out other tour operators who have similar values, then have a look at https://australianwildlifejourneys.com/

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

The Golden-shouldered Parrot is rapidly disappearing from the landscape in northern Australia, where this species requires a very particular habitat - one that is disappearing due to changed land uses over the period of colonisation, especially as the patterns of burning and clearing have changed.

Some landowners are trying to reverse this process, and the owners of Artemis Station, which occupies some historically prime habitat for the Golden-shouldered Parrot, have been supporting the research required to understand what is needed to secure the local population, and raise funds to continue the research and practical works required to protect these stunning parrots.

With involvement from the local traditional owners, and researchers like Dr. Stephen Murphy from the University of Queensland, future looks a little brighter for these specialist parrots.

Check out the Atemis Nature Fund website here, and please support the work they do, if you can!

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Have you ever considered brushing up on your bird-watching skills in a more formal and structured way?  Are you just starting out and would like to get a headstart on the years it takes to get to know the best methods to identify any bird you see around you?  Do you have kids, or know someone who is just getting into the great pasttime of bird-watching, and you would like to encourage them to take the interest further?

If you thought "YES" to any of those things, then you might be interested in a new course being run by Ricki Coughlan, ornithologist and very experienced bird-watching guide.

Ricki told me about the reasons for the course, how it is structured, and how anyone will benefit from it.  

Enrolment is open now!

You can enrol in the course here. - https://aussiewild.com.au/bird-watching

Follow Ricki on Twitter - @RickiCoughlan

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Dr. Holly Parsons, the Manager - Urban Birds programs at Birdlife Australia, joins Grant Williams regularly to talk about issues of interest to Bird Nerds, and to meet some of the fabulous people running the Citizen Science projects, or undertaking vital research. Here is part of the most recent live stream, focusing on the upcoming Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo surveys, where there are opportunities for anyone to be involved. Grant and Holly were joined by Skye McPherson, Project Coordinator South-eastern Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Recovery Project. 

Here are some places to be involved or find some more information;

https://www.redtail.com.au

Get involved in the various surveys; 

http://www.redtail.com.au/annual-counts.html

Here is the Facebook group that Skye mentioned;

https://birdsinbackyards.net

https://birdlife.org.au/projects/urban-birds

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

You may have always been familiar with turtle doves the same way I was - a childhood song that also references pear trees and partridges....  It may surprise you to know that turtle doves are becoming scarce in the UK.

I wanted to know more, so I spoke with Charlotte O'Neill, who is a student in Falmouth in the UK, a dab hand with a camera, and really interested in the wildlife around her...  including turtle doves.

Hear about the demise, and some of the actions being undertaken to arrest it, and also what it is like in the Doc Martin part of the UK.

Follow Charlotte on Twitter - https://twitter.com/Lotty_ONeill

and https://linktr.ee/Lotty_ONeill

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day (WorldMigratoryBirdDay.org), PhD candidate, David Tan, tells us about the stunning Pittas that needlessly fall victim to BirdStrike as the migrate thorough SIngapore, why SIngapore is a great birding spot, and his adventures in Arizona, a bird hotspot in the USA.

Visit David's website - https://davidbirdtan.com/

Follow David on Twitter - @g33k5p34k

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

In a fairly casual conversation, I speak to James Trezise, who is a Policy Analyst with the Australian Conservation Foundation about the challenges for conserving and protecting Australia's natural assets, the current review of the major laws meant to protect species and the biodiversity of the country, and if my approach is too provocative and if it would be effective.

James gives us some hints on how to be effective as an individual who wants to make a difference, and a few things you can do right now to protect our fragile natural heritage.

Follows James on Twitter @james_trezise and the @ACF

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Here is the Fotography Friday conversation that Grant and Nicolas Rakotopare had with Sandy Horne, recounting her introduction to photography, and bird photography in particular.

The photographs discussed are on this webpage and also check out Sandy's Flickr albums. 

Follow Sandy on Twitter @SandyHorne61

Don't forget to have a look at Nico's pics...

You can find some really lovely shots from Nicolas on his website, not limited to his work with birds at lerako.net

Follow Nicolas on Twitter - @le_rako

And still more great images from Nicolas on Instagram @lerako

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

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As we are coming up to the 2021 surveys for the Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle - the Where, Where Wedgie project - Here is an update on last year's results. Hopefully this will get you excited to get involved, register and select an area! 

It's coming up soon, but it is an ideal reason to take a trip to Tasmania and do some citizen science.

Here is where you can get involved;

https://naturetrackers.com.au/indexWWW.php

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Photo courtesy - Marcus Salton

What could be for fun than talking again about penguins, with somebody who has summed up their research project in a haiku?

Well, in this episode, as part of the @PintOfScienceAU Takeover for 2022, you will meet Javed Riaz, who is a undertaking PhD studies on the foraging habits and prey of the Adelie Penguin, in the Australian Antarctic territory.

Adélie penguins are indicators of the health of their ecosystem. By studying the foraging behaviour and habitat, Javed expects to further understand the movement behaviour and foraging strategies of Adélie penguins, and their relationship with oceanographic parameters and the regional prey-field.

This is critical knowledge in order to highlight regional forage areas and predict likely impacts and responses under future krill harvesting and climate scenarios.

Research project in a haiku:

Adelie penguins
Diving and foraging
Among the sea ice

Here is a link to a summary of Javed's research - https://mpredlab.org/team/javed-riaz

Follow Javed on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JavedZRiaz

Check out these other accounts on Twitter if you are interested in Antarctic research coming out of Australia;

Australian Antarctic Division: @AusAntarctic

IMAS: @IMASUTAS

Marine Predator Lab: @mpred_lab

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

I have been teasing this episode for a long time....  It seems like a great opportunity to pop out an episode that is not about birds, but where the work concerned will surely have an impact on the native bird populations of Gariwerd (or The Grampians, in whitefella language), in south-west Victoria.

I am speaking with Robin Sinclair, who has been undertaking a B. Sci (Hons), including fieldwork, to monitor the populations of feral cats and foxes through Deakin University.

During a global pandemic, with a state in extended lockdown, how do you get stuff done?  Well, Robin did. Find out how in this episode, and learn how Curiosity really is killing the cat.

Follow Robin on Twitter

Follow Robin on Instagram to get more of his photos.

The Bird Emergency on Twitter (where I share a lot!)

DO you enjoy the podcast?  If yes, it's very easy to leave a review!  https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Tegan Douglas from Birdlife Australia returns to tell us how easy it is to get involved in National Bird Week and to take part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count, from the 19th to 25th October, 2020.

Tegan discusses the methodology, how to use the special App to do your counting and how you will add to the total base of knowledge (and understanding) of the state of Australia's bird populations.

Register for the Aussie Backyard Bird Count 2020 here

The App is available for both Apple and Android, in the App stores.  So get involved this year!

Follow Tegan on Twitter - @TeganDouglas

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Patrick Jodice was elected Chair of the World Seabird Group in 2015, at WSC2.  Patrick is an ecologist, with a special interest in seabirds, and in this episode we talk a lot about one of the "gadfly" petrels, the Black-capped Petrel, which can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, but it's main breeding locations are in the Carribbean.

Check out the World Seabird Conference here

Follow Patrick on Twitter

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

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If you have a copy of the Australian Bird Guide, then you already are familiar with some of the work of Rohan Clarke.  If you have been a keen Bird Nerd for many, many years, and consume as much information as you can about Australian Birds, then you have probably read many articles where Rohan is an author, or cited as a reference. (I know I have!)

Rohan is an ecologist and ornithologist, is a Master of Environment and Sustainability, a Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Head of the 'Research Ecology' lab, in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University.

While Rohan is widely known for his interest in avian ecology, he has also done a lot of work with animals of all sorts, and is now shaping the careers of young ecologists, working on research projects of all sorts.

Follow Rohan on Twitter for some fabulous bird and ecology content, particularly great pics, and some sightings updates - https://twitter.com/rohanclarke01

Here is the link to Rohan's lab (consider a career in STEM?) https://www.researchecology.com.au/

Here are a couple of recent papers that have come out of Rohan's lab at Monash University;

This one is on the response to the Black Sat Bushfires and the Bristlebird rescue (open access) https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/csp2.606…

This one on some of the recent translocation work (and led by PhD student Will Mitchell) https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/csp2.569

And this one is on Giant Centipedes and seabirds on Norfolk Island and the fact that the centipedes structure the food web (led by PhD student Luke Halpin) https://journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/715702

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Did you know that 3 out of the 4 birds most likely to go extinct in the coming years are found only on King Island?

Let's not quibble about species or sub-species, but the King Island Scrubtit, the King Island Brown Thornbill and the King Island Black Currawong are all in peril, mostly because of the (already) small population size, and the lack of suitable habitat.

Kate Ravich has been a champion for birds, and most recently, the birds of King Island for many, many years, and has been recognised for her work by BirdLife Australia.

Kate is an educator, communicator and a passionate,  pragmatic advocate for birds and their conservation. She was made a Life Member of BirdLife Australia in 2020 in recognition of her contribution to the organisation and to the conservation of birds and their habitats over the last 20 years.

Learn about the surveys that are undertaken to monitor the birds of King Island in this episode.  The next surveys are happening on the last weekend in Autumn - 28/4/2022 - 1/5/2022.

For more information, you can go to the Wings On King section of the Birds Of King Island website.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

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Check out the website here

Follow on Twitter here

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

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Meet Dr. Catherine Young, who describes herself as a "actual living scientist", a birder, traveller, bird guide & general nature enthusiast.

We discuss the Forty-spotted Pardalote, one of the subjects of the Difficult Birds Research Group, which is based at Australian National University, and Cat's work with the group, while being based in Tasmania.

We talk about all of Cat's previous bird and animal adventures around the world, including working with mongooses!

Of course, we get to know where she fits as a bird nerd, and she answers the usual Bird Emergency questions!

You can follow Cat on Twitter @CatMYoung

Check out the Difficult Birds Research Group here.

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Grant is joined by Tegan Douglas, Citizen Science Project Coordinator, BIrdlife Australia, Western Australia, to promote the upcoming Aussie Backyard Bird Count for 2021, and go over the highlights of the 2020 count last year. Are there any surprises?  Significant results? Important trends? Find out in this episode.

Register for this year's count, check out the results and highlights from previous counts, and download the App at the Aussie Backyard Bird Count website.

Get a stack of useful information at the Birds In Backyards website.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

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Another Bonus episode - the audio of a live stream where Grant Williams and Dr. Holly Parsons suggest some plants they like to use in a bird and wildlife-friendly garden, and give some design tips.

Grant draws upon his knowledge as a horticulturist to suggest an approach to structure, and to suggest a few plants from each category that he suggests using stratification as a major design principle - thinking like a bird!

Holly draws upon her experince with the Birds In Backyards program to add more useful species suggestions.

If you are designing or improving a bird-friendly garden, listening to this episode will be time well spent.

You can find the video of this episode at thebirdemergency.com/YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Image credit - MainlandQuokka, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Grant was joined by Dr. Holly Parsons, Manager of the Urban Birds program at Birdlife Australia, Dr. John Martin, Research Scientist at Taronga Conservation Society, at Taronga Zoon in Sydney and Dr. Jennifer Colbourne, who is researching cockatoo cognition at the Messerli Institute in Vienna.  

The panel is interested in wildlife that lives in urban settings, how these animals, particularly cockatoos, ibis and brush turkeys are developing behaviours to help them thrive in an urban setting.

John has been involved in a series of studies examining how animals, especially cockatoos, adapt to city living.  If you love cockatoos, you are going to enjoy this discussion.

Get the Big City Birds app here   https://www.spotteron.com/bigcitybirds/info

There is more information about the Big City Birds project here;

https://taronga.org.au/conservation-and-science/current-research/big-city-birds

Check out Holly's Birdlife Australia Birds in Backyards program here https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/

Here is an article from Jennifer's lab about the use of tools by the Goffin's Cockatoo

https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/universitaet/infoservice/presseinformationen/presseinformationen-2017/kakadus-passen-auf-ihre-werkzeuge-auf

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

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And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Mark Holdsworth has been involved in conservation for what seems like forever, but has developed from his initial skills working in the national parks of Tasmania, to helping save vulnerable populations of birds via pest eradication.

Mark is currently engaged in many invasive pest eradication programs all over the world, with Pest Detection dogs being a major element of these efforts.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Did you know that it is World Migratory Bird Day?  May 8th

To mark World Migratory Bird Day, this episode features two migratory species that have become loved and important in one of the mega cities of the world, Beijing in China.  Terry Townsend has been living in Beijing for many years and is familiar with what makes the city tick, as well as all the facinating birding opportunities in the heart of the city.

Terry tells us how projects to study the Beijing Swift and the Common Cuckoo have solved migration mysteries, and how a suggestion from a school child lead to a change in the construction industry to give the birds new nesting opportunities in a very crowded city.

Follow Terry on Twitter and make sure you check out Birding Beijing.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

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Reliable information is required in the efforts to conserve endangered species, and collecting that information can be expensive to gather, or may need to be gathered at crucial specific times.

This presented a challenge when studying the endangered Glossy Black-cockatoo population on Kangaroo Is.

Daniella Teixeira brought a new approach to collecting vital information, and using sounds to inform her research.

Hear Danielle explain her work on Glossy and Red-tailed Black-cocktoos and the Malleefowl (she is currently Chair of the National Mallefowl Recovery Team).

Daniella posts updates on Instragram @blackcockatooproject and maintains her own website here.

Daniella has also recently been featured as Scientist of the Month in the Lyric, Poetic, Scientific edition of the beautiful art-science project, Science Write Now.  You can check out that feature here.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Dr. Ben Sullivan is a biologist based in Hobart, Australia, who has an interest in reducing the harm the global fishing industry does to non-target species, particularly albatross.

Find out about the work it takes to develop a great idea to be fit for market, and the work it takes to have it accepted by a global industry.  Ben explains how the Hookpod works, and quantifies how seabird deaths caused by the global fishing industry are counted, and the impact his device has had on these deaths.

Ben shares his favourite bird, his favourite location where he has been and the top location on his wishlist, one shared by many hardy birder and researcher.

If you want to help expand the use of Hookpod, and save even more of the seabirds roaming the oceans, you can Sponsor a Hook, which helps a fishing vessel, somewhere in the world, equip themselves to upgrade to using Hookpods. The albatross will be thankful. Do this at hookpod.com.

Find out more about the work Ben does at Fishtekmarine.com and on Twitter, and check out the latest about Hookpod at Hookpod.com and at their Twitter.

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

In this Monday Megaphone, where we break format to discuss issues, somebody who knows what they are talking about tells me about coal-fired power generation, carbon capture and storage, solar, batteries and what individual actions can make a difference to reduce emissions.  Please enjoy!

Follow Simon on Twitter - https://twitter.com/simonahac

Check out his bio here - https://t.co/TwnJXCMM3J

Look out for another Megaphone Monday where we examine another policy area impacting on birds and their survival generally.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Tegan Douglas is a bird researcher, proud Bird Nerd and the Citizen Science Project Co-Ordinator at Birdlife Australia's Western Australia office.

In this episode we talk about many of Western Australia's endangered birds, Carnaby's Black Cockatoo, Western Ground Parrot, Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Bristlebird and the efforts to secure the populations.

Tegan tells me about her earlier fieldwork with the Red-browed Treecreeper, and why she loves Australian Babblers.

In a wide-ranging (and fun) conversation we discuss many conservation strategies, modern urban landscapes, the largest area of natural woodland on the planet and the Western Australian landscape feature that is visible from space!

Here’s the link to that urban sprawl versus urban infill paper Tegan was talking about: https://www.fullerlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Sushinsky-et-al-2013.pdf

Follow Tegan on Twitter for informative and entertaining bird content @TeganDouglas

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

For almost 30 years, ornithologist, Neil Hamilton has been caring for, working with and studying birds, and many of Australia's unique animals.

Beginning as teenager at Tooronga Zoo, Neil has gone on to senior keeper positions at Perth Zoo, and moved on to practical conservation work and research with the WA government.

Neil has devoted much of his time in recent years studying the elusive Ghost Bird of the Australian Outback, the Night Parrot, listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with perhaps as few as 200 mature individuals existing out there in the dry spinifex plains of the Western Australian desert.

In this episode, Neil talks about his career working to understand and protect birds, and organising teams of Ghost Bird volunteers to seek out the Night Parrot on regular survey trips.

Follow Neil on Twitter to keep up to date with what he and the team are up to.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Here is the terrific panel discussion live streamed earlier this week, discussing all the issues around the loss of hollows for wildlife, and the various methods to provide artificial hollows for birds and other wildlife.

You can hear Dr Holly Parsons, Manager of the Urban Birds program at Birdlife Australia (@BirdsInBackyards), Mick Callan from Habitech Australia (@HabitechA), Dan Fuller, host of the Plants Grow Here Podcast (@PlantsGrowHere) and Grant Williams (@birdemergency)

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

This bonus episode is the audio from the live stream recently conducted with Robert Ashworth, A Masters student at Melbourne University. Robert is running a Citizen Science project about known nesting sites and hollows used by the Australian grass-parrot, the Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus). Robert is looking for you to report any instance you know of Red-rumps using a hollow for nesting, no matter when you witnessed it!

To get involved with Robert's  Red-rump project, Rumpuary, follow this easy link - thebirdemergency.com/redrumps

Contact Robert on social media;

Twitter - @robdashworth

Instagram - @r_ashworth97

You can find the full live stream video of this episode at thebirdemergency.com/robashworth 

Remember to Subscribe to the YouTube channel - it helps out a lot!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

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Something we have returned to time and time again in The Bird Emergency is how we have removed the nesting opportunities for birds that require hollows, and the need for shelter by all sorts of wildlife.

Thankfully, there are many people looking at other options, other than waiting 100 years or so for natural hollows to form.

Dr. Kylie Soanes tells me about some of the options being explored in Melbourne, and some of the new materials being employed.

An estimated 8 million migratory shorebirds frequent the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) annually. In recent years, global change has resulted in population declines of up to 80% in some species of this flyway.

To greater understand the threat that pollution poses to migratory shorebirds of the EAAF, Toby Ross, through Deakin University, is studying three relatively common migrants that frequent Australian coasts every Austral summer. Ruddy turnstones, Curlew sandpipers and Red-necked stints act as good indicator species for the health of the flyway due to their diverse migration routes and strategies, foraging behaviours, and conservation status.

The annual presence of these birds along the Australian coast allows us to ascertain population dynamics such as breeding success and rate of decline of these species through counts and continual banding studies, particularly by the Victorian Wader Study Group (VWSG).

These field studies, predominantly along the Victorian coast and on King Island (TAS), have accrued a decade’s worth of blood cell and serum samples, allowing us to gain an in-depth understanding of the pollutant loads these birds accumulate. Blood cell and serum samples continue to be analysed for pollutant data by his co-supervisor Prof. Veerle Jaspers and her team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Toby has access to an extensive, unique set of data that allows him to examine accumulation dynamics of pollution in populations of shorebirds, looking into a range of heavy metal pollutants (for example, lead and mercury), as well as persistent, organic pollutants (POPs) which may include (but are not limited to) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).

Thus far, the primary contaminants Toby is looking at in these blood samples are PFASs.

Toby is looking into pollutant load comparisons between his three chosen species to garner a broad understanding of pollutant loads in shorebirds, allowing comparisons to be drawn between their varying foraging and migratory strategies as well as population trends.

Following these PFAS analyses, Toby hopes to further broaden my scope of pollutant analyses to include heavy metal pollutants such as lead and mercury, and other POPs as well – watch this space!

Photo - Ken Gosbell

Photo - Ken Gosbell

Photo - Ken Gosbell

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Amanda Lilleyman is a researcher at the Charles Darwin University, in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.

She monitors the Far Eastern Curlew population as it spends its non-breeding season in the southern hemisphere, particularly the segment of the population that uses Darwin as its feeding ground.

Amanda tells us about her project work, how she became interested in birds and what the future holds for her as a researcher.

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Wrapping up the Takeover of The Bird Emergency by The Pint of Science Australia, is Ettore Camerlenghi, who is studying the complex and surprising social structure and behaviour of the Superb Fairywren on the outskirts of Melbourne, here in Victoria, as a PhD candidate at Monash University.

Ettore has been monitoring many groups of these delicate passerines, and identifying the familial releationships between the individuals that comprise these groups, and unlocking the relationships within and between groups outside of the breeding season.

How the birds cooperate to achieve optimal success in rearing young, maintain diversity, defend territories and avoid predation is the aim of this study, but as Ettore begins to answer these questions, many more questions are raised.

Peek into the fascinating world of one of the most intriguing of Australia's little bush birds and learn how Ettore has gone from a 10 year old who loved birds in northern Italy, to an ornithologist who has been studying birds in the fjords of Iceland, the Amazon jungle and the woodland outskirts of Melbourne.

Check out the range of activities during #Pint21Au at https://pintofscience.com.au

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Dr. Sally Bryant is the Chair of the Forty-spotted Pardalote Recovery Team. The Recovery Plan for the 40-Spot is currently being updated, so the team are busy doing that. (Yes, I know we love this bird!).

Over more than 30 years, Sally has worked in government and in the non-government and private sectors that are becoming increasingly important in order to adequately protect species, intact habitat and to repair potentially suitable habitat for ongoing mananagement of endangered species.

Get much more details about her wonderful career (and download the current version of the Recovery Plan) at thebirdemergency.com/SallyBryant

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birde

Yoav Perlman is based in a region of the world that is not often the first thought when bird nerds begin thinking about destinations to sate our birdwatching desires, but the Middle East is a great destination.  It is on an avian highway, and the movement between Africa and Europe and Asia is comparable to the annual migrations between the American land masses.

Yoav is into birding, photography, ringing, sound recording, twitching, and dipping. In this episode her shares his experiences with Grant about the birds he see and studies in Israel and the Middle East in general.

If you want to check out more of Yoav's interests, work and travels, have a look at his blog - yoavperlman.com

And follow his socials - Facebook , Twitter and Instagram.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Have you heard the term "DeGrowth" being thrown around in recent years? Have you wondered what it really means, and can it be achieved in a modern society?

Hear Martin Tye explain to Grant what it means, and how a modern, industrialised society might move towards a sustainable existence.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

Australia has a famous lyrebird, the one everyone has seen in the David Attenborough shows, imitating all manner of man-made sounds and the sounds of the forest it lives in. But, there is a lesser-known lyrebird, which is equally gifted with vocal talents, and has a stunning display, which takes place in the subtropical forests in the border region of New South Wales and Queensland.

Seldom seen, Albert's Lyrebird is giving up some of it's secrets to intrepid researcher, Fiona Backhouse, who is attempting to learn more, to ensure the encroachment of housing and other development does not lead to it's demise.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

Maybe you have seen the great photos that Dr. Nick and Lucy have been posting on Twitter and other social media of the Powerful Owls they have come to know in Brisbane? They discuss these #Powls with Dr. Holly Parsons, Manager of Birdlife Australia's Urban Birds program and Birds In Backyards, and Grant.

Get to know how these impressive, nocturnal raptors are thriving in the inner suburbs of one of Australia's largest cities.

If you want to see The Bird Emergency interviews as they happen, bookmark thebirdemergency.com/live

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

Over four years, Dr. Johanne Martens has been studying the Beak and Feather Disease virus, which is appearing more often among wild bird populations, especially parrots.

Focusing on Crimson Rosellas, monitoring nest boxes, Johannes and her team from Deakin University have discovered much about this disease, and points to some methods to ameliorate the potential effects on both wild and captive populations.

In the usual Bird Nerd part of the show, Johanne tells us how she studied escaped Amazon parrots, gone feral in Europe, and her favourite bird things.

These are the links to all of Johanne's BFDV papers:

Prevalence in common species: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235406

Persistence of infection: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2019.1640069

Seasonal fluctuations: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64631-y

Detection in nest boxes: https://peerj.com/articles/9211/

And here are her papers on urban Amazons:

Breeding: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-017-1436-9

Diet: https://bioone.org/journals/Ardea/volume-101/issue-1/078.101.0111/Diet-and-Feeding-Behaviour-of-Naturalised-Amazon-Parrots-in-a/10.5253/078.101.0111.full

And this a link for many of the Animals on the Internet -  like the Internet of Things!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/science/space-station-wildlife.html

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas and Pacific Rim Conservation are involved in an effort to ensure the survival of the Black-footed Albatross in the northern Pacific Ocean, conducting a tranlocation of the species to restored islands, after extensive pest control and revegetation efforts on suitable islands off the Mexican coast and the US territories, including Hawaii and Midway Atoll.

A truly massive undertaking, and multi-agency cooperative effort!

For World Albatross Day 2021, meet Federico Mendez from GECI Conservacion de Islas and Dr. Lindsay Young, Executive Director of Pacific Rim Conservation.

The graphic above gives an idea of the scale of the project. The use of decoys encourage birds to establish a breeding presence on the newly pest-free islands.

This is a view of the southern end of Guadaloupe Island, where some of the restoration works are underway.

Here is a look at some of the extraordinary combination of vegetation types that were discussed.

If you are interested in this revegetation, restoration and relocation project in the north Pacific and the western coast of Mexico, explore these links;

It's a special episode! Assoc. Prof. Dr. Peter Burnett from the Australian National University tells me about the calamitous failures of the administration of Australia's environment laws, as reported by the Australian National Audit Office, in this report from the Auditor-General, "Referrals, Assessments and Approvals of Controlled Actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999"

After 20 years working in government managing and reviewing environment policy, this report shocked him.  It's no wonder our threatened species have fared so badly over the last decade.

Pay special attention to Peter's comments about the major tool of the department in this policy area, offsets!

Read Peter's article from The Conversation here.

Honour Roll - You have to give credit where credit is due! It's NSW environment minister, Matt Kean, who purchased Narriearra station in the state’s far north-west, for a new national park. As mentioned in The Guardian, "The area includes wetlands listed as nationally significant and is home to at least 27 threatened species, including almost 90% of the endangered grey grasswren’s habitat and breeding areas."  Hooray!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/27/nsw-makes-record-land-purchase-for-new-national-park

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Almost exactly a year ago, Milly Formby told me about the planning and the extraordinary fundraising campaign that had enabled her to embark on a flight around the continent of Australia, in a microlight aircraft that she built herself (with some great mates assisting), as part of a mission to raise awareness of the extraordinary migrations undertaken each year by shorebirds, flying from the arctic regions, to Australia, and back!

MIlly is now about half way through the journey, and has been visiting schools to let the students and teachers know about these amazing birds, and share the knowledge about how and where these birds spend their time in Australia.

MIlly joined me to give an update about the Wing Threads project, the highs and lows, and what she has lerned along the way with Wing Threads.

MIlly has a current crowdfunding effort - support her here.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

You can now also become a member, for some extra special access.

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first, or check out the live chats on several platforms at thebirdemergency.com/live. Streaming live to Youtube, Facebook Live, Twitch and Twitter.

As we see more and more habitat being lost, replaced by new housing developments, new and wider roads, expansions to agriculture and industry, one critical part of the habitat tapestry is being lost, and takes many, many decades to be replaced by revegetation efforts.  Those crtical things are hollows.

MIck Callan has been researching what could be produced to adequately replace these living spaces for wildlife. Hear Mick discuss the development of the artificial hollows he has developed, and what he hopes can be achieved in the future with the Habitech hollow.

Check out the latest on the development of Mick's hollows at Habitech Australia on Facebook, Instagram or follow Mick on Twitter.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Milly Formby is amazing! A zoologist, artist, author and now, an Adventurer!

Meet Milly and learn about the amazing Wing Threads project, which will see her fly a microlight aircraft around Australia, visiting schools and communities along the way, Sharing The Awesomeness of Shorebirds from 5000ft!

Hear Milly discuss the origin of the project, the plannings, the setbacks and why she loves the migratory shorebirds that journey from southern Australia to north Asia and beyond each year, and back.

The circumnavigation of Australia by air is representative of the distance these amazing birds fly twice each year!

Support the fundraising effort by Milly at thebirdemergency.com/supportmilly

Pre-order the book now!

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Promo for The Bird Emergency Podcast

When Simon Verdon and I had this chat, he was a PhD candidate at LaTrobe University. who had been leading a team in an effort to relocate a group of Mallee Emu-wrens, in the remote Mallee habit of South Australia and Victoria, to try to safeguard this isolated population from one of it's greatest threasts - fire.

How did this translocation project work out?  You should listen to find out.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

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If you want to support the show, help pay the bills and build on what we do, why not Buy Me A Coffee? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day (WorldMigratoryBirdDay.org) and this episode we talk to Scott Pursner from the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation about the birds that move thorough Taiwan, that reside in Taiwan and the reclaimation project to maintain some disused salt pans, that had become important habitat for some rare bird species.

Scott talks about the variation of the habitats that are present on Taiwain, the co-operation of the different conservation groups, citizen science and the awareness of birds by the people of Taiwan.  Scott talks about the efforts to preserve disused salt pans that had become important habitat for shorebirds when the industry had ceased.

Check out Taiwan Wild Bird Federation website here

Follow TWBF on Twitter

Maybe you prefer TWBF on Facebook or

Perhaps on Instagram

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Without doubt, the best friend the Eurasian Curlew has, from a public relations perspective, is Mary Colwell, Chair of the Curlew Recovery Partnership England and Founder of the charity Curlew Action.

For years, Mary has been raising the issue of when fields should be mown, and the effect early mowing has on the breeding success of the UK population of these graceful birds.  30% of the breeding population frequents the UK and Ireland, and has suffered a massive decline in 50 years.  Mary has kept the curlew in the public eye, through public appearances, the media and writing.

Tirelessly working on behalf of the curlews of the UK has given her a lot of insight into how these birds are regarded in the wider community, and how the agricultural can assist in the protection of nests and chicks.  Her experiences are available to read in her books, notably Curlew Moon, and her latest, Beak, Tooth and Claw.  

Please consider supporting Curlew Action by making a donation.

Contact Mary at her website www.curlewmedia.com or follow her on Twitter.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Do you sometimes marvel at the stunning photography where birds are the subject?  I am always amazed at the clarity and the action shots, or the perfect balance between scientific study and artfulness that many people can achieve.

This episode features Ewen Bell, a photographer with an affinity for avian subjects.

Ewen tells us how he got into photography, how his interest in birds has grown, and how he moved into tourism thanks to his camera! He has worked in some fabulous locations, so if you yearn to go birding in some remote locations, you will enjoy listening to Ewen.

Check out Ewen's work here;

https://ewenbell.com

And the Cabin Fever Cookbook, inspired by the recipies on Iceland and Scandinavia is here;

https://ironchefshellie.com/cabinfever/

Ewen mentionened Georgina Steydler - here is her site;

https://www.georginasteytler.com.au/

and Leila Jeffries - her work is here:

https://www.leilajeffreys.com/

Of course, we have a link to Bhutan Scenic Tours, who partner with Ewen for birding tours. Have a look at Bhutan here;

https://bhutanscenictours.com/

And we talked about the drone that Ewen uses. Here is the link for that drone from an Australian supplier;

https://www.teds.com.au/dji-mavic-air-drone-white

In this episode we talk to Cat Davidson, one of the organisers of the Bruny Island Bird Festival, which is on from the 25th to the 27th of March 2022, and celebrates the birds that make the small island, off the eastern coast of Tasmania, their home.

Bruny Island is one the stronghold of the Forty-spotted Pardalote, a bird loved by this show, because of it's unique agricutural tendancies, it's relationship with the manna gum, and the passion of all of the people working for it's survival.

Cat has seen a lot of the world, but has made Tasmania, and Bruny Island home, and has a lot to share about the birds of the island, the seabirds and the strong relationship the community has with the birds and wildlife of Bruny Island.

Have a look at the very full Festival program here.

https://www.brunybirdfestival.org.au/

Here are the Festival socials;

Twitter - https://twitter.com/BirdBruny

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brunybirdfestival/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BrunyBirdFestival/

Check out the fantastic photos by Chris Tzaros at his website here - https://www.birdsbushandbeyond.com.au/about-chris-tzaros

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Trying something a little different, because a huge part of protecting birds, and their habitat, is for people to know and love birds more! That's where photography comes into it... I will be talking to people who love taking pictures of birds, and Ewen Bell will deliver some technical and practical tips. Today it is James who enjoys the birds that visit his birdbath.

Follow James on Twitter @sydneybirdbath (He has now moved north to Coffs Harbour, so there's a whole new birdbath to talk about!

It's also worth following Ewen on Twitter @ewester to discover new bird content. #BirdPhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity

In this episode we meet Alona Charuvi, a researcher who has been studing the reactions to disturbance by the Masked Lapwing, a bird that is very familiar over a large part of eastern and southern Australia.

The Masked Lapwing is often in conflict with residents and land managers, as it can be very aggressive when nesting, and defending a nest location or chicks.

Alona used an ingenious device, a false egg, that recorded the heart rate of the sitting bird, and the brooding temperature, and measured these results against different methods of approaching the nest site, and recording the physical reactions by the birds, as well as the behaviour exhibited.

Alona's work took place on Phillip Island, which is well-known for the Penguin Parade, but has a number of sites where lapwing pairs and humans regularly interact.

Listen to how Alona undertook this work, and what she has discovered so far.

Check out the range of activities during #Pint21Au at https://pintofscience.com.au

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Giving you a special Christmas present, and celebrating the work Dr. Matt Herring and the team behind the Tracking Australia's Painted Snipe crowdfunding effort, Dr. Matt Herring and I talk about Matt's back story, the need for the project, and we recognise and celebrate the research team, and the fabulous Bird Nerds who have donated to make the project a reality.

BIrd Nerds are the best nerds, without a doubt!  Thank you all, and Good onya!

I have one wish for the season - please head over to YouTube and subscribe to The Bird Emergency channel.  I will be doing much more there in 2023, in addition to continuing with the podcast, as usual.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

Grant Humphries has become The Data Guy after a long career studying birds, and particularly Seabirds. Grant tells Grant how he became The Data Guy, and how the various forms of data that are available can inform conservation decisions, and he describes how much of this data is collected. And he talks about birds, too!

Check out the World Seabird Conference here

Follow Grant Humphries on Twitter @GrantHumphries

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Aline Da Silva Cerqueira is a PhD candidate, in the Department of Geography of King's College, London jointly with the ZSL Institute of Zoology. The full title of the research project is; "Acoustic Tracking of Ocean Wanderers: Revealing Behavioural Context on the Wing", but from now on, we are going to just say Seabird Soundscapes!

Her research investigates seabird soundscapes in the context of foraging at sea, using a combination of miniature bird-borne audio recorders and GPS tracking devices.

She is the creator of Seabird Soundscapes, a citizen-science-powered project that engages people with the marine soundscapes of seabirds at different locations around the world, helping to unveil their foraging behaviour in the high seas and identifying potential threats to their existence and Aline tells Grant all about the project today.

Aline's research interests lie mainly with marine ecology and conservation using biologging technology and non-invasive monitoring methods, and marine policy. She is engaged in activities that support fairer, collaborative and inclusive practices and equal representation in conservation.

Aline is the co-founder of AQUASIS, a conservation NGO dedicated to the protection of endangered species and important habitats in northeastern Brazil, and a research partner with AQUASIS’ Marine Mammals Program, focused on the conservation of the manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis), two endangered species that have the highest mortality rate in the region. Aline is part of Liga das Mulheres pelo Oceano (Women's League for the Ocean), a network of women from a range of backgrounds working collectively to boost the impact of actions and ideas for ocean conservation. She is also a collaborator in the Decade of Ocean Scientists Network.

Since we recorded our discussion, Aline has sent me this update;

 "There have been over 19,000 classifications on Zooniverse so far! Soon I will upload more Gannet sounds (from new individuals) to the project site and am starting to prepare my albatross data to upload to the site too! All these should be done by the end of the next month, which is very exciting! Seabird Sounds will be online until 2023, at least."

Please check out the Seabird Soundscapes project, and get involved!

Follow the project on Twitter here

There is also a Facebook page, if that's your preferred social channel.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Here is a bonus for you - audio of the live stream where Grant spoke with Dr. Michael Mulvaney about the (recently listed as Endangered) Gang-gang Cockatoo, and community efforts, by the Red Hill Regeneration Group in Canberra to assist it, as well as some interesting observations that have been collected via Citizen Science projects.

Grant and Michael were joined by Ellen Rykers, award winning science writer, from Forest and Bird in Aotearoa New Zealand about the BIrd Of The Year (which was announced on that morning!) Find out which species won the title, and a little more about it, and the work Forest And Bird does in New Zealand.  There is also a nice association between Ellen and the Gang-gang Cockatoo.

Follow Ellen on Twitter here or check out her website.

Follow Forest And Bird on Twitter.

If you want to see The Bird Emergency interviews as they happen, bookmark thebirdemergency.com/live

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

When is it important to study a population of birds?  Ryan Carter from Edith Cowan University in Perth, in Western Australia, is undertaking a Masters, studying the Abrolhos Painted Button-quail (or Buttonquail - depending on the last reference read!)

The IUCN lists the Painted Button-quail as Least Concern, but there are some thoughts that the isolated Houtman Abrolhos population may be significantly distinct from the mainland population, as to warrant far more attention for conservation management.

Ryan is looking for the elusive, secretive birds on 3 islands in the Houtman Abrolhos achipelago, between 60 - 80 km off the coast of Western Australia, near Geraldton.  See the map below for some perspective.

Hear how Ryan is undertaking his research, and how he manages to collect significant data in a remote, inhospitable location.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

As we move from traditional power generation methods we may be introducing significant new threats into the landscape.

For many years Hamish Cumming has been trying to protect the Brolgas of western Victoria against the proliferation of windfarms in the prime habitat of the southern population of the Brolga, one of Australia's two crane species, and the only endemic.

Trying to increase the safe buffer zone distance between wind turbines and the feeding, roosting and breeding grounds of the Brolga has been a long term commitment by Hamish.

You may be surprised how a government department charged with protecting vulnerable species can behave.  I hope you learn something about Brolgas, and gain some insight about the issues that transitioning to a new power-generating economy will raise. 

Meet Hamish Cumming and the Brolgas of western Victoria.

You can support the efforts to protect the Brolgas of western Victoria here -

https://www.gofundme.com/f/Save-Southern-Brolgas-from-Extinction

Follow Hamish on Twitter - https://twitter.com/hamishcumming

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Formerly known as the Monkey-eating Eagle, the Philippine Eagle is large, imperious eagle of the remote forests of The Philippines. Sadly, it is clinging to a meaningful existence only through the assistance of a dedicated team throught the Philippine Eagle Foundation, based in Davao, on the island of Mindinao.

I was fortunate to have a conversation with Jayson Ibanez, Director of Research and Conservation, with the Foundation.

Jayson has an interest in indigenous studies, which has informed his conservation work and he has a significant connection to Australia.  I hope you learn as much about this fabulous raptor as I did.

The Philippine Eagle Foundation has a really good website, and if you want to read a lot of aticles, there are plenty here to dive into - philippineeaglefoundation.org

If you can, consider supporting the efforts of the Foundation to study and protect the Philippine Eagle.

Jayson is on LinkedIn and Twitter @falcon2car

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

Here is a bonus for you! This is the Live Stream event/panel/seminar (whatever you want to call it) that took place on Monday July 5th, featuring Dr. Holly Parsons, the manager of the Urban Birds program at Birdlife Australia. You may know it as Birds in Backyards.  Dan Fuller, the host of the Plants Grow Here podcast is here too, and the discussion is directed by Grant Williams, host of The Bird Emergency.

The key points discussed and where to get the Flowering Calendars mentioned in the show will be available on The Bird Emergency website later in the week.

Birds In Backyards

Plants Grow Here

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Everyone who has ever heard about the Kakapo, or seen footage of this remarkable bird, never forgets them

They have clung tenaciously to existence, and a team of dedicated scientists, naturalists and volunteers have helped them stage quite a recovery, despite rats, mice, stoats and crusty-bum.

Hear the story, in detail, and get inspired to help, in any way you can, so that the Kakapo see many more generations.

Visit the Kakapo Recovery Team website.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Chris MacColl has been unlocking the secrets of the elusive Red Goshawk in northern Queensland and across the Top End of Australia.

The work has involved trapping these fearsome-looking raptors and fitting them with harnesses, fitted with GPS transmitters, and analysing the movements of the birds over an entended period of time. Since Chris and I had our conversation, the team have managed to trap male birds, and have harnesses fitted, so they are closer than ever to unlocking to mystery that has been the movement of both sexes in the non-breeding season.

Chris explains the methodology of the study, and what secrets the team hope will be unlocked as a result of the data collected and the lengthy observations made in the field.

You can follow Chris on Twitter and check out the latest on the Red Goshawk Project @CMacColl

Also, have a look at the other partners in the project;

 Australian Wildlife Conservancy - website and Twitter @awconservancy

Rio Tinto Weipa

QLD Dept of Environment and Science and

University of Queensland - Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

We are talking photography, bird photography again, and how Christy Bharath snaps the birds in an urban fringe in India with a consumer level camera. He takes great smnaps, and we learn about the birds seen in an urban setting in one corner of India.

Discover Christy on Twitter @contentbirder

Check out Ewen on Twitter @ewester and the hashtag #blirbs

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency

Another bonus episode, to mark Plover Appreciation Day and raise awareness of the particular challenges that are facing a varied group of wading birds, that go by names such as dotterel, lapwing and plover, but grouped together as Plovers.

Sonia Sanchez from Birdlife Australia, Rick Simpson from Wader Quest and Andrea Gress from Birds Canada join me to talk about their respective Plover projects.

Andrea Gress

Rick and Ellis Simpson from Wader Quest

Sonia Sanchez from Birdlife Australia

All the details for Wader Quest

Grant and Dr. Holly Parsons, Manager of the Urban Birds program at Birdlife Australia, are joined by Fiona Backhouse and Matthew Hall, who have both recently completed their fieldword, analysis and writing their PhD theses, on the Albert's Lyrebird and Brush Turkey, respectively.

This is the recording of the regular live stream, when Holly joins Grant at 1.00 pm every second Monday afternoon to discuss birds getting along with people. 

More information is available on The Bird Emergency website, just click here to go to the shownotes for this bonus episode, and to get more details about Albert's Lyrebird, Brush Turkeys and our guests.

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

You have probably seen the devastating reports about the infestations of avian influenza sweeping parts of the world, affecting nesting colonies of seabirds, migratory birds and domesticated birds?

I invited Dr Michelle Wille back to the show to talk about the current situation with bird flu.

Follow Michelle on Twitter @duckswabber.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

You can now also become a member, for some extra special access.

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first, or check out the live chats on several platforms at thebirdemergency.com/live. Streaming live to Youtube, Facebook Live, Twitch and Twitter.

Dr. Stephanie Borrelle is a David H. Smith Research Fellow at the University of Georgia in the USA, but her love of seabirds began many years ago in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Visit Steph's website here

And take a look at her working group fighting plastic pollution in the oceans here.

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Following on from Part One of this discussion, Grant is joined by Tegan Douglas, Citizen Science Project Coordinator, BIrdlife Australia, Western Australia, to promote the upcoming Aussie Backyard Bird Count for 2021, and go over the highlights of the 2020 count last year. Are there any surprises?  Significant results? Important trends? Find out in this episode.

It's always a lot of fun talking birds with Tegan!

Register for this year's count, check out the results and highlights from previous counts, and download the App at the Aussie Backyard Bird Count website.

Follow Tegan on Twitter @TeganDouglas

Get a stack of useful information at the Birds In Backyards website.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

It's the very first World Albatross Day, and a dedicated group of bird field workers, hardy seafarers and research academics are doing their best to reduce the unnecessary deaths as a result of commercial fishing and the by-catch mortality of many seabirds, but especially albatross species. Nina DaRocha & Stephanie Prince of the Albatross Task Force tell us all about it.

Get involved and attend the special events to mark the first World Albatross Day and raise awareness about the hard work & the successes as a result of co-operation between the fishing industry and the various conservation and regulatory bodies. It's a good news story!

Please get involved. The live  Q&A event with albatross experts is TODAY Friday 19^th June at 12pm BST.

Zoom link: https://birdlife.zoom.us/j/94712623619

but it will also be recorded so you can catch it later.

YouTube talks from albatross experts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-qt7a4aOdE&list=PLjf5GrOWkQXM7izXX1gaLxAYF35fGWlQH

ATF web site: www.rspb.org.uk/albatrosstaskforce

Twitter: @AlbyTaskForce

Facebook: Albatross Task Force

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Dr. Holly Parsons, Manager of the Urban Birds Program at Birdlife Australia, and Grant Williams recently spoke with Dr. Joe Welklin, one of the principal researchers who originated The Fairywren Project, which has been looking into the ecology, distribution and relationships between the genus Malurus, better know as Fairywrens, in Australia.

To see much more detail, the habitat photographs provided by Joe and all the updates regarding the follow-up live stream coming up on Monday May 30th, just head over to thebirdemergency.com/fairywrens

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

A year or so back I spoke with Dan Nugent about one of Australia's strangest and rarest birds, the Plains-wanderer, and the work that Dan was doing monitoring the birds in the grasslands of Victoria and New South Wales. (If you haven't heard that episode already, you can grab it here)

In this episode we will hear about current work monitoring a western population of the Plains-wanderer that occurs in the state of South Australia, with Saskia Gerhardy, from the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, at the University of Adelaide.

Saskia's work has been conducted alongside a project with Bush Heritage Australia, at Boolcoomatta Reserve, a property managed by this important conservation organisation.  Bioacoustics are one of the major tools employed to monitor the very cryptic, nocturnal Plains-wanderer.

Here is a recent article from the Bush Heritage magazine, Bushtracks, about the work that is happening at Boolcoomatta and the Plains-wanderer.

If you want to follow the project with Saskia, and get updates, follow her on Instagram here. (@saskiagerhardy)

If you want to see The Bird Emergency interviews as they happen, bookmark thebirdemergency.com/live

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

In this episode, we meet Linda Bell, who manages the Saving Our Species program in the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

This program has a 100 year horizon and takes a holistic approach to the preservation of species.  It is innovative, and if it proves successful, could cause a shift in the focus of conservation efforts in Australia.

Here is what the Saving Our Species website says;

"What we do

We’re working to secure a future for NSW threatened species. We protect, monitor and conserve threatened species in different ways, taking into account what we know about their ecology and threats.

As part of the Saving our Species program, we:

• • consult extensively with experts and apply independent peer reviewed science to our projects
  • provide targeted conservation projects that set out the actions required to save specific plants and animals
  • regularly monitor the effectiveness of projects so they can be improved
  • encourage partnerships with community, corporate and government in threatened species conservation."

Have a look at the comprehensive Saving Our Species website.

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Fotography Friday has been given a bit of an overhaul, and will be an irregular regular bonus in The Bird Emergency feed.  The reboot episode features  Nicolas Rakotopare, who is based in the northern Australian state of Queensland.

His work focuses on documenting science and nature, bringing stories of science, conservation and nature to a general audience through all the channels available today.

Nicolas has a degree in Ecology and Conservation Biology and grew up in Madagascar.

He has been based in Australia for over a decade and was the science communication and media specialist for the Threatened Species Recovery Hub (before it ceased to be!) and also works on other projects for NGOs, magazines, research institutions as well as eco-tourism content creation.

Here is some of the gear that Nicolas usually carries in the field;

• Canon EOS 1DX2
• CANON EF 24-70 F/4
• CANON 16-35 F/4
• CANON 300 F/2.8
• extenders.

Lot's more in-depth discussion about gear and the advantage that Nicolas has in gaining work, due to his science background.

If you want to see the conversation between Grant and Nicolas, visit thebirdemergency.com/nicolas

You can find some really lovely shots from Nicolas on his website, not limited to his work with birds at lerako.net

Follow Nicolas on Twitter - @le_rako

And still more great images from Nicolas on Instagram @lerako

To catch the next Fotography Friday, featuring Nicolas and Sandy Horne (and all future Fotography Friday conversations) bookmark thebirdemergency.com/photo

Birdlife Australia always has a range of projects underway to learn more about our endangered birds, and to design the important programs to try to ensure the survival of the most at-risk species in Australia.

Dr. Holly Parsons, Manager of the Urban Birds program at Birdlife Australia talks to Grant about these projects. (There was too much for one episode - next one follows)

• Wings on King (King Island Bird surveys)
• Bitterns - Soundscapes
• Shorebirds
• Powerful Owls
• Gang-gang Cockatoos
• Birds In Schools
• Birds In Backyards
• Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos surveys

The Bird Emergency website - www.thebirdemergency.com

Check out Birds In Backyards at Birdlife Australia

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

Predation by feral cats is one of the biggest threats to the unique wildlife of Australia. The WA Feral Cat Working Group is working to reduce the threat.

Feral cats are a major threat to wildlife in Australia, with their predation causing declines in many native species. These non-native predators were introduced to the continent by European settlers and have since spread widely to almost all of the continent, causing significant damage to the delicate ecosystem. Feral cats prey on a wide range of animals, including small mammals, reptiles, and birds.

They are particularly dangerous to ground-dwelling birds, such as the endangered Malleefowl, as well as small marsupials, such as the Bilby, but no animal is safe from this voraceous predator.

The impact of feral cats on Australia's wildlife is significant, with estimates suggesting that they kill several millions of native animals each year. This is not only devastating for individual species, but also for the overall biodiversity of the ecosystem. The predation pressure from feral cats can lead to declines in population numbers, which can ultimately lead to local extinction. Conservation efforts, such as trap-neuter-return programs, are being implemented in an effort to control the population and mitigate the impact of feral cats on wildlife. However, it is essential that such efforts are continued and expanded in order to protect Australia's unique and fragile wildlife.

Grant spoke with ecologist, Judy Dunlop, from the WA Feral Cat Working Group, about the group, the scale of the threat posed by feral cats, and the Group's upcoming symposium.

Check out the WA Feral Cat Working Group website here, or go straight to the 2023 Feral Cat Symposium page.

Follow Judy Dunlop on Twitter.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first.

Continuing with our regular theme exploring the interactions between birds in urban settings, and the humans that have created and live in them, Grant spoke with ecologist and author, Emeritus Professor Darryl Jones, of the Centre for Planetary Health & Food Security and the School of Environment & Science at Griffith University about the idea some some species are adapting their behaviours to thrive in the built environment, perhaps on the road to becoming new species.

You can read Darryl's Griffith University academic profile here

You can follow Darryl on these social media platforms;

Twitter: @MagpiejonesD

Facebook: @thebirdsatmytable

Instagram: @thebirdsatmytable

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues?  https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

What are the chances that the avian world will suffer a pandemic? Topical, I know!?!! Well, the best way to find out more about that is to ask a scientist who specialises in avian diseases, and that person is Michelle Wille, who knows just about everything there is to know about Avian influenza. In this episode I try to keep up with her!

Michelle has worked on Mallards in the Northern Hemispere, but is now at the University of Sydney, and putting some energy into Australia's waders when she is not in the lab.

MIchelle explains what avian influenza is, how is occurs in wild populations, and deals with my anxiety about pandemics!

Visit Michelle's website to learn a lot more about Michelle and Avian viruses - michellewille.com

Michelle has one of the best Twitter handles - follow @duckswabber

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency 

Let's celebrate the amazing explorers of the ocean, the friends of seafarers and the masters of the vast expanse of the seas! Dr. Stephanie Borelle was my guest in the very first Bird Emergency episode! We speak again to talk about albatrosses, as Steph now works for Birdlife Marine looking out for the great seabirds of the world. It's #WorldAlbatrossDay2021

Follow Steph on Twitter @PetrelStation

Follow the Albatross Task Force on Twitter @AlbyTaskForce or on Instagram @albatross_stories

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @TheBirdEmergency

The Gouldian Finch is one of the most desired cage birds in the world. Inhabiting northern Australia, in the tropical savannah habitat, it has been under intense pressure for many decades, first as trapping to supply the cagebird market, and then as habitat has been cleared for agriculture, and now the changed fire regimes pose a severe threat to these remote populations.

A further issue is the reduction in the availability of suitable hollows as nest sites, as the Gouldian Finch is very fussy in this regard.

Meet Leigh-ann Woolley from WWF, and hear about her work, and the support WWF is giving to try to maintain this species in the wild, in Australia's Top End.

If you can, support the efforts that WWF are making to protect the Gouldian Finch.

https://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/species/gouldian-finch#gs.6ze11t

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

In this episode, you will hear the discussion I had with Dr. Holly Parsons, the Urban Bird Program Manager, BirdLife Australia, which encompases the Birds In Backyards program and Dr. Maggie J. Watson, Lecturer at Charles Sturt University, specialist in parasites and other disorders in birds and other wildlife, who has an interest in rodenticides.

We tackle the issues around pest control in a domestic setting, and in broadscale production systems, identifying the ingredients in different products, and what are the preferred choices to make.  In summary, remember First Generation rodenticides.

The discussion was wide ranging - we tackled a lot of pest control issues.

Here's the link we referred to for letting the Federal Environment Minister know something;

https://minister.awe.gov.au/ley/contact

Here is the link for biodiversity sensitive Urban Design, mentioned by Holly (look out for more about this in future episodes of the show);

https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/news-and-media/latest-news/biodiversity-sensitive-urban-design-the-future-of-cities

We wandered onto mistletoe and tree health, so here is a link to a story about that;

https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/the-misunderstood-magical-mistletoes-of-australia/11505510

And a little more about mistletoe, from ABC Gardening Australia;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjwdyqJJGVM

And we even talked about Emus, so meet Dr Dave.... I know you will love Dr Dave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8sey9JuqiI

Follow Maggie on Twitter @terngirl

Follow Holly on Twitter @backyardbirdo or Birds In Backyards @birdsinbackyards

Follow Grant and the show on Twitter @birdemergency

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!