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While we are all at home in lockdown, now is a good time to stop and have a look at what birds are in our gardens. You might be surprised at what you find. It's a good activity to do whether you are alone or with your children – a fun activity for them to get involved with. It is also really useful for our Pest Free Hibiscus Coast Project monitoring, and to compare seasonally with the upcoming NZ Garden Bird Survey in June.
Everyone who takes part in the survey and sends us their results via the form below will be able to get one of our pet safe rat traps on long term loan from our Pest Free project, for their garden, delivered as soon as we are able.
You will need some knowledge of what different bird species look and sound like and now is a great time to learn. If you are uncertain, here are some useful online bird identification guides:
NZ Garden Bird Survey Bird Identification Guide
NZ Garden Bird Survey : How to Identify Birds
NZ Birds Online (includes recordings of bird songs)
You will also need a pen or pencil and piece of paper to write down what you see. You can print out this tally sheet for your use, but don’t send it to us.
A pair of binoculars would also be useful if you have them, but are not necessary.
The instructions are simple:
1. Choose a time and day that suits you (ideally a fine day before end April)
2. Find a comfy seat (either inside looking out through a window, or outside on your deck or in the garden)
3. Look and listen for birds for ONE hour (making a note of the date and time you start)
4. For each species you observe, record the HIGHEST number you see or hear AT ONE TIME Tip: if you see 2 blackbirds at one time, then later see 3 at one time, record this as 3 (the most seen at one time). Don't add them up otherwise you might be counting the same bird over and over again.
5. Once you've finished your survey please SEND YOUR RESULTS to us by clicking on this link and entering your results online.
And blaze your own trail.
