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Geographic Range
Birds Australia Victoria covers the entire state of Victoria, which is located in the south east corner of Australia and bounded by the Murray River in the north, South Australia in the west and Bass Strait and the southern Oceans in the south.
Latest News
Fire Recovery Surveys
We know that many thousands of birds either died as a direct result of the recent Victorian fires or shortly afterwards, and that many birds were forced to move to other areas to stay alive. For future planning and conservation efforts it is important for us to know how bird populations are responding to the recent fires. Please download the information form if you want to know more or would like to help.
Special Birds of the Region
Victoria has a diversity of habitats for such a compact area and has many areas where large bird congregations can be seen. Some of the specialties of the region are Little Penguin, Cape Barren Goose, Hooded Plover, Red-capped Plover, Short-tailed Shearwater, Plainswanderer, Powerful Owl, Superb Lyrebird, Ground Parrot, Orange-bellied Parrot, Swift Parrot, Turquoise Parrot, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Southern subspecies), Black-eared Miner, Helmeted form of Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Mallee Emu-wren, Southern Emu-wren, Pink Robin, Rufous Bristlebird and Pilotbird.
Projects in the Region
Members and guests in Victoria have the opportunity to participate in a variety of Birds Australia projects including:
- Orange-bellied and Swift Parrot surveys in winter
- Painted Snipe, Superb Parrot and Regent Honeyeater surveys in spring and summer
- Grey-crowned Babbler surveys in northern Victoria
- Hooded Plover surveys in southern Victoria
- Waders and shorebird surveys with the Victorian Wader Study Group
- Projects are also aimed at monitoring the avifauna of Important Bird Areas
- Conserving habitat and assessing the avifauna at Devilbend Reservoir
- Protecting the habitat of the You Yangs by Boneseed weed removal
- Investigating population dynamics of woodland birds in the Rushworth bird banding project, which is one of only a few regular, long term population studies of woodland birds in Australia
- Bird Atlassing in NRM Regions
- Birdline Victoria website
Urban Lorikeets
Since the 1970s Lorikeets have been moving into Melbourne suburbs. The first Lorikeet to increase in numbers was the Rainbow Lorikeet. This species was rarely seen around Melbourne until the late 1970s, but today it is one of the most conspicuous birds of the suburbs. In a similar manner over the last decade Musk, Purple-crowned and Little (as well as Scaly-breasted) Lorikeets have become more frequently recorded in the suburbs, especially the northern and western parts of Melbourne.
These lorikeets breed in tree hollows and there is stiff competition in the Melbourne area for any available hollows. What we need is data about the breeding of Little, Purple-crowned and Musk Lorikeets in the Melbourne area. If you see any of these Lorikeets nesting in hollows, or feeding dependent young we would like you to report it. All you need to do is to fill in the Lorikeet Sighting Record and
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it back to us. For more information on helping us learn more about these cheeky birds download the pdf.
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Conservation Issues
Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia but has a high human population density and a high level of development. This and below average rainfall in most parts of the state over the last decade have put great pressure on the avifauna. Of particular concern at the moment are the River Red Gum forests along the Murray River and its tributaries in northern Victoria and the avifauna that depend on them. In addition inland wetlands and water ways have been in decline for many years. Coastal development and the high level of beach use has negatively impacted on the habitats of beach nesting and foraging birds such as Hooded Plover, Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers and the migratory Orange-bellied Parrot that relies on coastal vegetation in Victoria. The dredging and deepening of Port Phillip Bay is of great concern due to its uncertain impact on bird life in the area.
Contacts
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, Convenor
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, Conservation
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, Activities
Activities
Apart from the opportunity to be involved in conservation and research projects BA Victoria also runs a series of outings to members' favourite birdwatching areas and a number of weekend camps to more distant areas within the state. The annual bird race or Twitchathon is held to celebrate spring and to raise money for conservation and research. A regular meeting is held on the second Thursday of every month at Birds Australia headquarters in Carlton and features reports of interesting bird sightings, updates on activities and a guest speaker.
What's On
For a list of events in Victoria, please check out our calendar
Publications
BA Victoria publishes a quarterly newsletter, VicBabbler, which details topics of interest to Victorian birdwatchers, conservationists and general readers. VicBabbler also contains a calendar and details of all Activities, monthly talks and contact details.
VicBabbler June 2009
VicBabbler March 2009
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Blue-faced Honeyeater at Hattah © Stuart Dashper
Rufous Bristlebird © Dean Ingwersen
Orange-bellied Parrot © Chris Tzaros
Danny Rogers and Chris Tzaros at Ryan's Swamp © Dean Ingwersen
Purple-crowned Lorikeets © Chris Tzaros
Musk Lorikeet © Chris Tzaros
Helmeted Honeyeater © Dean Ingwersen
Cape Barren Geese in flight © Dean Ingwersen
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