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 mu...
May 31, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 71
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 Ecolo...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 70
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, ju...
May 18, 2022•1 hr 14 min
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 ca...
May 14, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 69
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 awaren...
May 14, 2022•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 68
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/liv...
May 14, 2022•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 67
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...
May 13, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 66
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. Here's a link to a Pursuit article about Dan'...
May 10, 2022•22 min•Ep. 65
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 ...
May 05, 2022•1 hr 30 min
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 Brolg...
May 04, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 64
World Penguin Day has ambushed me! Truth be know, I did not even know it existed! Luckily when I saw some Twitter talk about it, I had an episode just about ready to go! Please enjoy hearing Dr Ursula Ellenberg, from the Tawaki Project tell me about the marvellous penguin, the Tawaki, or as we know it in Australia, the Fiordland Penguin. Tawaki is one of the crested penguins, that are found in the sub-antarctic zone, and the vulnerable Tawaki is found in the southernmost parts of the South Islan...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 63
When I was a youngster, I used to imagine being able to venture into the dense schlerophyll eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia with the chance to see the majestic, slightly terrifying but aptly named Powerful Owl. This bird is the largest of the Australian owls, and has adapted to living in the suburbs and cities, as agriculture, forestry, bushfires and urban sprawl alter or eliminate the preferred habitat of this possum hunter. Bronwyn Isaac has studied some of the Powerful Owls that have ...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 62
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) Bird-friendly Gardens Orange-bellied Parrot surveys Act For Birds petitions Glossy Black-Cockatoos Gang-gang Cockatoos Th...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 21 min
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 Sch...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 11 min
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 ...
Apr 15, 2022•47 min•Ep. 61
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, ...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr 2 min
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. ...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 60
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-...
Mar 16, 2022•14 min
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 ha...
Mar 13, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 59
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 h...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 58
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 recognise...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 57
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 ...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 56
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 co...
Oct 10, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 55
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 , ...
Oct 08, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 54
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 ...
Oct 08, 2021•56 min•Ep. 53
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....
Sep 30, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 52
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 inform...
Sep 19, 2021•54 min•Ep. 51
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 managem...
Sep 14, 2021•50 min•Ep. 50
Fotography Friday has come around again, and joining Grant and Ewen Bell this time is Conservation, Science & Nature media creator, 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...
Sep 02, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 49
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 n...
Sep 02, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 48
