BirdLife Australia is a not-for-profit organisation advocating for native birds and the conservation of their habitats across Australia. BirdLife Australia is the trading name of the

company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...

formed through the merger of two Australian non-government conservation organisations,

Bird Observation and Conservation Australia Bird Observation & Conservation Australia (BOCA) was a club established on 12 April 1905 by members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in Melbourne, Victoria, as the Bird Observers Club. Although inactive for many years, in 19 ...

(BOCA) and Birds Australia. A constitution was drafted in May 2011 for BirdLife Australia, which became operational on 1 January 2012. Their respective magazines, the ''Bird Observer'' and ''Wingspan'', were succeeded by ''

Australian Birdlife ''Australian Birdlife'' is the quarterly membership magazine of BirdLife Australia, the Australian partner of BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve bir ...

''.

History

At simultaneous annual general meetings held on 21 May 2011, the respective members of BOCA and Birds Australia voted to merge and form the new company. Over 93% of those that voted from BOCA voted for the merger and over 95% of those that voted from Birds Australia voted for the merger. A combined total of 4517 Birds Australia and BOCA members voted on the resolution, with over 36% of Birds Australia members and more than 50% of BOCA members voting. This was the biggest response to a proposed resolution that either organisation had ever received. With the merger, BirdLife Australia became the Australian national partner organisation of

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

, a role hitherto performed by Birds Australia. The inaugural Board of Directors was made up of five board members from each of the merging organisations, with the addition of a "neutral" chair, Gerard Early, who continues to serve as a board member. The inaugural chief executive officer (CEO), Dr Graeme Hamilton, resigned in October 2012. Hamilton had served as CEO of Birds Australia from 2005 to 2011, and also as CEO of BOCA in its final months of operation in 2011. James O'Connor served as interim CEO from October 2012, until the appointment of Paul Sullivan in January 2013.

Constitution

The constitution of BirdLife Australia is loosely based on the constitutions of the merging bodies. The organisation is member-based, and board members are elected by the membership at an annual general meeting. The constitution also describes a transitional period for the board for its first three years of operation, whereby two members of each original board will stand down at each annual general meeting.

Operations

BirdLife Australia's current national office is at 60 Leicester Street Carlton, Victoria, at the site of the former Birds Australia office. The office of BOCA was in Nunawading, Victoria, and was still owned by BirdLife Australia. The organisation operates the Birdlife Discovery Centre at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush, New South Wales, and leases premises in Floreat, West Australia. BirdLife Australia owns and operates

Gluepot Reserve Gluepot Reserve is a private protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia in the gazetted locality of Gluepot, South Australia, Gluepot about north of the town of Waikerie, South Australia, Waikerie. History Gluepot was e ...

, a reserve for bird conservation and research in the South Australian semi-arid mallee region, and leases two bird observatories in West Australia, the

Broome Bird Observatory The Broome Bird Observatory is an educational, scientific and recreational facility located 24 km from Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It began operating in 1988 under the auspices of the non-profit organisation Birds ...

and the

Eyre Bird Observatory Eyre Bird Observatory is an educational, scientific and recreational facility in the Nuytsland Nature Reserve, Western Australia. Cocklebiddy, Western Australia, Cocklebiddy is the nearest locality on the Eyre Highway, to the north. It is in ...

. BirdLife Australia runs a number of research, monitoring and conservation programs related to Australian birds, and these are often characterised by a significant volunteer input. The Atlas of Australian Birds Project is a national bird monitoring project involving hundreds of skilled bird observers submitting survey data from across the country. This data is used in national reporting, notably

State of Australia's Birds ''The State of Australia's Birds'' (SOAB) is a report series that tracks trends in Australia's bird populations. History 2003–2010 From 2003 to 2010, this was delivered as an annual report produced by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Uni ...

reports
Birdata
is the gateway to BirdLife Australia data including the Atlas of Australian Birds an
Nest record scheme
Datasets from this activity are publicly accessible. Other large scale monitoring and conservation efforts include

Shorebirds 2020 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

, a national migratory shorebirds program, and the Beach-nesting Birds program, aimed at improving the conservation status of resident shorebirds through research,

adaptive management Adaptive management, also known as adaptive resource management or adaptive environmental assessment and management, is a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing uncertainty ove ...

and community engagement. Other projects, including Birds in Backyards and the

Aussie Backyard Bird Count The Aussie Bird Count is a project of BirdLife Australia. It is a citizen science project in which volunteers conduct bird counts around Australia. In the 2017 bird count, almost two million birds were counted.{{cite web , url=https://theconversat ...

have more of an engagement and education focus. More recently (2017-2019), these projects and programs have been amalgamated into larger programs, including the Urban Birds Program (incorporating the Birds in Backyards program, the Woodland Bird Program (incorporating projects such as Birds on Farms and the Regent Honeyeater Recovery Project), the Coast and Marine Program (incorporating the Beach Nesting Birds program, as well as new programs including the Preventing Extinctions program. These programs are increasingly guided and informed by

Conservation Action Planning Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

. The Bushfire Recovery program aims to improve conservation outcomes for Australian birds impacted by the 2019–20 bush fires, with a focus on threatened species most imperilled by the fires. Together with

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...

, Birdlife Australia created the Action Plan for Australian Birds 2020. According to the plan, there were 216 threatened birds in Australia compared to 195 ten years ago. The plan, published by

CSIRO Publishing CSIRO Publishing is an Australian-based science and technology publisher. It publishes books, journals and magazines across a range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, chemistry, plant and animal sciences, natural history and enviro ...

, was written by more than 300 experts and edited by CDU Conservation Professor Stephen Garnett and Dr Barry Baker, and reports on a decade of monitoring and assessment of the populations of Australian birds. The report outlines instructions on how to avoid further decline of bird populations.

Regional groups

Birds Australia Northern NSW (BANN) is a regional group of Birds Australia based in northern New South Wales. BANN was formed in 1987 following a campout by RAOU members at Dorrigo the previous year. Members of Birds Australia who are residents of the area of coverage are automatically members of the group. A quarterly newsletter is sent to members. Activities provided for members include meetings, a variety of field trips, bird surveys, and conservation projects. Birds Australia Western Australia (BAWA) is the

Western Australian Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

regional group of Birds Australia. BAWA was formed in 1943 and incorporated in 2001. Members of Birds Australia resident in Western Australia are automatically members of BAWA. BAWA maintains an office, Peregrine House, at Floreat,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. It also publishes a quarterly newsletter, ''WA Bird Notes''. Activities provided for members include monthly meetings, a variety of excursions ranging from half-day outings to extensive campouts, bird surveys and conservation projects.

Wader Studies Group

The Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG), established in 1981, is a special interest group of BirdLife Australia. It publishes a journal, '' The Stilt'', usually twice a year, with occasional extra issues. Its mission statement is "to ensure the future of

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s (shorebirds) and their habitats in Australia through research and conservation programs and to encourage and assist similar programmes in the rest of the

East Asian–Australasian Flyway The East Asian–Australasian Flyway is one of the world's great flyways of migratory birds. At its northernmost it stretches eastwards from the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia to Alaska. Its southern end encompasses Australia and New Zealand. Between ...

". The AWSG organises the nearly annual series of North-West Australia Wader Expeditions, which use experienced international cannon netting teams to catch and study the very large numbers of migratory waders that visit the beaches of

Roebuck Bay Roebuck Bay is a bay on the coast of the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its entrance is bounded in the north by the town of Broome, Western Australia, Broome, and in the south by Bush Point and Sandy P ...

near Broome,

Eighty Mile Beach Eighty Mile Beach also spelled Eighty-mile Beach or 80-mile Beach, and formerly called 90-mile Beach, lies along the north-west coast of Western Australia about half-way between the towns of Broome and Port Hedland. Despite its name, it is so ...

and

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

in north-west

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

AWSG Objectives

* To monitor wader populations through a programme of counting and banding in order to collect data on changes on a local, national and international basis. * To study the migrations of waders through a program of counting, banding, colour-flagging and collection of biometric data. * To instigate and encourage other scientific studies of waders such as feeding and breeding studies. * To communicate the results of these studies to a wide audience through the ''

Stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...

'', the '' Tattler'', other journals, the internet, the media, conferences and lectures. * To formulate and promote policies for the conservation of waders and their habitat, and to make available information to local and national governmental conservation bodies and other organisations to encourage and assist them in pursuing this objective. * To encourage and promote the involvement of a large band of amateurs, as well as professionals, to achieve these objectives.

Awards

The organisation awards a number of regular prizes. The Stuart Leslie Bird Research Award and the Professor Alan Keast Award are bestowed annually to postgraduate students of ornithology, with an emphasis on conservation applications. The Indigenous Grant for Bird Research and Conservation acknowledges the contribution of Indigenous Australians by facilitating their further engagement in research and conservation.

John Hobbs Medal

The John Hobbs Medal may be awarded annually for "outstanding contributions to

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

scientist". It commemorates John Hobbs (1923–1990) and was first awarded in 1995. ;List of recipients * 1995 –

Selwyn George (Bill) Lane Selwyn George "Bill" Lane E.D. R.L. (1922–2000) was an Australian amateur ornithologist who worked for the Sydney County Council for most of life until he retired in 1983. Career Bill Lane joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (R ...

* 1996 – Durno Murray * 1997 – Stephen Marchant * 1998 – Alan Leishman * 1999 – John Courtney * 2000 –

Clive Minton Clive Dudley Thomas Minton, AM (7 October 1934 – 6 November 2019Katie Allen (2019"Revolutionary in the study of wader birds"'The Sydney Morning Herald'', 11 December 2019. Archived frooriginalon 11 December 2019.) was a British and Australian ...

* 2001 –

Pauline Reilly Pauline Neura Reilly OAM FRAOU (5 December 1918 – 22 April 2011) was an Australian ornithologist and author of children's books. Biography Reilly was born (as Pauline Duncan) in Adelaide. Her family moved to Melbourne where she attended K ...

* 2002 – ''no award'' * 2003 – Brian Coates * 2004 – Graeme Chapman * 2005 – Graham Pizzey * 2006 – ''no award'' * 2007 – ''no award'' * 2008 – Kevin Alan Wood * 2009 – Michael J. Carter * 2010 – Andrew Ley * 2011 – ''no award'' * 2012 – Mike Newman * 2013 – ''no award'' * 2014 – Lloyd Nielsen * 2015 – Lynn Pedler * 2016 – A.B. (Tony) Rose * 2017 - Ken Gosbell * 2018 - Andrew Barham Black OAM * 2019 - Dick (RM) Cooper * 2020 - Alan Stuart PhD * 2021 - Ian Arthur William McAllan * 2022 - Jon Coleman * 2023 - Rosalind Jessop

D. L. Serventy Medal

The D.L. Serventy Medal may be awarded annually for outstanding published work on birds in the Australasian region. It commemorates Dr

Dominic Serventy Dominic Louis Serventy (28 March 1904 – 8 August 1988) was an Australian ornithologist. He was president of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) 1947–1949. He assisted with the initial organisation of the British Museum ...

(1904–1988) and was first awarded in 1991. ;List of recipients * 1991 - Ian Rowley * 1992 -

John Warham John Warham (11 October 1919 – 12 May 2010) was an Australian and New Zealand photographer and ornithologist notable for his research on seabirds, especially petrels. Warham was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, in England, and educated at King E ...

* 1993 - Hugh Ford * 1994 - Harry Recher * 1995 - Allen Keast * 1996 - Cliff Frith and Dawn Frith * 1997 -

Penny Olsen Penelope Diane Olsen (born 1949) is an Australian ornithologist and author. Career Olsen worked with CSIRO as an experimental officer and an Honorary Research Associate, as well as being an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian Nationa ...

* 1998 - Richard Zann * 1999 - Jiro Kikkawa * 2000 - (''no award'') * 2001 - John Woinarski * 2002 - (''no award'') * 2003 -

Trevor Worthy Trevor Henry Worthy (born 3 January 1957) is an Australia-based paleozoologist from New Zealand, known for his research on moa and other extinct vertebrates. Biography Worthy grew up in Broadwood, Northland, and went to Whangarei Boys' High ...

and Richard N. Holdaway * 2004 -

Andrew Cockburn Andrew Myles Cockburn ( ; born 7 January 1947) is a British journalist and the Washington, D.C., editor of ''Harper's Magazine''. His books and articles are principally about national security, and he has produced documentary films. He has wri ...

* 2005 - Lesley Brooker and Michael Brooker * 2006 - Denis A. Saunders * 2007 - Michael Clarke * 2008 - Stephen Garnett and Gabriel Crowley * 2009 - Carla P. Catterall * 2010 - David Lindenmayer * 2011 -

David Paton David Paton (; born 29 October 1949) is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with " Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" b ...

* 2012 - Richard Kingsford * 2013 - Ron Wooller * 2014 - Richard Loyn * 2015 - Stephen Debus * 2016 - Sonia Kleindorfer * 2017 - Sarah Legge * 2018 - Leo George Joseph * 2019 - Naomi Langmore * 2020 - Ralph Mac Nally * 2021 - Andrew F. Bennett * 2022 - Eric Woehler * 2023 - Robert Heinsohn

Publications

Selection of publications:
Australian Birdlife Newsletter
* ''Emu'' - Austral Ornithology scientific journal * ''

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds The ''Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds'', known as ''HANZAB'', is the pre-eminent scientific reference on birds in the region, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean and subantarctic ...

'' (HANZAB, 7 volumes),

References

External links

BirdLife Australia
{{Authority control 2011 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 2011 Ornithological organisations in Australia Nature conservation organisations based in Australia Non-profit organisations based in Victoria (state) Bird conservation organizations Protected area administrators of Australia Environmental organizations established in 2012 BirdLife partners