An annual bird survey in the Cairns region has recorded almost 250 different species of birds and found you are most likely to see the striking colours of the Rainbow Lorikeet in our skies.
In a seven-day period last October, 420 observers took part in Birdlife Australia's Aussie Backyard Bird Count, which counted more than 20,000 birds from 246 different species in the Cairns region.
The count was dominated by the Rainbow Lorikeet with a total of 3491, although this was a significant decrease on last year's tally of 5488.
Rounding out the top five species counted were Torresian Imperial-Pigeon (2398), Common Myna (1666), Metallic Starling (1231), and the House Sparrow (1170).
Eight endangered species were observed, including the Curlew Starling (135), Bar-tailed Godwit (77) and Red Goshawk (1), as well as 111 sightings of the critically endangered Great Knot.
The bird count is a citizen science project with members of the community invited to participate, identify bird species, count bird numbers and record data over a seven-day period.
Top Ten Species |
2019 |
2018 |
|---|---|---|
Rainbow Lorikeet |
3491 |
5488 |
Torresian Imperial-Pigeon |
2398 |
3256 |
Common Myna* |
1666 |
912 |
Metallic Starling |
1231 |
1665 |
House Sparrow* |
1170 |
717 |
Rock Dove |
1137 |
682 |
Magpie-lark |
1078 |
682 |
Silver Gull |
1069 |
567 |
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo |
1068 |
1434 |
Peaceful Dove |
1046 |
794 |
* denotes introduced species, a total of nine of which were counted in the region.
Endangered |
2019 |
2018 |
Curlew Starling |
135 |
- |
Bar-tailed Godwit |
77 |
67 |
Crimson Finch |
42 |
17 |
Eastern Curlew |
39 |
5 |
Red Knot |
32 |
1 |
Black-throated Finch |
23 |
38 |
Lesser Sand Plover |
6 |
2 |
Red Goshawk |
1 |
- |
Critically Endangered |
||
Great Knot |
111 |
78 |
