 For over 100 years Birds Australia has been a strong voice for the environment, by promoting research, consultation, partnerships, education, conservation and enjoyment of birds and their habitats. As an organisation of professional and amateur enthusiasts, we work with the community, business and government to protect, restore and sustain the natural environment. Uniquely among Australia's conservation non-governmental organisations, we primarily pursue this goal through the gathering and dissemination of knowledge.
Some of our earliest conservation achievements were the successful campaigns for the legal protection of wildlife, introduction of game laws, the setting aside of wildlife reserves, and the banning of the trade in waterbird plumes for the decoration of ladies hats, beginning in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Our most recent and ongoing achievements include:
The Organisation
Membership has risen progressively to almost 8,000
The number of regional groups has grown to eight
In 2007, to reduce our carbon footprint, National Office moved to the Green Building in inner Melbourne
New volunteers have been added to our network, which numbers in the thousands and these people contribute to our databases, helps restore habitats, assists in threatened species surveys, and provides expertise and advice
 Research
An annual research budget of $1 million supporting 50-60 projects
Research and conservation work on threatened species - currently Orange-bellied Parrots, Carnaby's and Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos, Western Ground Parrot, Yellow Chat, Regent Honeyeater, threatened shorebirds and seabirds, often in partnership with organisations such as AWC and WWF-Australia
The Important Bird Areas (IBAs) project, with support from Rio Tinto, identifies sites critical for bird conservation by tapping into our extensive network of members, surveyors and collaborative groups
Shorebirds 2020, a collaborative enterprise between Birds Australia, BA's AWSG, WWF-Australia and the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust, to continue to monitor shorebird numbers and guide their conservation and management
Administration of the Threatened Bird Network, which links volunteers with on-ground, field-based conservation projects
Support of budding ornithologists through the administration of post-graduate student awards totalling $36,000 annually; in 2007 contributing $1000-$4,000 to 17 PhD or honours research projects on birds and 17 $500 travel grants to facilitate student travel to conferences
 Databases and data provision
The ongoing Atlas of Australian Birds - nationwide monitoring of birds from 1977-1981 and continuously since in 1998. Currently, over 7,000 volunteers continue to build on a total of 7 million records of birds, the largest biological database in Australia and one of the largest in the world. Current uses of the data include: several research projects by external researchers, contribution to many in-house publications and research projects (which, in turn, feed the Atlas), contribution to national State of Environment reporting
In 2007, with support from the Australian Government, we developed a statistical method to compile, from Atlas data, multi-species indices of trends in bird populations, which we hope will be adopted for Australia's national and international biodiversity monitoring and reporting
The Nest Record Scheme, with thousands of breeding records has been reinvigorated with a grant from Wildlife Link, the Tony and Lisette Lewis Foundation
 Publications
Emu - Austral Ornithology, our ornithological journal published by CSIRO Publishing, several issues annually since 1901
Wingspan, our membership magazine - four issues annually since 1991 Winner of several Whitley Awards from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, most recently in 2007
The State of Australia's Birds report summarises the status of the nation's birds and their habitats - published annually, with assistance from the Australian Government, since 2003
The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, an exhaustive, seven-volume set that collates information on all species in the region, was completed in 2006. Winner of several Whitley Awards from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, most recently in 2007
Advocacy
Representation on recovery teams for several threatened species
Submissions on various developments and policies that significantly impact on birds, including windfarms, oil spills, changes to the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act
Representation on the NSW Natural Resources Advisory Council.
Support of international efforts to protect migratory species
Representation of Australia at BirdLife International fora and representation of BirdLife locally
 Education and information exchange
Gluepot Reserve demonstrates how to manage and improve semi-arid habitats. In 2007 alone, Gluepot won seven major awards in the fields of the environment, conservation and ecotourism, including Landcare and Banksia Awards.
Gluepot Reserve and Broome Bird Observatory continue to provide an array of popular education programs.
The new Birds Australia Discovery Centre in Sydney provides opportunities to engage and advise the community, the corporate sector, governments and schools in the importance of bird conservation.
Following its successful establishment in Sydney, the Birds in Backyards program is being expanded nationally.
Hosting the Australasian Ornithological Conference, in partnership with the Ornithological Society of New Zealand, most recently in 2007.
We thank our members, donors, granting bodies, volunteers and partners, without whose support these and our other achievements would not have been possible.
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