BirdLife Australia

31/05/2026

🦜 Happy World Parrot Day!

Today we’re celebrating the incredible diversity of parrots and cockatoos around the world, and how lucky Australia is to be home to some of the most remarkable parrots on Earth.

One of them is the Critically Endangered Swift Parrot. Not only is it Australia’s fastest parrot, but it also undertakes the world’s longest known parrot migration, travelling thousands of kilometres between Tasmania and mainland Australia in search of flowering eucalypts.

Right now, Swift Parrots are spending the cooler months on the Australian mainland, before beginning their journey back to their Tasmanian breeding grounds from around August.

With as few as 500 birds remaining in the wild, it’s never been more important to raise awareness and protect the habitats they depend on.

Learn more about the Swift Parrot: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/swift-parrot/

📹 Swift Parrot video by Deepak Kumar

27/05/2026

This National Reconciliation Week, we recognise that conservation is strongest when it’s guided by partnership, respect and shared knowledge.

Across Victoria, BirdLife Australia has been working alongside Traditional Owner organisations, including Bunurong Land Council, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, Framlingham Aboriginal Trust, Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to support the recovery of the Critically Endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.

Much of the Orange-bellied Parrot’s mainland habitat holds deep cultural significance to First Nations Peoples. Through workshops, shared learning and on-ground collaboration, Traditional Owners and BirdLife Australia are working together to strengthen conservation outcomes for this remarkable species.

Workshops, training and engagement activities were funded through the Victorian Government’s Icon Species Program.

📷 Images by Deepak Kumar & Andrew Silcocks

24/05/2026

We are thrilled to announce the 2025 Aussie Bird Count results!

Together, 63,990 participants submitted 153,855 surveys, counting a staggering 5,014,889 birds across Australia. Here are the most commonly spotted species:

🥇 Australian Magpie
🥈 Rainbow Lorikeet
🥉 Noisy Miner
A huge thank you to everyone who got involved and counted birds with us. We can’t wait to do it all again this year, so save the date! https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/

The 2026 Aussie Bird Count will be held from October 19–25.

🎨 Artwork by Angharad Neal-Williams

21/05/2026

Heard Island is one of the wildest, most remote places on Earth, home to huge colonies of penguins, albatrosses, petrels and other seabirds found nowhere else on the planet🐧

Sadly, H5 bird flu has been detected in Gentoo Penguins on the island.

While mainland Australia remains free from H5 bird flu, this detection is a reminder of how vulnerable our birds can be, especially seabirds and waterbirds that gather in large colonies.

Swipe through to meet some of the incredible birds of Heard Island, and learn what could be at stake if this disease spreads further.

You can help with early detection here in Australia:

👉 Avoid – do not touch sick or dead birds

📸 Record – take photos/video and note your location

📞 Report – call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888

Birds associated with water are particularly at risk, including Silver Gulls, pelicans, swans, penguins and shorebirds, as well as raptors that scavenge on dead birds.

Learn more about symptoms, risks and what to do if you suspect bird flu:

🔗 birdlife.org.au/h5n1-avian-influenza

Please share this post to help raise awareness and protect Australia’s birds 💚

15/05/2026

: In another massive win for wildlife, Coles has officially removed all second-generation rat poisons (SGARs) from shelves, with Mitre 10 and IGA joining Bunnings in a commitment to remove SGARS by 30 June.

Our supporters made it clear that removing these long-lasting poisons from retail shelves was critical in protecting wildlife and reducing further preventable deaths. Now, these calls have finally been heard.

The recent announcements are 10 months ahead of the regulator’s recommendation for a full retail ban of these wildlife-killing poisons. After many years of campaigning and thousands of submissions to the regulator, this win belongs to you.

The next step is now in the hands of Minister Julie Collins to legislate a full retail ban.

Head to: https://birdlife.org.au/protect-aussie-birds-from-lethal-sgar-rat-poisons/ and use our pre-filled email tool and send a message directly to the Minister, let’s get this done 🦉

14/05/2026

14/05/2026

Work smarter, not harder 💅 that’s the mantra of nearly every Australian cuckoo!

Cuckoos are brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving all the parenting duties to their unsuspecting 'hosts’.

Host birds have developed many fascinating strategies to try and prevent this, but cuckoos and their chicks have tricks of their own – it’s a never-ending tug-of-war for survival.

📸 , Cheng Kang, Colin Driscoll, Angela Farnsworth, & Andrew Silcocks

13/05/2026

BREAKING: Last night’s federal budget included some welcome investments for birds, but overall, it falls short of what nature urgently need.

The Government committed:

✅ $99.6 million over two years to continue the Saving Native Species program, helping to stop a devastating funding cliff for threatened species recovery projects.

This follows calls from thousands of BirdLife supporters who spoke up for nature and urged decision makers to extend the program. While this announcement is welcome, short-term funding cycles continue to create uncertainty for the long-term recovery work birds need.

✅ $11.2 million over one year to maintain preparedness against H5 bird flu (H5N1).

Since 2021, H5 bird flu outbreaks have killed millions of wild birds globally. With 1 in 6 Australian bird species already threatened with extinction, an outbreak here could be catastrophic.

These investments are critical, but they are still nowhere near the bare minimum investment scientists and conservation groups need to properly protect and restore nature. Australia’s extinction crisis requires consistent investment and dedicated action to protect and restore nature.

More soon.

📸 Orange-bellied Parrot by John Barkla

09/05/2026

Happy World Migratory Bird Day! 🌏🐦

Today, we’re celebrating nature’s true athletes – birds that travel thousands of kilometres across land and sea.

Seabird Project Coordinator Dr. Yuna Kim shares what makes migratory seabirds so remarkable – and why their protection matters more than ever.

📸 Images by Yuna Kim, Andrew Morrison & JJ Harrison