Aussie Backyard Bird Count has eye on ibis and cockatoos

The white ibis might be the bane of picnic goers and workers on their lunch break, but they are one of the birds researchers are keeping a close eye on during National Bird Week.

Researchers are calling on all residents across Australia to take part in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count from October 17 to 23.

The week-long census requires people to count and identify the birds they see in their garden or park and report their findings via the Aussie Bird Count app or website.

"We want to know what's happening in people's backyards," Holly Parsons, Birds in Backyard Count program manager, said.

"Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world, we're continuing to take up more space for ourselves and leaving wildlife with nowhere to go.

"Gardens, the habitats in our cities are one way to help as many species as possible.

"We need to know what's there so we know how to better manage habitat and how to create spaces for them."

This is the third year the national bird survey has taken place.

Last year, 42,000 people recorded their sightings and reported 1 million birds across Australia.

The rainbow lorikeet, noisy miner and the magpie were the most common birds.

Ms Parsons said they hoped to record at least 1.5 million birds this week.

Big white birds

In a separate study, ecologists from the Sydney Botanic Gardens will use data from the Aussie Backyard Bird Count to study the white ibis and the sulphur-crested cockatoo.

Dr John Martin said they wanted to better understand the distribution and abundance of the ibis and cockatoo population across New South Wales and the country.

He acknowledged the ibis was one of the birds most people loved to hate.

"The Australian white ibis has shifted to the urban environment.

"A few decades ago it was uncommon to see the white ibis — they're not always loved.

"We need to learn about the distribution of the species ... and about the pockets they are moving into."

There were 23,000 ibises counted last year and 20,000 sulphur-crested cockatoos.

Dr Martin said that in the 1980s, white ibises were mainly found in the western wetlands across the eastern states.

Since then their numbers have dramatically declined due to habitat degradation and the birds shifted into urban areas.

Similarly, cockatoos have moved into the cities in the past 10 years.

"We're cutting down our big old trees and clearing hollows ... the species isn't currently at risk but importantly its habitat is at risk," Dr Martin said.

"These are generational issues, it would be great if they are on people's radars."

What bird is that?

The Aussie Bird Count app allows people to add descriptions and match birds against visual criteria — helpful if they are unable to identify the species.

In Sydney, Ms Parsons said residents might be lucky to spot a powerful owl in their tree.

"It's a threatened species, a nocturnal bird, but will sit in the tree during the day so you can do the survey night and day," she said.

More common birds that might fly into people's backyards include the sulphur-crested cockatoo, Australian magpie, currawongs, Australian raven, rainbow lorikeets and red wattle bird.

In wetland areas, Dr Martin said the purple swamphen, coot, black swan, Pacific black duck and masked lapwing may be spotted.

Smaller birds include the willy wagtail, fairywren, Indian myna, pigeons, crested pigeon and peaceful dove.