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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/16/waterbird-populations-plunge-dramatically-as-eastern-australia-dries-up>
"Drier conditions have led to waterbird numbers in eastern Australia plummeting
by 50% compared with 2023, one of the country’s largest wildlife surveys has
found.
Conducted annually since 1983, the eastern Australian waterbird aerial survey
is one of the world’s longest continuous bird counts as well as one of the
largest by geographical distance covered.
The survey spotted 287,231 birds this year – half the 579,641 birds recorded in
2023. The number of birds in the 2024 report was the 22nd highest in 42 years
of the survey, well below the long-term average.
The director of the centre for ecosystem science at the University of New South
Wales, Prof Richard Kingsford, who leads the aerial surveys, said there was a
“wistful optimism” that after wet years associated with the triple La Niña
there would be a sustained boost in bird numbers.
“In 2021 and 2022 there was a lot of flooding everywhere, and we know that
there were a lot of birds breeding, but we just haven’t seen the same sort of
recovery,” he said.
The survey, which tracks more than 70 species of waterbirds, covers a third of
the Australian continent – an area measuring 2.7m square km, or 11 times the
size of the UK. It comprehensively tracks the distribution and breeding of
waterbirds as well as changes in the major rivers and wetlands of the
Murray-Darling basin.
Three of four major markers of waterbird health – overall numbers, numbers of
species breeding and wetland area – were down, continuing a trend of
significant long-term declines.
The abundance of breeding birds fell to well below the long-term average and
was one of the lowest on record."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
