Calling all birders across the Tamar Valley!
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
Hi Tamar NRM community!
Tamar NRM and the TEER program are seeking enthusiastic birders of all skill levels to participate in regular monitoring of bird species across the Tamar Valley with the Tamar Estuary Bird Observers Group.
This is building on the incredible work of Ralph Cooper, Barbara Cooper and Helen Cunningham, who conducted long term surveys between 1998 and 2023 (25 years!), culminating in 'The State of Birds in 2023 in the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary' report being published by Birdlife Tasmania with support of the TEER program (you can download a copy here).
The importance of this monitoring is difficult to overstate- it allows measurement of population change over time, which is especially critical for vulnerable or threatened species. Bird populations can also be used as a metric for the broader environment and quality of habitat in an area. To paraphrase the Birdlife report, this surveying is a finger on the pulse of the estuary that we shape our lives around. Data will be collected on the Birdata app and used by the TEER program as part of their ongoing health assessments for the estuary.
If this sounds like something you would like to be involved in, please join us at a meeting on Wednesday the 12th of August at the Windsor Precinct in Riverside. All the necessary details are on the following flyer:
We are fortunate to be joined on the evening by Dr. Liz Znidersic, a post-doctoral researcher with the Gulbali Institute. Her major research interests include survey methodologies and the application of technological tools to monitor individual species and ecosystems, wetland species and their management and island biodiversity and species reintroductions/translocations. Her research has been conducted in the USA and Australia with ongoing collaborations with US Government agencies. Liz has worked extensively in Tasmania with the Parks and Wildlife Service, non-government environmental agencies and various nature based tourism operations. Most of her research is applied ecology and cross-discipline ecology and computer science in the area of acoustic monitoring and camera trapping. The results are aimed at improving our understanding and management of natural systems and specific species and integrating technological approaches. She is currently working on the “Eavesdropping on wetland birds” project and a pilot project applying ‘Acoustic Restoration’. Liz has also been a sessional lecturer with the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU.
Please RSVP at https://www.tamarnrm.com.au/event-details-registration/tamar-estuary-bird-observers-group-meeting so that we can plan for catering.
We hope to see you there!
