A free training session taking place this Sunday will help people increase their bird identification skills and explain the five-minute counting method used to monitor birds in Dunedin's Town Belt.
Birds New Zealand member Mary Thompson said the session would introduce people to the Bird Count Trail which consists of ten bird count stations, marked by posts and informational signage spaced about 200m apart along Queens Dr, starting at Prospect Park and ending near Maori Rd.
The trail was a chance for the local community to contribute to a long-term study on the area’s birdlife.
People can walk the whole trail or simply stop at any of the stations and listen to the local birdcalls for five minutes.
By pointing a cellphone at QR codes at the stations, an app opens with simple monitoring instructions along with images and audio clips of bird songs and calls.
The aim is to have long-term regular monitoring of the number of birds in the Town Belt as birds are an obvious biodiversity marker for the health of the environment.
With several habitat restoration initiatives taking place, including trapping, removing weeds and restoring native plants, being able to track bird numbers provides useful information on the success of these projects.
Participants will employ the five-minute bird count method, a standardised technique that originated in New Zealand in the 1970s.
"So at these count stations, the idea is that you stop and count all the birds you see and hear, just in five minutes," Ms Thompson said.
The more counts carried out, the clearer the picture of the area’s birdlife becomes.
Not only do participants get to enjoy the serenity of the Town Belt, but they also contribute to a greater understanding of the area’s biodiversity and help guide future conservation planning.
There is no need to stick to a particular routine, and anyone can take part in the five-minute bird count, even if they are visitors to the city or occasionally walk the trail.
"You don’t have to, that is the beauty of it, the idea is you don’t have to say ‘I have to do this every day’, you can do it whenever it suits."
• Bird Count for Conservation, this Sunday, 10am to noon.
Meet outside Olveston, Cobden St. Free public training session and walk along the Town Belt bird count trail with Birds NZ. For further details text 021 0298-0504.
