The Bird Emergency

Trying something a little different, because a huge part of protecting birds, and their habitat, is for people to know and love birds more! That's where photography comes into it... I will be talking to people who love taking pictures of birds, and Ewen Bell will deliver some technical and practical tips. Today it is James who enjoys the birds that visit his birdbath.

Follow James on Twitter @sydneybirdbath (He has now moved north to Coffs Harbour, so there's a whole new birdbath to talk about!

It's also worth following Ewen on Twitter @ewester to discover new bird content. #BirdPhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity

An estimated 8 million migratory shorebirds frequent the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) annually. In recent years, global change has resulted in population declines of up to 80% in some species of this flyway.

To greater understand the threat that pollution poses to migratory shorebirds of the EAAF, Toby Ross, through Deakin University, is studying three relatively common migrants that frequent Australian coasts every Austral summer. Ruddy turnstones, Curlew sandpipers and Red-necked stints act as good indicator species for the health of the flyway due to their diverse migration routes and strategies, foraging behaviours, and conservation status.

The annual presence of these birds along the Australian coast allows us to ascertain population dynamics such as breeding success and rate of decline of these species through counts and continual banding studies, particularly by the Victorian Wader Study Group (VWSG).

These field studies, predominantly along the Victorian coast and on King Island (TAS), have accrued a decade’s worth of blood cell and serum samples, allowing us to gain an in-depth understanding of the pollutant loads these birds accumulate. Blood cell and serum samples continue to be analysed for pollutant data by his co-supervisor Prof. Veerle Jaspers and her team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Toby has access to an extensive, unique set of data that allows him to examine accumulation dynamics of pollution in populations of shorebirds, looking into a range of heavy metal pollutants (for example, lead and mercury), as well as persistent, organic pollutants (POPs) which may include (but are not limited to) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs).

Thus far, the primary contaminants Toby is looking at in these blood samples are PFASs.

Toby is looking into pollutant load comparisons between his three chosen species to garner a broad understanding of pollutant loads in shorebirds, allowing comparisons to be drawn between their varying foraging and migratory strategies as well as population trends.

Following these PFAS analyses, Toby hopes to further broaden my scope of pollutant analyses to include heavy metal pollutants such as lead and mercury, and other POPs as well – watch this space!

Photo - Ken Gosbell

Photo - Ken Gosbell

Photo - Ken Gosbell

Currently trying to get some eyes and subscribers on The Bird Emergency on YouTube, so I can put a bit more effort into the video side of things, so if you would like more visual content, please subscribe, and I will watch with interest if that's what you want!

Ann Göth spent some of her formative years as a scientist studying one of the most curious birds on the planet, the Tongan Megapode, that uses the heat of the volcanoes of the isolated islands of Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean, to incubate their eggs, rather than build a mound like their close relatives. Learn about this astounding bird, and the adventues Ann had as a budding ecologist!

Ann has collected her experiences with the Tongan Megapode, and turned them into a book, that has been recently published. You can check out the first chapter of Ann's book here.

The book is available as ebook and paperback from all major retailers, including Amazon, Dymocks, Wheelers, Barnes & Noble, Bookdepository and the publisher, Austin Macauley. https://tinyurl.com/2putxzys.

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first, or check out the live chats on several platforms at thebirdemergency.com/live. Streaming live to Youtube, Facebook Live, Twitch and Twitter.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

You can now also become a member, for some extra special access.

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues? https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

Almost exactly a year ago, Milly Formby told me about the planning and the extraordinary fundraising campaign that had enabled her to embark on a flight around the continent of Australia, in a microlight aircraft that she built herself (with some great mates assisting), as part of a mission to raise awareness of the extraordinary migrations undertaken each year by shorebirds, flying from the arctic regions, to Australia, and back!

MIlly is now about half way through the journey, and has been visiting schools to let the students and teachers know about these amazing birds, and share the knowledge about how and where these birds spend their time in Australia.

MIlly joined me to give an update about the Wing Threads project, the highs and lows, and what she has lerned along the way with Wing Threads.

MIlly has a current crowdfunding effort - support her here.

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency and we are beginning on Mastodon, because, you know, Elon.

You can support the show by making a contribution by buying Grant a coffee here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency

You can now also become a member, for some extra special access.

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues? https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

If you want to see interviews before they make into into the podcast feed, check out the YouTube channel, where the interviews are usually posted first, or check out the live chats on several platforms at thebirdemergency.com/live. Streaming live to Youtube, Facebook Live, Twitch and Twitter.

Amanda Lilleyman is a researcher at the Charles Darwin University, in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.

She monitors the Far Eastern Curlew population as it spends its non-breeding season in the southern hemisphere, particularly the segment of the population that uses Darwin as its feeding ground.

Amanda tells us about her project work, how she became interested in birds and what the future holds for her as a researcher.

You can watch many of the past conversations, and see the upsoming interviews live at thebirdemergency.com/live

Subscribe to on The Bird Emergency on YouTube

Follow The Bird Emergency on Twitter @birdemergency or Instagram @thebirdemergency

If you enjoy the show, how about share with your friends or colleagues? https://followthepodcast.com/birdemergency

Or you can review us at https://lovethepodcast.com/birdemergency

And if you want to support what Grant is doing with the show, why not buy him a coffee? (It's currently a flat soy with no sweeteners.) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birdemergency