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Bird watching can be a relaxing hobby, a quiet moment spent in nature enjoying the sounds and sights of the bird world.
But that's another story when a national Twitchathon is on. Teams of bird watchers set up weeks of careful planning before starting a race to see or hear as many birds as possible in a given time.
Birdlife Australia is organizing its annual national festival from October 27 to 28, at the end of National Bird Week.
In each state, sponsored teams with names such as Raven On, Gang-gang Gang, Dodgy Drongos and Budgie Smugglers will participate in the event to raise funds for bird conservation and research projects. .
Birdlife Australia's project manager, Mick Roderick, said this year that there were three races to choose from: the intense 30-hour Big Weekend, the 12-hour Big Day and the 3-hour Birdathon. .
"We have the weekend to find as many species as possible and it's a fun strip," he said.
"For us, birdwatchers are closer to the sport. It's our chance to leave and have what we call a bird race.
"The record for a 24 hour race was 252 species, set by our Hunter Home Brewers team in 2013.
"In the first 30-hour race last year, the Dodgy Drongos scored 264 points, setting the bar high in the new format."
Bird watcher Liam Murphy, of the north-north coast of New South Wales, is part of a 30-hour race team. His itinerary was carefully planned.
"It's quite intense: a lot of driving, a lot of traveling, but it's very fun," he said.
"This is the first year that we are participating in the big race, so we start in the Nyngan-Cobar area and finish on the coast."
Mr Murphy said that there would not be much time left to sleep.
"They introduced a new rule, we have to stop and rest for six hours.
"As for bird watching in general, it is based on a system of honor.There is no point in cheating, it's like cheating on golf, but over 50% of your team must see or hear the bird for it to count. "
Funds to help critically endangered species
Roderick said funds raised at Twitchathon this year would be used for projects to save endangered species, including the critically endangered Honeytre Regent and the Emu-Wren mallee.
For Regent Honeyeater, BirdLife Australia raises funds for conservation work at the Australian National University (ANU).
"BirdLife Australia and UNA are working together to implement nest protection measures at Regent Honeyeater breeding sites," he said.
"We find that things like opossums, gliders, shields, and kookaburras keep Regent seaweed out of the nest, so look for ways to prevent these natural predators from breeding." Make it there and help out the chicks.
"If a critically endangered species can not reproduce or produce young, then it is on the verge of extinction, it's as simple as that."
A tern of foreign visitors rare just in time
Meanwhile, a rare shorebird from Alaska has made a significant resurgence in Australia just in time for the Twitchathon.
Last year, Murphy made the very first Australian sighting of the Aleutian Tern, which he noticed at Farquhar Inlet, in Old Bar, on NSW's north-north coast.
This year, members of Mr. Murphy's Twitchathon team have planned to finish their bird race at Old Bar.
Fortunately, an Aleutian tern was spotted on the site a few days ago – the first sighting of this year.
Mr Roderick said that it was an important observation for bird researchers because little data was recorded on Aleutian terns.
"We are still learning what these birds are doing," he said.
"Alaska researchers are very excited about the fact that birds have been found in Australia because there is very little data on their whereabouts during the austral summer."
When you look in your yard, what birds do you see?
In anticipation of the Twitchathon, the annual count of Australian backyard birds will be held from October 22-28 and residents of Australia are invited to attend.
Roderick said the census, first conducted in 2014, helped fill a knowledge gap.
"We do not have a lot of reliable data on our urban and suburban areas, so the backyard bird count is an opportunity to collect bird data in these habitats for which no data sheet is available. bird was collected, "he said.
"So we're going to learn some really interesting things about what's going on with birds, where there's an interaction between humans and birds, so that's really important."
Last year, over 70,000 people took part and counted more than 1.9 million birds.
The noisy rainbow lorike has exceeded the number of meters in the last four years. Last year, it was the noisy miner, the magpie, the sulfur crested cockatoo and the galah.
"It's a lot of fun," said Roderick.
"There is an application you can download, all you have to do is spend 20 minutes in your favorite patch or even in your backyard and just record the birds you see or hear," said Roderick. .
"The Rainbow Lorikeet has had the number one title every year, so let's see if any of the others, or even something like the Great Wagtail, could climb up and get on the podium this year. "
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