COG’s 50th Year – Bird of the Year Project
The Gang-gang survey has finished!
Bird lovers were invited to submit sightings of Gang-gang Cockatoos over the last year to a special survey using the Atlas of Living Australia. The survey finished at the end of February 2015. You can still report Gang-gang sightings for the period up to the end of February, but please don’t report any new sightings to the special survey.
A big thank you to all those who participated! Results and data will be published in a future edition of COG’s publication Canberra Bird Notes.
Spring 2015 – further breeding study – observations and data requested
A Gang-gang Cockatoo checks out a possible breeding hollow
The GG team (Chris Davey and Kathy Eyles) would like to obtain further details on hollow inspecting during this coming breeding season. The purpose is to obtain further information on the breeding of Gang-gangs within the COG Area of Interest.
This is a follow up to last year’s successful GG Survey. An analysis of the survey results has provided 150 records from 50 observers of Gang-gangs hollow inspecting. From these sites only one appears to have produced young, although it is unknown how frequently any of the sites were revisited.
Please report sightings of Gang-gangs showing interest in potential nest hollow sites or any other indications of breeding. Please do this by submitting an Incidental Record Form and providing information on the location, number of birds and their activity. If possible, regularly return to the site and record any further activity. On these return visits, if there is no activity, please still fill in the form and enter a zero for numbers and add the words ‘This is a zero Gang-gang report’ in the notes section.
If you are unable to access the on-line form for some reason, simply send the details by email to the address below.
The project team will also be contacting original GG survey participants who submitted observations about nesting and breeding behaviour, to invite them to record observations over this breeding season.
For any enquiries please email ggquery@canberrabirds.org.au Note that all locations will remain confidential. Of interest one site has already been reported for August 2015.
The main Gang-gang survey has finished!
In 2014 bird lovers were invited to submit sightings of Gang-gang Cockatoos over the last year to a special survey using the Atlas of Living Australia. The survey finished at the end of February 2015. You can still report Gang-gang sightings for the period up to the end of February, but please don’t report any new sightings to the special survey.
A big thank you to all those who participated! Results and data will be published in a future edition of COG’s publication Canberra Bird Notes.
Gang-gang survey project reports and press
The 2014 project report page can be found here.
Archival Gang-gang Survey Information below
The Gang-gang holds special significance for the Canberra Ornithologist Group (COG) and the ACT. It is the logo of COG and of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service. Despite this, little is known about the ecology of the Gang-gang within the ACT region, about its abundance, movements or what affects movement patterns, about its food preferences or seasonal distribution, or the frequency or success of breeding events. As part of celebrating 50 years of activity in the ACT and region, COG is running a citizen science project to learn more about Gang-gangs within the COG Area of Interest which stretches from Goulburn to Adaminaby and Burrinjuck Dam to Lake Bathurst. See map.
For any queries about the project please email ggquery@canberrabirds.org.au.
Gang-gang Survey Activities
- Imagining Gang-gangs student art comp
- Ongoing reporting of Gang-gang sightings – see below “Observing Gang-gangs throughout the year”.
- Quarterly muster – see below “Observing Gang-gangs quarterly during our Muster Count weeks”.
- Latest news
A juvenile male Gang-gang Cockatoo
YOU CAN HELP in one or both ways:
(1) Observing Gang-gangs throughout the year
PLEASE REPORT Gang-gangs observed (seen and/or heard) using the:
- web-site page, created for COG by Atlas of Living Australia or,
- paper data sheet, which is also available at COG monthly meetings.
If you are HAVING TROUBLE REGISTERING OR LOGGING IN TO THE SURVEY? – click to check instructions.
(2) Observing Gang-gangs quarterly during our Muster Count weeks
PLEASE REPORT whether Gang-gangs are present or absent at your chosen location(s) every day of the week February 19-25 2015 using the paper or electronic form provided with the Muster Count Instructions.
The Muster Count is designed to identify where Gang-gangs are present and absent in the ACT region.
The photo above is of a young male Gang-gang Cockatoo. All males have some red on their head. However, only adult males have red covering their whole head; crest, top and sides. Females have no red on their crest. Click on the link below to learn more about identifying Gang-gangs.
IDENTIFYING GANG-GANGS – WHAT THEY LOOK AND SOUND LIKE