The first edition of Birds of Canberra Gardens was published in 2000, followed by a second edition in 2011. It is now out of print but almost all of its contents can be found here. Birds of Canberra Gardens is based on the observation of more than 200 bird species in and around Canberra suburban gardens and in adjacent Canberra parks and open spaces. It describes the abundance and distribution of birds, and discusses how the birds are likely to be found at different times throughout the year, and in different places. The book also provides some ideas on how your garden may be made more attractive to native birds.
The information in the book is based on findings from twenty-seven years of the Garden Bird Survey conducted by the Canberra Ornithologists Group.
The survey began in 1981 and is still going. During this period many COG members and other interested people recorded the birds observed in their gardens and in the immediate vicinity. Participants have completed more than 1700 Garden Bird Charts amounting to almost 70,000 weeks of observations at 400 different sites.
The survey has picked up marked changes in some bird populations. It identifies the times of the year when species are numerous and when they are not, when certain birds are most likely to be seen breeding and feeding their young, and global changes over the 27 years. The survey has also helped to record the rarer species that from time to time visit the Canberra region.
The book was a favourite Canberra gift and is still an invaluable resource for the bird-loving household.
| These pages (menu at left) include some of the general content from the book. It’s bird information pages can be accessed from the Bird Finder, or Canberra Garden Birds section under “Our Birds”. |