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2023 Garden Bird Survey – 24 June to 2 July

May 9, 2023

For a week from the last weekend of June, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research begin the 17th New Zealand Garden Bird Survey – the country’s longest running citizen science project, and they’d love your help!

The survey is an annual citizen science project led by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research that takes place over nine days between 24 June and 2 July this year. People count all the birds they see in their gardens, school, park or marae.

How you can help   

Share the details about the survey and how people can get involved to your networks. Last year, more than 15,000 people took part nationwide. Our goal this year is for substantially more people to take part so we can continue to grow this dataset into a useful resource for councils, predator-free groups and conservation efforts.

Here’s how people can get involved   

  1. Visit the NZ Garden Bird Survey website to get started.
  2. Select a garden, local park, school, or marae.
  3. Choose any ONE day between 24 June and 2 July.
  4. Look and listen for birds on that day for ONE hour.
  5. For each species, record the HIGHEST number seen or heard at one time.
  6. Submit the results online on the NZ Garden Bird Survey website.

Why the survey is important   

What we learn from information about the birds in your garden helps our researchers understand how birds are coping with environmental challenges. It also helps us build a long-term dataset to interpret the impact of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity.                 

How taking part in the survey can make a difference  

Birds keep our gardens vigorous, they reflect the state of our own health, and birds inspire us to act by encouraging us to add our voices to calls for a healthy environment. By taking part in the country’s largest citizen science project, you can truly understand how important birds are in your life, and how you can best care for them.

Resources for you to share with your community   

We have provided some resources that might come in handy.

Other resources available on our NZ Garden Bird Survey website gardenbirdsurvey.nz include:

  • Bird identification tips
  • Tips on how to make a healthy bird habitat in your own backyard
  • Activities for teachers and children

Follow us and join the conversation on social media   

Activity will start to ramp up from early June. We appreciate the sharing of content and encouragement of your audiences to participate in this year’s survey.

And finally, in case anyone asks …why do we do this in winter?   

It may seem odd – but in fact it makes sense. We are more likely to see birds in our gardens in winter, because they’re attracted in when there’s less food for them in the wider environment. This means we get better results, showing the true state of our garden birds.