2024 Garden Bird Survey

New Zealand’s longest running citizen science project, THE NEW ZEALAND GARDEN BIRD SURVEY, kicks off on Saturday, 29 June and we need as many people as possible out in their gardens counting birds.

This is the 17th annual New Zealand Garden Bird Survey run by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. Since 2007, more than 70,000 surveys have been submitted by tens of thousands of volunteer citizen scientists giving us enough data to begin establishing definitive trends for increasing or declining numbers of birds.

We ask people to count all the birds they see or hear in their garden for ONE HOUR ON ONE DAY during the nine-day period from 29 June to 7 July.

Every sighting is recorded on a tally sheet with the observations then submitted via an online form on the Garden Bird website. All the data we receive is then processed through a super-computer with the results published in the State of New Zealand Garden Birds | Te Āhua o ngā Manu o te Kāri I Aotearoa report.

What will 2024 bring? Will pahririni (chaffinch) and tauhou (silvereye) continue their decline as the 2023 report shows is happening? Will South Island tūī sightings continue to increase? We need the eyes and ears of the country to help our scientists understand the changing world around us.

There are some exciting prizes to be won including an OM System OM-5 camera with 14-150mm lens for the best bird photo submitted during the survey period, and prizes for the tamariki with the best colouring-in skills. Head to the Garden Bird website and sign up to the newsletter for a chance to win a stunning Buller’s Birds poster.

Text and image: Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research