Birdlife plea for help

please read the article with: birdlife on getting rat poison out of the bird food chain

Image and article here taken directly from Birdlife 

And have your say by making a submission

1. There are lots of ways to minimise your need for rodenticides. Which of these bird-friendly changes can you commit to?  Make your house and garden less friendly for rodents: seal potential roof/wall cavity access points that rodents might be using pick up any fallen fruit, ensure excess pet food isn’t accessible, rodent-proof chook pens and aviaries, replace rat-friendly palms with owl-friendly natives, and tidy up garden waste and limit access to compost heaps  
2. Encourage native predators: plant native trees, and install nest boxes for owls to breed in.  
3. Reduce dependence on poison baits: consider other, non-poison pest control, like snap traps, only put out baits when you actually need to, read the labels on any poisons you buy and make the change to first generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) or other alternatives. Look for active ingredients like Warfarin and Coumatetralyl or natural constituents like Sodium Chloride, and leave second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) on the shelf.

Cities support a greater number of threatened species than non-urban areas

Investigators looked at the distributions of 1,643 protected species in Australia, and counted up the number of these species that occurred in square-kilometer units across the continent. By comparing the cells found in cities with those located in non-urban areas, the researchers explored the relative importance of cities for conserving nationally-protected species.

All cities in Australia contained protected species, and 30% of the species listed as protected in Australia inhabited urban environments. Cities consistently supported a greater number of protected species than other areas.

The findings highlight the opportunities that cities present for tackling biodiversity loss.

"Our results show that to tackle species extinction we can no longer afford to ignore the places where most of us live and work," said Dr. Christopher Ives, co-lead author of the Global Ecology and Biogeography study. "In Australia, every city has a role to play in safeguarding the country's most threatened biodiversity."

Wiley. "Cities support a greater number of threatened species than non-urban areas." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 December 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207164339.htm>.

National Threatened Species Day

National Threatened Species Day is held on 7 September each year to commemorate the death of the last Tasmanian Tiger in 1936. 

This National Threatened Species Day, BirdLife Australia turns its attention to five of our most endangered woodland birds to highlight the fragility of our wonderful birdlife and the ongoing need to protect them. 

Bird Week 20 - 26 Oct

a White faced heron  visted my backyard this morning.. first time I have seen one at home! I am a little excited and it happens to be bird week where Bird Australia wants You to get involve in bird conservation.  "this year we invite you to take part in our new Aussie Backyard Bird Count. It’s easy and it’s fun, so hit the website to get a free app with a built-in field guide so you can get started."   I just did my count!