Page 12 The Moorabool News – 25 January, 2022
News
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Somewhere over the rainbow … are lots of lorikeets BirdLife Australia’s national bird survey has counted nearly 5 million birds, with some familiar faces making the list, with the winner taking the gong for the last three years in a row. The largest citizen science event in the country, the Aussie Backyard Bird Count sees tens of thousands of Australians head outside every year to count birds for BirdLife Australia. In total, 4,936,509 birds were counted during the 2021 Bird Count, with 623 different species spotted across 162,507 checklists submitted. The rainbow lorikeet was the most spotted bird Australiawide, also taking the top spot on a state basis in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia. In Tasmania the house sparrow was the top spotted bird, while the Australian magpie took the top spot in the ACT, and the magpie goose in the Northern Territory. The bulk of the total figure came from Victoria and New South Wales, with almost 3.1 million birds spotted in the two states alone. And in what many Australians will likely see as good news, the Common Myna – known for its harsh squawk and aggression towards other bird species – is perhaps not as common as it once was. Also known as the Indian Myna, it dropped out of the national top 10 most common birds this year for the first time. “Common Mynas have continued their march in recent years, steadily spreading their range over eastern Australia,” National Public Affairs Manager at BirdLife Australia, Sean Dooley said. “However, we had noticed that it was slowly dropping down the list of most common birds since the Aussie Bird Count started in 2014, and this year it dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time. “The Common Myna is still an abundant bird, it is just that some other species have had a higher increase in numbers. It may be that some of these such as the aggressive Rainbow Lorikeet and Noisy Miner are outcompeting Common Mynas, and perhaps efforts of community groups to keep Common Myna numbers down are preventing large increases.”
Another recent change is the addition of the Australian White Ibis to the top 10. “They stormed into the Top 10 in 2019 on the back of the horrendous drought we were experiencing then. We suspected that the lack of water in inland Australia had driven them towards the coast — especially the cities — in search of better conditions, and it seems they liked what they found, so they stayed,” Mr Dooley said. Surveys were submitted from across the country, and some came from even farther beyond, with researchers at Davis Station in Antarctica submitting a record number of penguins this year. The next Aussie Bird Count starts on 17 October, and runs until 23 October. Put it in your diary. For more information, visit www.aussiebirdcount.org.au. So, why are Rainbow Lorikeets ruling the roost? According to the Aussie Backyard Bird Count, the rise of the Rainbow Lorikeet highlights the changes in Aussie backyards over the past half century, with traditional European-style cottage gardens making way for native backyards which provide the perfect place for these nectarloving birds to forage on the flowers of eucalypts, bottlebrushes, and grevilleas to harvest nectar and pollen. This shows the impact that planting natives can have. Head over to www.aussiebirdcount.org.au for the gardening tips page to see which plants will attract your favourite birds. In its seventh year, the Aussie Backyard Bird Count saw record-breaking numbers of people heading to their backyards and local green spaces to count their local birds. 2019 – 3.4 million birds were counted. Most popular – Rainbow Lorikeets Victoria – Australian Magpie 2020 – more than 4.6 million birds were counted across the nation. Most popular - Rainbow Lorikeets Victoria – Rainbow Lorikeets 2021 – nearly 5 million birds counted Most Popular – Rainbow Lorikeets Victoria – Rainbow Lorikeets
Rainbow Lorikeet. Photo James Mascott DRUG AND ALCOHOL FREE EVENTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 12 TO 25 ALL EVENTS WILL ADHERE TO THE CURRENT VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Youth Fest BACCHUS MARSH I BALLAN
Keeping you safe online Crime Stoppers Victoria is proud to be renewing its partnership with BankVic in 2022 to help keep people and their money safe while online. For the second consecutive year, they will work together to raise public awareness about scams and online safety. A timely and important message in Australia, with scams costing victims more than $222 million in 2021. Crime Stoppers Victoria and BankVic will unveil the second instalment of their online safety series, with helpful online guides and practical tips to be released each month. Topics that will be covered include phishing scams and romance scams, and how to bank online safety. These free resources will be available through the Crime Stoppers Victoria website and shared through Crime Stoppers Victoria’s social media and blog. Crime Stoppers Victoria CEO Stella Smith said the partnership is a joint endeavour to continue making Victoria a safer place. “The internet plays such a vital role in everyday life, so it’s essential the public knows how to protect themselves from cybercriminals," she said. "By once again collaborating with BankVic, Crime Stoppers Victoria hopes to increase online safety awareness in the community." BankVic CEO Anthony DeFazio agreed. "Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and as we continue to spend more time online it’s important to make sure to know what to look out for.” Mr DeFazio said they are proud to be once again partnering with Crime Stoppers to ensure more Victorians know how to protect their financial information online and how to spot a scam.
D E N O P T S O P January 2022
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COVID hits festival for youth A drug and alcohol-free youth festival has been postponed. The Moorabool Shire Council event was to take place last week and included events at skate parks in Bacchus Marsh and Ballan, and a pool party that would have seen a DJ performance, food, games, and prizes to be won, with the week ending with a games night at Darley. Council said unfortunately all scheduled Youth Fest events will be postponed due to
staff shortages linked to COVID-19 public health quarantine requirements. “All events will be rescheduled, new dates and times will be shared with you soon,” a spokesperson said. “We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and we look forward to sharing our fun events with you soon.” The Youth Fest was an event for young people aged 12 to 25.