The State of Australia's Birds facts for kids
SOAB 2008 Cover
|
|
| Editor/compiler | Various |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Penny Olsen, Mike Weston, Ross Cunningham, Andrew Silcocks, Chris Tzaros, David Paton, James O'Connor, Julie Kirkwood |
| Staff writers | James O'Connor, John Peter, Julie Kirkwood, Samantha Vine, Andrew Silcocks, Glenn Ehmke, Dean Ingwersen, Chris Tzaros |
| Categories | Birds, Ornithology |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Circulation | 8000-10000 |
| Publisher | Birds Australia |
| First issue | 2003 |
| Company | Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union |
| Country | Australia |
| Based in | Melbourne |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 1036-7810 |
The State of Australia's Birds (SOAB) is a special report series. It helps us understand how bird populations in Australia are doing. Think of it like a health check for our feathered friends!
From 2003 to 2010, these reports came out every year. They were created by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, now called BirdLife Australia. The reports were like a colorful magazine. In 2015, the reports started a new chapter. They introduced something called the Australian Bird Index.
Contents
Understanding Australia's Birds
The SOAB reports gather and look at information. They track how bird populations are changing across Australia. This helps experts know if birds are doing well or if they need help.
Some of the information comes from special projects. For example, the Atlas of Australian Birds is a "citizen science" project. This means everyday people help collect data about birds. All of these important reports can be downloaded for free.
Early Reports: 2003 to 2010
These first reports were published as extra parts of Wingspan magazine. The 2003 and 2008 editions were big five-year summaries. They looked back at how birds had been doing over that time.
Other reports from this period focused on specific topics. For instance, the 2010 SOAB report was all about "Birds and Islands." This helped people learn about birds living on islands.
New Reports: 2015 and Beyond
The 2015 SOAB report brought in exciting new tools. It launched the first Australian Bird Indices for land birds. An "index" is like a score that shows how things are changing over time.
It also introduced Australia's Red List Index (RLI). This RLI helps track the most endangered bird groups. It shows if their situation is getting better or worse.
BirdLife Australia plans to release a big SOAB report in 2020. This report will include more indices for different areas of Australia. It will show trends for many land bird species. It will also point out where more bird monitoring is needed. The 2020 report also aims to use information from the National Environmental Science Program. This includes the Threatened Species Index, which showed declines in many threatened bird types.
List of Reports
- The State of Australia's Birds 2003
- The State of Australia's Birds 2004: Water, wetlands and birds
- The State of Australia's Birds 2005: Woodlands and Birds
- The State of Australia's Birds 2006: Invasive Species
- The State of Australia's Birds 2007: Birds in a Changing Climate
- The State of Australia's Birds 2008: A Five Year Review
- The State of Australia's Birds 2009: Restoring Woodland Habitats for Birds
- The State of Australia's Birds 2010: Islands and Birds
- The State of Australia's Birds 2015: Headline Trends for Terrestrial Birds
