A grey shrike-thrush in my garden was singing its “Joe Witty” song so loud that I thought it was in the house. I awoke with a start, my bedroom still in virtual darkness in the half-light of dawn.
This was a year ago and the shrike-thrush had chosen a perch close to my open window to broadcast ownership of its territory which comprises half of my property.
The song also woke all the other birds which make my garden their home and before long there was a dawn chorus in the making.
Coincidentally, the Joe Witty alarm clock sounded at the start of the week-long 2021 Backyard Bird Count for which I had registered. But I didn’t need it at that moment. I had had a late-night, watching English soccer on television, and decided the bird count could wait. After all, I had all day, and all week to make my planned single list of sightings for the designated period of the count.
Sleep though was impossible. A chattering of green rosellas and the guttural call of a yellow wattlebird raised me from my bed when they joined the Joe Witty in song.
I’m joining the count again this year and am happy to report that the shrike-thrush has moved on to be replaced by a grey butcherbird. And this bird times its beautiful, less monotonous song for a little later in the morning.
The count takes place from tomorrow until Sunday and it is a fun activity for those with even a casual interest in birds. Participants merely have to log on at www.aussiebirdcount.org.au and list birds in either a garden or other location like a city park for a 20-minute period. There is no limit to lists that can completed or locations.
The number of bird lovers taking part have built since the count’s inauguration eight years ago, the program receiving a boost during the Covid pandemic restrictions when people confined to their homes started to take an interest in the wildlife literally on their doorstep.
Last year 106,707 people participated, making it Australia’s biggest citizen science project. Nearly five million birds were counted.
Although a more thorough census of bird numbers is conducted periodically by Birdlife Australia, the backyard count still provides vital information on bird populations, especially in urban and suburban areas. During the bush fires of two years ago, for instance, it shed information on how many birds had fled the bush for the cities.
I’ve counted 59 species in my garden and during the count I’m always hopeful I’ll add another. Although I live just three kilometres from the city centre birds spotted have included those usually hard to find in bushland areas like the pink robin and firetail finch.
Tomorrow I might even be awoken at dawn again to add the Joe Witty to my list, proving that the early bird catches the worm.