Bird sightings increase across Melbourne’s east during coronavirus lockdown
Not everyone is loving lockdown life but it appears our feathered friends are. People have been noticing more birds around on their daily walks and in backyards especially in Knox. So what is behind the jump in sightings?
Outer East
Don't miss out on the headlines from Outer East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There has been a spike in bird sightings on Melbourne’s quiet streets during the coronavirus lockdown.
Knox environmentalist Darren Wallace said he was more aware of birds at the moment, and was noticing a lot on his daily walks.
“I know when I’ve gone for a walk, I’m outside most of my working day, I have seen a lot of birds,” Mr Wallace said.
He was unsure if there were more birds around or if he was noticing them more because of the lack of traffic.
“There could be just as many around but you normally don’t hear them because of traffic and background noise in society,” Mr Wallace said.
“We’ve now had four months of above average rainfall in the east, this time last year we were in such a dry situation, maybe the birds could be responding to the better climatic conditions.”
Mr Wallace said the increase in bird sightings could also be in response to flowering plants like callistemons, correas and banksias.
“When all is said and done there could be a number of reasons but I would love to hope it is more about people slowing down and being able to hear through the hustle and bustle of what was normal life in the new go-slow.
“This takes me back to 30 years ago in Melbourne when it was a lot quieter.
“Every day feels like a public holiday.”
National public affairs manager at BirdLife Australia Sean Dooley said people were noticing birds more.
“The birds are there and doing what they’ve always done but we’ve always been so busy
and rushing around and not spending as much time in the one place that we just haven’t noticed,” Mr Dooley said.
“But there’s possibly something in the fact there might not be as much noise from cars, we may be hearing things more than we would normally.”
Mr Dooley said with less human activity some animals, including birds, were likely to become less wary.
He said during a recent radio interview he received many calls from people thinking birds were doing unnatural and crazy things.
“But to be honest Australian birds are pretty out there in their personalities and people are noticing them for the first time.
“For us at BirdLife Australia our goal is to tell the stories of birds to people so people care and want to protect them.
“There is a positive side to it, that out of this madness in such a frightening age we’re in, to see the world is continuing on — it’s almost like the birds are messengers from the outside world to us.
“Birds have been the canary in the coal mine for what’s going on in the environment, it might be time to be quiet and listen to what they might have to tell us.”
MORE NEWS: PARTYGOERS COP FINES FOR BREACHING LOCKDOWN LAWS
KNOX CORONAVIRUS CASES REVEALED
MURAL CONTINUES LAKE KNOX FIGHT
He said April and May was a good time to see birds you normally wouldn’t see in Melbourne, including gang gang cockatoos which eat seeds and fruit off plants.
He said magpies were around all year and there had also been some reports of them swooping.
“There is a chance some birds, because of rain, there is the possibility some birds have tried to nest at this time of year,” he said.
People wanting to find out more about birds in their backyard are encouraged to access free resources on the BirdLife Australia website.
BirdLife Australia has also started a social media campaign with the hashtag #cuppawiththebirds encouraging people to share their photos and videos.