Counting cockies…it’s on again!

The Great Cocky Count, now in its 10th year, is a long-term citizen science survey of black cockatoos in Western Australia.

On Sunday April 7, 2019 at sunset, volunteers will monitor known roost sites and count black-cockatoos as they come in to their evening roosts. Records submitted will provide a snapshot of black-cockatoo populations. Over time, this surveying has helped to quantify the changes in black-cockatoo numbers.

The Great Cocky Count (GCC) began originally as a survey method for Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoos and focused only on the roost sites around the Perth metropolitan area. In more recent years it has been expanded to also include Baudin’s (white-tailed) and Forest Red-tailed Cockatoos between Geraldton and Esperance.

The event is coordinated by BirdLife Australia and supported by funding from Alcoa. The survey data is analysed and compiled into a joint Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)/BirdLife report which is used by government, NGOs and others as a guide to Black-Cockatoo conservation.

If you have registered to volunteer for the 2019 GCC, don’t forget it’s coming up on Sunday April 7.

For more information, click here.