At this virtual workshop, citizen scientists will brush up on their Glossy ID skills ahead of Australia's second annual Great Glossy Count, being presented by Birdlife Australia in collaboration with the Glossy Black Conservancy. The count takes place on Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 September. Get more details about volunteering at https://bit.ly/GlossyCount23.

This zoom webinar will cover:

• • Identification of Glossy Black-Cockatoos by sight and sound
  • How to differnentiate females, males and juveniles
  • Glossy Black-Cockatoo ecology and behaviour.
  • Identifying and recording feed trees
  • Age classing of orts/chewings
  • Using the Birdata app to record sightings during the Great Glossy Count
  • How to stay safe in the field

As well as screening videos covering these topics, a panel of Glossy Black-Cockatoo experts will answer your questions about identifying this charismatic bird, understanding its behaviours and recognising feed trees.

Panellists:

Birdlife Australia's Jessica Rooke - Jessica Rooke's passion for wildlife and conservation started when she received a copy of the Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds, at age four.

Jessica undertook her tertiary education at the University of New South Wales, where she received the University Medal for her Bachelor degree of Advanced Science (Honours) in Biological Science and Ecology. Her thesis pioneered research on the ecology of the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo around Sydney and was featured in The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Geographic and on ABC National radio. Now, Jessica has been a professional Ecologist for ten years, working in the not-for-profit, consulting, and university sectors in threatened species conservation.

Jessica is currently the NSW Threatened Species Coordinator at BirdLife Australia, where she works on a variety of projects to protect some of Australia's most threatened birds, including the Vulnerable South-eastern Glossy Black-Cockatoo. She is known for her enthusiasm and passion and is recognised for her strong drive to achieve positive outcomes in conservation, biodiversity management and community engagement.

Glossy Black Conservancy's Dr Daniella Teixeira - Daniella is a conservation scientist whose research focusses on species monitoring to improve conservation outcomes. She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, where she researched bioacoustic methods to monitor breeding in glossy black-cockatoos on Kangaroo Island and red-tailed black-cockatoos in Victoria. More recently, Daniella has been working on bushfire impacts to glossy black-cockatoos, acoustic monitoring of frogs, and malleefowl monitoring for the National Malleefowl Recovery Team. Daniella has been a member of the Glossy Black Conservancy for about five years and has become the accidental face of Glossy Black-Cockatoo conservation in Australia, having appeared in a number of small production documentaries and educational videos as well as a David Attenborough Netflix documentary.

Glossy Black Conservancy's Mike Barth - Mike studied Ecology and Wildlife Biology in California where he grew up and has always had a passion for nature, especially birds. His specialty is threatened bird conservation and his career spans over 25 years working with birds on two continents. Most recently he worked on Kangaroo Island on the South Australian Glossy Black Cockatoo Recovery Program for twelve years.

Facilitator:

Wombat Creative's Samantha Morris - Sam is a communication and engagement specialist working with conservation, land management and Outback advocacy organisations. Sam trains people how to access funds for their conservation and cultural development projects and she helps people understand how to best communicate with their target audiences for conservation outcomes. Sam is also the Coordinator of the Glossy Black Conservancy and along with the team at Birdlife Australia she's currently managing the training workshops in the lead up to the 2023 Great Glossy Count.

The workshop will be recorded so that participants can watch back at their convenience. All registered participants will receive a link.

About the Great Glossy Count

Birdlife Australia is holding Australia’s second annual Great Glossy Count on Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 September, 2023. The Count takes place across the distribution of the South-eastern Glossy Black-Cockatoo (south-eastern Queensland, eastern NSW, the ACT and eastern Victoria).

The South-eastern Glossy Black-Cockatoo was recently listed as ‘Vulnerable’ under Australian legislation and is at risk of further population decline after losing large areas of feeding habitat during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20.

Glossy Black-Cockatoos (also known as ‘Glossies’) feed almost exclusively on seeds found in the cones of she-oak trees (Allocasuarina and Casuarina). Data about Glossies and their feeding habitats are vital for planning bushfire recovery and conservation action.

Volunteer citizen scientists will explore their selected survey site to collect data on Glossies and their feeding habitat. The Count can be conducted in a group or with a friend, and it is a great opportunity for people to enjoy time in nature while supporting the recovery of threatened birds.

Get more details about the Great Glossy Count at https://bit.ly/GlossyCount23.

For more information or specific questions, please contact BirdLife’s Glossy Black-Cockatoo team at: [email protected]