The Gouldian count is finished for 2025. Some initial observations:

• Numbers are down considerably on last year. We recorded under 500 Gouldians per day compared to 1047 per day last year. There are several reasons for this:
  • The main ones are a poor and late wet season that appears to have resulted in very patchy and poor growth of annual speargrass (Sorghum stipoideum) in the study area. This is the main grass used by Gouldians when rearing young. It is likely that they had a poor breeding season. 
  • In addition, the landscape around Wyndham is scorched by fire. All our count sites were in blackened landscapes. Fires are still being lit by arsonists as of yesterday.  
• We sighted just 2 yellow-headed birds, both females. Interestingly the proportion of red-headed birds was higher than usual – 27%, whereas it is normally around 20%. 

Fires near Wyndham