Annual counts
This advanced citizen science project requires knowledge of the common native breeding bird species and participation over several years. Twice a year, the participants count all birds seen and heard at fixed points. The total of all counts is then used to calculate population trends. The available data is currently sufficient to determine meaningful trends for about 90 bird species – from 1998 onwards. Sadly, the results show how important it is to monitor our breeding bird world: more than half of the species studied are declining in numbers, whereas only about one fifth of all species show an increase. The other bird species are currently stable.
Participate
Further information and results can be found on the website.
Tasks and roles in the project:
- Observers: In their free time they survey the birds according to the specified counting method. They regularly receive a summary of the results and the latest trend analyses.
- Federal state coordinators: They organise the censuses in the respective federal state. They are the first point of contact for the counters for questions and problems of any kind.
- Project management: data checking, data management, evaluations, reporting, lectures, point of contact for questions of all kinds.
If you have any questions about the project or are interested in the collected data/results, please contact the
Podcast episode
In June 2025, Norbert Teufelbauer was a guest on the Österreich forscht podcast Wissen macht Leute - you can listen to the episode here (in German).
This project fulfils version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.