An Atlas of the Birds of NSW & the ACT

This 3-volume set provides a complete inventory and distributional analysis of every species known to occur within New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the western Tasman Sea (including Lord Howe Island), providing comprehensive coverage of the area of interest. The data used in this work represents the longest on-going set collected with consistent methodology in NSW and highlights the value of applying long-term data collection and analysis to achieve a baseline against which future changes and the effectiveness of conservation measures can be evaluated and affirms the critical need to continue monitoring the distribution and status of native birds in NSW. Users can have confidence that the observed trends are real.

The publication has a strong focus on mapping and evaluation of reporting rates, range changes and trends in bird populations within NSW and, for each species, there are maps, graphs and tables summarising the reported distribution, breeding distribution, seasonal and historic range changes, together with monthly breeding records and monthly and annual reporting rates. The text provides a summary of what is known about the occurrence, distribution, breeding biology, movements, history and current status of each species. The information provides a better understanding of the current status and needs of each species and where to best concentrate conservation management efforts.

Publication of all three volumes has been an undeniably mammoth task and was achieved with dedication and contributions from many people resulting in almost 6 million records being captured. The authors dedicated themselves over many years to ensure publication: in doing so, they analysed the extensive quantitative dataset to identify trends and thereby provide invaluable information on which to develop an environmental policy to minimise future planning impacts, aid more cost-effective research, conservation and management programs and provide a baseline against which future changes and the effectiveness of conservation measures can be evaluated.