2022 TORRESIAN IMPERIAL-PIGEON COUNT

The coast count project is gathering long-term data about Torresian Imperial-Pigeon (TIPs) in Queensland.

These birds, also known as Pied Imperial-Pigeon or Torres Strait Pigeon, have a hugely important ecological role in dispersing seeds of our native forest fruits. As local birders know, TIPs build their nests on offshore islands that lack suitable food, so they fly to the mainland coast to feed each day. They usually return to their islands in the late afternoon, giving us an excellent opportunity to count them as they fly from the coast out to sea.

The coast count project has expanded greatly from a small start in 2007. We now have count sites spread out over more than 800 km of the Queensland coast. 

Some sites have been counted only once or twice, while other sites have had consistent coverage for many years and thus provide very important data. It will become even more valuable if we have enough volunteers to repeat the counts on successive afternoons at important sites.

More than 200 people have done coast counts since 2007. Many thanks to all involved and huge thanks to the wonderful people who have kept on counting over the years!

We urgently need more participants for the next round of counts. 

Dates for the 2022 Count are 18, 19 and 20 November. There are three counts on each afternoon from 4pm to 7pm. You can do a single afternoon of your choice, or more than one.  

Please consider contributing one afternoon of your time to help keep these counts going! Email our count coordinator Rebel Warren at rebelwarren51@gmail.com to express interest or request more details.