The Nest Record Scheme is Birds Australia's longest-running bird survey, documenting all aspects of bird breeding throughout Australia. In this it has been very successful, and its contribution can be seen in any recent breeding text in the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB). Often the scheme is the only source of basic biological information such as breeding season, description of nest and nest location, clutch size, incubation and fledging periods, parental care and behaviour, and breeding success.

However, over the last decade or so, participation in the scheme declined and resources were not available to address this problem. Recently, with thanks to the Vera Moore Foundation, the Norman Wettenhall Foundation and the Friends of Birds Australia, all this has changed and the database and scheme is currently being updated and improved.

Meanwhile, please remember that anyone can participate, and forms are available for download or by mail. You can record as little or as much detail as you like - even records of fledglings out of the nest can be submitted. The main thing is to record what you see, before this information is lost from memory or hidden away in notebooks, so that it can contribute to our understanding of breeding in Australian birds.

Send completed NRS forms to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at the BA National Office.

Downloads

NRS Instructions 
NRS Survey Form 
NRS Colonial Breeding Form