About BirdLife Australia

Welcome to your new bird organisation — BirdLife Australia!

At AGMs held on 21 May, members of Birds Australia and Bird Observation & Conservation Australia (BOCA) voted a resounding ‘yes’ to merge our two organisations. Since then, work has begun to create our new entity.

The BirdLife Australia Board had its first meeting on Saturday 28 May. It comprises Birds Australia and BOCA Board members and is chaired by Gerard Early, retired Deputy Secretary of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Graeme Hamilton (ex-Birds Australia CEO) was appointed as CEO, and John Barkla and Barry Baker as Vice-Presidents. The Board approved a six-month work plan to have BirdLife Australia operational by 2012. Over the next six months, Birds Australia and BOCA will focus on continuing their important work while implementing the merger and amalgamating operations.

One of the first actions is to consult with Birds Australia and BOCA groups and branches to examine how to most effectively bring together our networks of local bird enthusiasts, educators, researchers and conservationists.

For the rest of 2011 we will work to integrate our conservation, education and members programs. We’ll also develop a new BirdLife Australia logo, website and publications.

We will update this page to reflect developments as and when they occur - we expect the new organisation to be fully functional early in 2012. Whilst a new website will be developed for the new organisation, some changes will be made to this site, such as incorporating BA's network of Regional Groups into the map of BOCA Branches.

About BOCA

Bird Observation & Conservation Australia (BOCA) is a major birding and conservation organisation including 61 Branches, Affiliates and Special Interest Groups with members all over Australia (this figure has now been updated to include Birds Australia Groups and Special Interest Groups). BOCA has been established for more than 100 years, and, until recently, was known as The Bird Observers Club of Australia. BOCA functions as an independent, non-profit environmental charity, which relies on subscriptions, donations, hundreds of volunteers and a small team of dedicated staff.

BOCA runs birdwatching activities, outings, camps, interstate and overseas trips and undertakes bird surveys 

BOCA provides educational workshops and teaching resources and has an ongoing commitment to, and active participation in, conservation of Australian native birds and their habitats. The organisation publishes a quarterly news magazine, The Bird Observer, distributed free to all members and a subscription-only scientific journal Australian Field Ornithology which is published quarterly.

In 2005 we celebrated our Centenary with a wide range of special events, displays and awards.

So - why not join BOCA , enjoy the benefits of membership, help BOCA to spread the word of the pleasures of birdwatching and make your contribution to the preservation of the uniqueness of Australian birdlife for generations to come.

Links to other items in About BOCA