Modern birdwatchers and thousands of ‘citizen scientists’ now have access to a wide range of mobile phone technologies which have revolutionised how environmental scientists across many fields of interest collect and compile data.

Reports of bird sightings can now be sent almost instantly from the field which provides location and weather conditions of previously unimaginable quality and accuracy with the click of a button.

But in a modern world of technology, the Atlas of Australian Birds still remains a reliable source of knowledge

The first Atlas of Australian Birds was published in the 1980s and was based on records submitted from all over Australia by more than 3000 volunteer bird atlassers in the period 1977-81.

The current edition of the Atlas of Australian Birds covers the years 1998-2002 during which 3800 registered atlassers representing individuals, couples or birdwatching groups.

A total of 7000 atlassers submitted total of 279,000 bird surveys.

During that time, the record management systems gradually shifted from pencil and paper through to the early stages of digitisation.

BirdLife Southern Highlands has invited the National Manager of the Birdata Program to speak at its next information night on March 28.

Andrew Silcocks was heavily involved in producing the Second Edition of the National Bird Atlas.

An avid birder since childhood, Mr Silcocks completed a Marine Biology degree and spent the following 10 years working on some of the most remote islands around the British Isles.

Here he developed a lifelong interest in the island’s avifauna.

From Fair Isle and the Shetland Isles, to Beardsley Island off North Wales, his work has involved researching and monitoring seabirds, informing and guiding visiting naturalists and helping conserve island biodiversity.

He has been part of the BirdLife Australia management team for nearly 20 years.

In addition to his talk on Tuesday evening, Mr Silcocks will conduct “hands-on” workshop the following morning for anyone interested in learning how to use the Birdata App on their mobile phones.

Contact the organisers at blsh_program@birdlife.org.au to book a spot.