Sean Dooley and Laura Murphy-Oates examine Australians’ special relationships with birds, as listeners call in to tell their best avian anecdotes. But are we looking after our diverse birdlife well enough?

You can vote for Australia’s bird of the year here.

BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley has written about Australia’s record on conservation here and Richard Flanagan has written beautifully about the birds in his life, Alexis Wright tells the story of her pet cockie Pirate, while First Dog on the Moon questions if the poll has been taken over by cockatoos.

You can find all the 2019 Australian bird of the year stories here.

This episode mentions suicide. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.