The bushfires have had a devastating impact on a lot of native animals on the Mid North Coast, but while the damage to koala populations and other land-based wildlife has been well publicised, less attention has been given to the effects the fires have had on bird species.
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However, experts believe the impact has been immense and potentially long-lasting.
Sean Dooley from Birdlife Australia, the country's largest bird conservation organisation, estimated that millions of birds would've died in the flames.
Fires to this extent take an enormous toll on wildlife.
- Sean Dooley, Birdlife Australia
Chief among these would've been smaller species who inhabited the lower areas of the bushland and were weaker fliers.
But with so much habitat destroyed, Mr Dooley said the loss of birdlife was likely to increase in the coming weeks.
"There's a greater toll among local birdlife in weeks after bushfires," he said.
"A lot will die from lack of food and exposure to predators."
Loss of habitat was also accounting for the spike in bird numbers in populated areas.
"The only remaining greenery in the landscape is in the townships," Mr Dooley said.
"You'll be getting more birds you wouldn't normally see."
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FAWNA Wildlife Rescue southern bird coordinator, Gail Whitwell, corroborated Mr Dooley's comments, saying a lot of birds had been coming into her yard at Rainbow Flat looking for food.
"We've been seeing different varieties of birds that we don't usually see," Ms Whitwell said.
"I think the biggest thing I can see is the loss of insects through these fires, there's just not much for them to eat."
Ms Whitwell has also had up to 32 birds in her care in the past week.
While she said spring and summer were generally busier times for her as a bird carer, she hadn't experienced anything like this.
"Up to 32 was quite an increase on what I've been used to," she said.
Although none of the birds in her care had been burnt, she believed a number of them had injured themselves while fleeing the fires.
There were also those who were undernourished or had been abandoned by their parents.
Among them were tawny frogmouths, crimson rosellas, kookaburras, magpies and butcher birds.
Ms Whitwell believed the ongoing drought had also taken a significant toll on local birdlife.
I just look at the devastation and it looks so bad.
- Gail Whitwell, FAWNA Wildlife Rescue
Mr Dooley said the fires in the region may have proved particularly devastating for a number of critically endangered species.
The regent honeyeater and the swift parrot both migrate north from southern regions of Australia in winter, and in recent years they have established a number of habitats on the Mid North Coast where they can feed on flowering eucalypts.
Mr Dooley said the birds had shifted from their usual winter habitats around the Great Dividing Range to the coast because the area was faring better in the drought.
However, with so much bushland lost, he believed next winter could see these already endangered species struggle to survive.
"There's at least one habitat area we know of that's been destroyed," he said.
Mr Dooley said Birdlife Australia would be sending teams in as soon as it was safe to see what damage had been done.
"We're really concerned," he said.
"It's just a tragic outcome."
In the meantime, he said residents could help out in a big way by doing a couple of simple things.
"What they can do immediately is have water out for the survivors; it's really important," he said.
"The other thing that would be really valuable in the next few weeks is to keep your cats indoors because these birds are really vulnerable."
He also encouraged those interested in helping to get involved with their local Birdlife Australia branch.
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