Volunteers and citizen scientists can make an important contribution to bird monitoring and threatened species conservation projects. Members of BirdLife Australia’s Threatened Bird Network (TBN), a programme which encouraged community participation in conservation projects for threatened birds, were surveyed in 2013 to gain an insight into their demographics and volunteering motivation and preferences. In the 2013 survey, a large proportion of survey respondents were aged between 55 and 74 years old and over half were retired, representing a higher proportion of retired participants than found in a similar study of TBN members in 2000. A large proportion (69%) of respondents had volunteered with TBN projects (occasionally or at least once per year), despite being involved with other environmental groups. Respondents that volunteered mostly preferred short‐term (one day) field‐based volunteer activities, with nearly half also preferring to travel 50 km or less to participate in a project. Less than one third of respondents had never volunteered with TBN projects; this was attributed to not enough projects close to home, time restrictions and lack of transport. Preferences of volunteers in the 2013 survey were similar to those undertaken in 2000 for the majority of responses, including the preference for the activity occurring outdoors, the importance of regular feedback from the organiser, the moderate importance placed on seeing target species and the lack of importance for the provision of transport. A higher importance was placed on the following factors in the 2013 survey responses compared to 2000 (potentially influenced by the higher number of retirees): Having activities closer to home, the activity not being too physically demanding, the opportunity for free time during the activity, good weather was predicted on the day of the activity, existing skills were adequate for the activity, and accommodation was provided if required.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚大型国家鸟类保护计划中志愿者的特征和偏爱

志愿者和公民科学家可以为鸟类监测和受威胁物种保护项目做出重要贡献。2013年，对澳大利亚鸟类保护协会的“鸟类威胁鸟网络”（TBN）的一项计划进行了调查，该计划鼓励社区参与受威胁鸟类的保护项目，以了解其人口统计资料以及志愿服务的动机和偏好。在2013年的调查中，很大一部分受访者的年龄在55至74岁之间，其中一半以上已经退休，与2000年对TBN成员的类似研究相比，退休参与者的比例更高。很大一部分（69％ ）的受访者自愿参与了TBN项目（偶尔或每年至少一次），尽管他们参与了其他环保组织。自愿参加调查的人大多喜欢短期（一天）的野外志愿者活动，近一半的人也更喜欢走50公里或更短的距离来参加一个项目。不到三分之一的受访者从未自愿参与过TBN项目；这归因于离家较近的项目不足，时间紧迫以及交通不便。对于大多数答复，2013年调查中的志愿者偏好与2000年相似，包括对户外活动的偏好，组织者定期反馈的重要性，对目标物种的重视程度中等以及缺乏对提供运输的重要性。