![]() I asked BirdLife Australia’s Head of Conservation, Samantha Vine, to co-author a state-of-play for each of the 12 parrots that had been identified by the Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010 as being either Endangered or Critically Endangered to gauge where we were at. It seemed that everywhere we looked, Australian parrots were in trouble. Swift Parrot counts were down and Golden-shouldered Parrot numbers were dropping in their last reliable stronghold on Cape York Peninsula. Despite enormous efforts, Orange-bellied Parrots were continuing to decline with counts dropping below 100 individuals, while on the other side of the country a similar plight was befalling the Western Ground Parrot. We were also dealing with reports of Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoos losing more and more habitat to urbanisation and mining around Perth. Around the same time, BirdLife Australia was focused on attempting to resurrect the dramatically declining population of the Norfolk Island Green Parrot which, having already been brought back from the edge of extinction once, was now thought to be down to as few as 46 birds with perhaps only 11 females of breeding age remaining. While we knew that the Night Parrot probably wasn’t extinct, due to the fact that, rather ironically, two dead birds had been found in Western Queensland in 19, the news that controversial naturalist John Young had managed to find and photograph a live Night Parrot enthralled the bird world. One of the highlights of my time as editor of Australian Birdlife was publishing the first high-resolution photograph of a Night Parrot on the cover of the September issue. To receive our Australian BirdLife magazine, become a member today. This story originally ran in our Spring 2023 issue. Now Sean Dooley reflects on our progress-and the failing nature laws that are pushing our parrots to the brink. You and we have the right to know, learn, read, hear what and how we deem appropriate.Īll donations are kept completely private and confidential.Parrots in Peril : an update Ten years ago, Australian Birdlife published an overview of the conservation status of Australia’s parrots, finding th at 12 could plunge into extinction without conservation action. Our website is open to any citizen journalists and organizations who want to contribute, publish high-quality insights or send media releases to improve public access to impartial information. It is a bumpy road with all sorties of difficulties. We endeavour to provide the community with real-time access to true unfiltered news firsthand from primary sources. This tendency is not only totally unacceptable, but also to a degree frightening). According to independent assessment, about 98% of the media sector is held by three conglomerates. Since the trend of consolidation is and has historically been upward, fewer and fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media in our country. Media ownership in Australia is one of the most concentrated in the world ( Learn more). We don't put up a paywall – we believe in free access to information of public interest. Well, unlike many news organisations, we have no sponsors, no corporate or ideological interests. Results from the project will be used to inform future actions preserve and protect gang-gang cockatoo. Gang-gang cockatoos have been recommended for listing as an endangered species by the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee. ![]() Local community group, Macarthur Birds, have partnered with Council on the project. ![]() "Gang-gang cockatoos are an iconic local species which we have all grown up seeing in our local bushland and in the trees on our street and parks which is why they feature heavily in our Bushcare logo," he said. "It will also make a difference by helping us understand more about the local population," Cr Brticevic said. "This is a great way to add a bit of fun and try a bit of birdwatching while out walking or exercising near your home," Mayor George Brticevic said. ![]() Gang-gang cockatoos are easily identifiable by their bright red faces, sooty grey wings and croaky calls. People can upload their photos of the cockatoos to the citizen scientist website iNaturalist to help Council gather data on the prevalence and locations of gang-gang cockatoos in the Campbelltown area. Campbelltown residents out exercising or walking are being encouraged to keep a look out for gang-gang cockatoos and snap a picture as part of a new citizen science project. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |