Western Ground Parrot nest discovered in Cape Arid

JANUARY 15 2019 - 3:21PM

Jake Dietsch

Local News

A nest of the western ground parrot was discovered for the first time in more than 100 years in Cape Arid National Park.

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions principle research scientist Allan Burbidge said the department had monitored the Western Ground Parrot population and managed known threats.

“This is the first time a nest has been found in the wild,” he said. 

“The species formerly occurred along the south coast from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Arid, and in a few near-coastal areas south of Geraldton. 

“It is now confined to heathlands in Cape Arid National Park and the adjacent Nuytsland Nature Reserve.”

A small number of Western Ground Parrots are in Perth Zoo, the only birds of the species in captivity.

The discovery was made by a department research team in November 2018.

Mr Burbidge said the main threat to the parrot was introduced predators and bushfires.

A fire started by lightning on January 13, 2019 went on to burn through important parts of the parrot’s habitat.

Parks and Wildlife Services said the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions would evaluate the impact of the fire on the parrot once the fire was contained.

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Foreign donations prop up Australia's endangered parrot response

Western ground parrot needs millions spent on it, but volunteers say Coalition is trying to shift costs to not-for-profits

Lisa Cox

Mon 18 Jun 2018 23.19 BSTFirst published on Mon 18 Jun 2018 19.00 BST

The Turnbull government helped broker a $200,000 agreement for a German not-for-profit to fund conservation work for a critically endangered Australian parrot, bolstering criticism it is shifting the cost of protecting threatened species to community and philanthropic organisations.

The western ground parrot is one of only three ground nesting parrots found in Australia and is one of 20 birds the government has committed to helping as part of its threatened species strategy.

But the parrot is receiving just $80,000 in species-specific funding from the federal government through its threatened species recovery fund to construct new facilities for “a captive breeding trial at Perth zoo”.

The environment department says additional money to support the birds is coming from a $1.7m feral cat baiting program in WA and an agreement it “brokered” with a German parrot association for $200,000 for a western ground parrot project.

The Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots, a Berlin-based not for profit, agreed to provide the funds in 2017 for work by the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to increase feral animal control, “monitor existing populations and enhance captive breeding methods”, an environment and energy spokeswoman said.

Conservation groups say the international donation is an example of the government increasingly trying to move the cost of threatened species work onto volunteers and charities and at a time when it has been trying to stop not-for-profits from accepting overseas donations for political advocacy work.

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Western Australia's rarest bird species headed for extinction

December 16, 2015 by Lisa Morrison, Sciencenetwork Wa

One of the last known populations of WA's rarest bird species is tipped to disappear from a global biodiversity hotspot unless action is taken to address climate change.

A species distribution model (SDM) for the critically endangered western ground parrot (Pzeoporus flaviventris) was developed in July by Edith Cowan University School of Natural Sciences postdoctoral research fellow Dr Shaun Molloy.

The aim was to determine if climate change could be a major contributor to the dramatic decline of the species, which has an estimated population of 110 birds at three sites, including Fitzgerald River National Park, 180kms northeast of Albany.

SDMs correlate the presence of a species with variables such as temperature and rainfall, to determine the species' baseline potential distribution.

By comparing the species' baseline model with predicted climate change scenarios, maps can be created indicating how the species' distribution is likely to change.

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Fire Destroys 90 Percent of Rare Bird's Habitat in Australia

Only about 140 western ground parrots remained before last month’s devastating fires

By John R. Platt on December 3, 2015

One of the world’s most endangered birds faces an uncertain future this month after massive bushfires in Australia destroyed at least 90 percent of the species’ habitat.

Only about 140 western ground parrots (Pezoporus flaviventris) remained before the fires. The birds—one of just five ground-dwelling parrot species on the planet—depend on dense vegetation for their nests. Many of their known nesting sites were destroyed in fires that ripped through the region around Cape Arid National Park last month. The bushfires destroyed 30,000 acres of crops, killed four people, and burned 15,000 livestock animals to death.

Officials for Western Australia’s Department of Parks and Wildlife told the Australian Broadcasting Company that two “pockets” of the birds’ habitat did not burn and that automated recording devices indicate that an unknown number of the birds remain alive in those sections. Two birds—a male and a female—were rescued before fires completely overran the park and are now recovering at Perth Zoo, which already has five other parrots in their collection.

The fires also reportedly took a toll on the local population of another critically endangered species, a mouse-like kangaroo called the Gilbert's potoroo (Potorous gilbertii).

Fire is a normal part of the ground parrot’s ecosystem, although the birds prefer areas that have not been burned for at least 40 years and which have a high level of low-growing shrubs. The birds can fly, but they spend most of their time on the ground, so it seems unlikely that they could have escaped the flames that hit their nests.

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Film in fight to save rare bird

Angela Pownall

November 2, 2014, 3:04 pm

The battle to save the western ground parrot from extinction - one of WA's most endangered creatures with only 140 left - is heading to the small screen.

Conservationists, who have been working for years to try to save the bird from its seemingly unavoidable fate, launched a campaign this week to raise money to make a documentary about its plight.

Once widespread in WA coastal areas from north of Perth to east of Esperance, the western ground parrot population has shrunk dramatically and it can now be found only in Cape Arid National Park east of Esperance.

Its penchant for spending most of its life on the ground, where it also lays eggs and nests, has led to the parrot falling victim to feral predators and wildfires.

The Friends of the Western Ground Parrot group approached WA filmmaker Jennene Riggs to make the documentary, which will cost about $250,000 to produce for television.

Ms Riggs applied to the Documentary Australia Foundation for backing and the project was approved as suitable for philanthropic donations this week.

There has been a radical decline in western ground parrot numbers over the past few years.

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Conservationist Raising Funds To Help Survey Endangered Western Ground Parrot

Nicola McCaskill has a special interest in endangered birds, and wants to head out to The Fitzgerald River National Park to study the western ground parrot.

The western ground parrot (Pezoporus flaviventris) is an exceedingly rare bird. This Australian native is named for its tendency to stick close to the ground, even while in flight. Its status as an endangered species is the result of wildfires and non-native predators like feral cats. With only around 140 left in the wild, the conservation efforts of those like Nicola McCaskill have become extremely important.

McCaskill is an Australian conservationist with a special interest in endangered birds. "My education in Australian wildlife began with BARN, The Brisbane Animal Rescue Network,” she said. "I learned about native wild bird species and hand reared a clutch of magpies for release as well as another 'black-and-white' species, the currawong.” In addition, she also has volunteer experience with bird sanctuaries and is involved with different avicultural events.

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Secretive parrot under Perth Zoo surveillance

Perth Zoo's most recent arrivals are so secretive their keepers are using an elaborate CCTV set-up to figure out what they eat, with the bigger goal of breeding the rare birds.

The Western ground parrot, one of only five ground-dwelling parrots in the world, is on the brink of extinction with fewer than 140 believed to be left in the wild.

Three weeks ago, seven of the birds were transferred from a secluded enclosure on Western Australia's south coast, where they were being studied, to Perth Zoo.

Australian wildlife supervisor Arthur Ferguson said the parrots were highly active in "the twilight zone" before staff were on site but were otherwise very shy, so keepers relied heavily on CCTV to monitor the birds' behaviour.

"So little is known about ground parrots we're having to figure out a lot about them as we go," Mr Ferguson said.

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