REWILDING | NIGHT PARROT
Source: Mysterious Australian Night Parrots in natural environment. Source: www.australiangeographic.com.au. Image © Copyright. Credit: Steve Murphy, Charles Darwin University
With the Night Parrot, we have the rarest of circumstances – a second chance to save what we thought was lost forever.
The Night Parrot is one of the most elusive and mysterious birds in the world. A nocturnal and mostly ground-dwelling parrot that’s endemic to Australia. For around 100 years it was thought extinct, now we have a second chance to save it!
First recorded in 1845, the last living specimen was collected in Western Australia in 1912. It then disappeared, with no confirmed records of the bird between 1912 and 1979.A trickle of fleeting but unconfirmed reports from across its former range and two dead specimens found in Queensland in 1990 and 2006 only added to the bird’s mystique.
In 2013 naturalist and wildlife photographer John Young captured several photos and a few seconds of video footage of a live bird in western Queensland.
After a search spanning many years, John was finally rewarded by an incredibly close-up encounter with a Night Parrot – often considered the ‘holy grail’ for birdwatchers and naturalists.
(John Young)
Global interest in the discovery was so intense that the exact location of this only-known population was kept secret to protect the birds from disturbance.
Second chances like this don’t come along very often. Bush Heritage has stepped in and taken a leading role in ensuring Australia don’t lose this elusive bird again. Bush Heritage was approached to help because of the expertise in conservation land management. Bush Heritage now established the 56,000 hectares Pullen Reserve, to protect the rediscovered population of endangered Night Parrots. The population size has been estimated at between 30 and 100 individuals.
Habitat is the key to protecting the bird. The fact they’ve persisted in the area suggests that it’s suitable, yet we know there are very real threats.
As a ground-dwelling, the nocturnal bird they’re the ideal prey for feral cats. We also need to implement a fire management plan, as the bird’s preferred spinifex habitat is particularly susceptible to unmanaged wildfire. Without action to intervene and reduce these risks, the future of this small population is precarious.
A Recovery Team has been established, comprising our own ecologists and some of Australia’s leading scientists. The team is guiding research and the planning and implementation of a recovery program to save the bird from extinction, including:
- The mapping of its habitat
- Securing the site to ensure there’s minimal human disturbance
- Developing and implementing a plan for mitigating wildfire risk
- Implementing feral predator controls, and
- Ongoing ecological monitoring.
Source: www.theaustralian.com.au. Night Parrot Finding Quashed.
With green and gold feathers that blend with its surroundings, the Night Parrot is quintessentially Australian and the chance to save them can be seen as emblematic of something much bigger.
Australia has lost so many native plants and animals since European settlement. With the Night Parrot, we have the rarest of circumstances – a second chance to save what we thought was lost forever.
