Bring Back the Glossy Black!
Community Groups in the Riverina come together to assist in the protection of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo
Collaborations - NSWLP-011-036
The issue
Glossy Black-Cockatoos (GBC) are vulnerable in NSW with climate change posing a very real threat to the birds and vegetation they eat. The GBC are fussy eaters, they feed on different species of She-oak Allocasuarina veticillata, depending on the region. In some areas, birds may feed on only a single she-oak species. In Narrandera, Leeton, Griffith, Rankins Springs, Galore and The Rock the birds are being monitored by the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists, Lachlan Fold Wildlife Action Group and Narrandera Landcare Group. During the drought birds were flying to lower lying trees in the towns to feed. The bushfires also caused birds to feed in more unusual locations.
The solution
Murrumbidgee Landcare and Biodiversity Conservation Trust have partnered to improve long term biodiversity throughout NSW. As part of this project the two groups ran a GBC day to encourage landholders and interested people to conserve and plant she-oaks. Three groups in the region who have been working on the GBC population for many years joined to help educate the attendees on the requirements of the bird into the future. Also, a very welcome guest was Researcher Matt Cameron who came to share knowledge on GBC habitat, identification and feeding habit. His research was on ‘Group size and feeding rates of Glossy Black-Cockatoos in central New South Wales’.
The impact
Glenn Currie and volunteers from Narrandera Landcare grew 1000 Allocasuarina veticillata to distribute free to Landowners in the Bidgee Irrigation Landcare Region. The free trees and guards will be planted in the area to provide a safety net of plants for GBC to feed on. Matt Cameron believes groups of 5-10 plants are well suited to providing feed for the GBC. He also believes collecting cones for seed propagation from preferred feed trees is likely to produce plants which are higher yielding. Feed trees can be identified by the birds as chewing’s (leftover parts of the cones) which can be seen at the base of feed trees.
Key facts
- Climate change will impact the feed trees for Glossy Black-Cockatoos
- Large suitable trees (dead or alive) with hollows provide important nesting habitat for Glossy Black-Cockatoos.