Call to help black cockatoos
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 2:28 
You have a Carnaby Cockatoo In the Gum tree? Tell us! Image by Sandra ChungSPRING has returned to the Wheatbelt and so have the Carnaby’s black cockatoos as they head to their nesting sites to breed.
Carnaby’s black cockatoos are icons of the South West, but they are in danger of disappearing. Influences such as habitat loss, poaching, persecution, car strikes and competition for nesting hollows have resulted in a halving of the population of the Carnaby’s black cockatoo in the last 50 years and numbers continue fall.
“There was a time when flocks of up to 5000 birds ‘blackened the sky’, but in present times flocks in the hundreds are considered large,” Birds Australia conservation officer Claire Bartron said.
“These large black birds with their white tail panels and distinctive call make their presence known, leading to the common misconception that they are abundant; but did you know that you are likely seeing the same individual birds each year?”
Carnaby’s black cockatoos are longlived, living up to 50 years, and each year they return to the same nesting site to breed.
These highly social birds mate for life and with each pair only raising one chick a year, most of which do not survive to age two.
“The situation is looking increasingly bleak for these charismatic cockatoos – but you can help,” Claire said.
“The Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo Recovery Project, headed by Birds Australia, is working to conserve the species by protecting nesting and foraging habitat throughout the Wheatbelt.
“By reporting any sightings you can help us find nesting and feeding sites so that we may work with the community to undertake conservation action.
“If you are interested in doing more, we are always looking for volunteers to assist with monitoring and rehabilitation activities and if you are landholder with potential Carnaby’s black cockatoo habitat and a desire to help, we want to hear from you.”
To report a sighting, become a volunteer or learn more visit the website at www.birdsaustralia.com.au/carnaby or contact conservation officer Claire Bartron on 9881 9223 or 0428 762 292.
Alternatively, visit the website at birdsaustralia.gaiaresources.com. au/BDRS/home.htm to sign up and report sightings.
This project is funded by the WA government through the state natural resource management program.