Nest boxes egg parrots on to breed in Orange
Monday, October 17, 2011 at 11:20 
SUPERB IDEA: NetPro service provider David Delsorte installs a nesting box high in a tree as part of a project to provide superb parrots with a nesting place in Orange's woodland areas. ORANGE conservationists hope nesting boxes for the superb parrot may play a part in helping the vulnerable species to survive.
Dozens of large nesting boxes are being installed in Bloomfield Park and the Hinton Reserve in an attempt to provide a safe haven for the brightly-coloured birds, with the project having the potential to provide information on nesting to conservation groups around Australia.
Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society volunteer Peter West said the society had identified superb parrots in the Orange area for about four years, with recent evidence of nesting.
“Nobody knows whether the nesting boxes will work or not. If they do there'll be recommendations for landcare groups and conservation groups around Australia from this," he said.
Superb parrots migrate from northern NSW to southern NSW each year and will pass through Orange over the next few months.
They prefer open woodlands including box gum woodland communities for breeding and habitat, and use acacia trees and native grasslands for feeding.
Clearing of woodlands, removal of hollow trees for fire wood, and being struck by a vehicle have threatened the species, with scientists estimating that there are as few as 2000 breeding pairs left in the wild.
A NSW Landcare grant is funding the nest box project and the groups involved have included Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society, Rotary Club of Orange, 2nd Scout Group of Orange, Green Corps, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Orange City Council and NetPro staff.
Mr West said the woodland areas in south Orange provided an important habitat for native species.
“We're hoping that the woodland communities in south Orange will be increasingly protected. We'd like to see a greater awareness of the value that the woodland communities provide and the threatened species that use these areas,”" he said.