By Clemency Whittles | Coordinator
Over the past few months, our volunteers have been busy rehabilitating the black cockatoo habitat across Perth, and preparing sites for major re-vegetation projects. Since March, over 140 volunteers have helped to remove an amazing 2.7 hectares of invasive weed species from bush land areas such as Allen Park, Shenton Park, Bibra Lake and reserves along the Swan Estuary. These sites provide habitat critical to the Carnabys Black Cockatoo and the Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo.
In early April, our teams took part in the Great Cocky Count for the fifth year running! This is a citizen science project developed by Birdlife Australia where bird enthusiasts, the conservation oriented and keen community volunteers band together every year to count the comings and goings of cockatoos from known roosting sites at twilight. The result is a snapshot of Carnabys and Forest Red-tailed populations across Perth and the South West, providing valuable long-term data that assists with ongoing management of these beautiful birds.
We are continuing our rehabilitation efforts at The Orchard, near the Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre. 28 volunteers assisted with 42 hours of weed removal, which was further supported by students during our school holiday program who helped map out the vegetation. Volunteers were also treated to a walk-and-talk tour at the Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre, and got to meet several Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, including cheeky Fluffbum and affectionate Betty in the interactive enclosure.
On the 24th & 27th April, our Training Coordinator, Richard McDowell, visited volunteer teams at Lesmurdie Falls National Park and Yule Brook, both significant sites for feeding and roosting black cockatoos. Richard showed the team how to identify invasive weed species to effectively contribute to restoration and rehabilitation in these areas.
As winter approaches, our teams will start on re-vegetation projects that will add ecological value to remaining bushland areas.
We would like to thank our supporters, donors and our volunteers. Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to make a difference to this important cause. If you are able to donate again, or share our story, we would really appreciate it – every effort will help us to continue achieving these great conservation results and give these beautiful birds a better chance at coming back from the brink of extinction.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
