A new face on my list, but one that may not be around much longer..

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Dmenace
Dmenace's picture
A new face on my list, but one that may not be around much longer..

I spotted a small group of unfamiliar parrots feeding in the trees across the road last weekend, and was able to get a few reasonable shots from my balcony.

This colourful little beauty is Lathamus discolor, the Swift Parrot.  It's a migratory species that breeds only in Tasmania, between September and March, and then crosses Bass Strait to winter in the south-eastern states.  It is nomadic, following the flowering gums.

The biggest threat to the Swift is actually Sugar Gliders which were somehow introduced to Tasmania about a hundred years ago.  The gliders not only compete for nesting holes but predate on parrot nests, eating the eggs and the nesting female parrot.

http://theconversation.com/sugar-gliders-are-eating-swift-parrots-but-whats-to-blame-19555

The Swift Parrot is listed as either vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered across it's entire range

HelloBirdy
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Wow, that is very special to get them across the road from your place. It always causes a bit of a stir when a group comes through Canberra.

Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera

Dmenace
Dmenace's picture

Hi Ryu,

In the ACT they're listed as 'critically endangered'.  Over the winter I've spotted several small flocks from a distance that have the same 'like a bat outta hell' flight characteristic', so hopefully that augurs well.

Cheers.

dwatsonbb
dwatsonbb's picture

The Swift a parrot is known as a "breeding endemic", that is while its is found elsewhere, it only breeds in Tasmania. You are so lucky to have these guys. The Sugar Gliders certainly are a threat, but even so the wildlife organisation I volunteer for continually save sugar gliders. They are introduced to Tasmania(sugar gliders) but I think the  cuteness value takes over (sugar gliders). Nice photos and thanks for sharing. These guys are heading the same way as the Orange Bellied Parrot, unless we do something soon.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

Dmenace
Dmenace's picture

Yes, DW.  I did state all that in my post, and I understand you point.

Would it not be possible to trap Sugar Gliders in Tasmania and bring them to Victoria where there is a properly coordinated Sugar Glider recovery programme in several National Parks.

Methinks the only impediment to such a plan is a lack of funding, which really means a lack of goverment concern.

timrp
timrp's picture

Wow what a great bird to have so close to you, I still haven't seen them before. 

dwatsonbb
dwatsonbb's picture

You are right on both fronts, lack of funding and concern by governments. Sugar gliders also have a cuteness factor, which often gets in the way of the fact that they are exotic to our island.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

Woko
Woko's picture

The cuteness factor is one of numerous factors leading to extinction for quite a few species of animals & plants so I think your idea has considerable merit, Dmenace. Significant parts of the Mt Lofty Ranges are faced with environmental devastation because most people see the introduced Koalas which live there as cute. 

By the way, would destruction of forests in Tasmania be a factor in the Swift Parrot's struggle to survive?

Also by the way, I'm not sure that Dmenace's idea is hamstrung by lack of money. Part of the $9 billion which annually subsides the fossil fuel industry could be easily earmarked for relocating Sugar Gliders (into lovingly restored habitat, of course).

Dmenace
Dmenace's picture

I grew up in the Top End.  It took decades to convince locals that the water buffalo was not an NT icon, but rather, an exoctic pest that made a mess of the wetlands.

It was a messy and expensive business eradicating them, but it's been done.

Woko
Woko's picture

I didn't know that, Dmenace. That's wonderful news! Perhaps this important environmental advance wasn't deemed worthy of mention in the media. Or perhaps I was asleep on the job.

Dmenace
Dmenace's picture

It was very messy - shooting them from helicopters.

Reflex
Reflex's picture

Dmenace wrote:

I grew up in the Top End.  It took decades to convince locals that the water buffalo was not an NT icon, but rather, an exoctic pest that made a mess of the wetlands.

It was a messy and expensive business eradicating them, but it's been done.

If only that was true.

The difficult terrain made full eradication impossible. For many years, the feral buffalo has supported several industries: meat for human consumption (local and international), pet meat, hides, horns, animals for live export and game for hunters. Over nine decades from the 1880s, some 700 000 animals were harvested, on foot, from horseback and eventually from four-wheel drive vehicles, but the feral buffalo continued to multiply and spread. Some Aboriginal communities in Kakadu depend on the buffalo as a food source and have negotiated permission to maintain a domesticated herd. Farming of re-domesticated herds is increasing.Not only for food as a domesticated animal but for hunting for the wealthy few who want to shoot them.

http://www.australiawidesafaris.com.au/

Samford Valley Qld.

Dmenace
Dmenace's picture

It's been along time since I've been home.

I was aware that there were still some domesticated herds.  But was under the impression that the number of feral buffalo had been reduced to, at least, manageable levels back in the 80s/90s.

Woko
Woko's picture

I'm wondering, Reflex, if it was more a lack of strong commitment than the difficult terrain which made impossible the eradication of water buffalo. 

Also, I'm intrigued that there are aboriginal communities which depend on the introduced water buffalo as a food source. What happened to their traditional food sources?

Reflex
Reflex's picture

I honestly don't know the answers to those questions Woko but I do believe the sheer vastness of the area and the fact that the Water Buffalo found the conditions perfect for breeding made it a difficult animal to eradicate. 

I visited Point Stuart Abattoirs in 1981 where they were rounding up and  processing hundreds of Buffalo a day. A skilled slaughterman at the time could earn $350 a day. It was eventually closed in 1987. I even had a guided tour of the abbatoir with the resident vet whilst it was working (not a popular man at the time as a stickler for humane treatment. On more than one occasion he awoke to find his Landcruiser with four flat tyres). All the meat in those days was sent to Germany, some said it was going to McDonald's restaurants but whether that was true or not I don't know.

The site is now a Wilderness lodge and caters for fishing, sightseeing and birding.

The website is worth a look and if you click on the location tab you will see Water Buffalo grazing in wet lands. http://www.pointstuart.com.au/tours/wildlife.html

Samford Valley Qld.

Woko
Woko's picture

Very interesting, Reflex. The humane vet seems to have suffered the fate of many who get in the road of profiteers who see anything as fair game. Protesters against vandalism of valuable natural forests in Tasmania have suffered similar events.

Too bad the Pt Stuart Water Buffalo seem to be seen as a normal part of the wildlife. I wonder if the good folk who run Pt Stuart educate their clientele about the damage done by Water Buffalo to the wetlands.

On a broader front, I wonder how  many tourists come away from their wilderness & natural environment experiences with a deeper understanding of the natural environment & our relationship with it. Does anyone know of any research having been done on this?

WhistlingDuck

Great sighting and great photos - good to see another post from you too.

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