I'm rather excited that I'm now living on the NSW central coast and look forward to the arrival of Swift Parrots this year (provided they turn up), having read previous year's reports of their whereabouts not far from where I live. However I really have no idea exactly where I might find them, having only suburb names in the reports.
Is it any time from now that they might be seen up here, or is it a little too early yet?
Hi Lorikeet. I'm unfamiliar with the swift parrot since I live well outside its range. Out of curiosity I opened the 1st edition of The Atlas of Australian Birds to page 269 & found that swift parrots only breed in Tasmania but in around March most of them migrate to the mainland, returning in September. So I reckon you'll see them any second now. No doubt someone with far more experience of swift parrots than I can add to or change this picture.
A sighting posted for the south coast today. Just hope I can find them when (if) they arrive!
Hope you find some soon! I LOVE swift parrots and, even though they all come down here for summer, I've still found them hard to find so far, and it's mostly been pot luck!! They are highly nomadic, so your best bet would be to keep digging for info re local spots, or to stalk areas with flowering gums... I highly recommend learning their call, it's unmistakable once you know it and can aid greatly in finding them.
Make sure you take and post photos if you do find some!
Cheers,
Scott.
I watched a DVD of Swift Parrots yesterday, they are beautiful. They look similar to Musk Lorikeets. but have longer tails, smaller red crown, and when they fly, they show red under their wings.