Flocking to restore superb parrot flyways
NRM NEWS - MARCH 2020
By Shanna Rogers
Senior Land Services Officer
A new project is about to launch in the Mulwala-Savernake area to restore superb parrot foraging habitat.
The superb parrot is a large, attractive parrot, with a distinctive yellow neck and forehead and an orange blaze under the chin.
It nests in river red gum tree hollows along the Murray and Edward/Kolety rivers. Each day flocks of superb parrots fly out to forage in nearby grassy grey box, yellow box, black box, white cypress pine and Boree woodlands.
The superb parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) is listed as vulnerable in NSW and Australia. There are fewer than 5,000 – 10,000 birds remaining in the wild.
The mains threats to the superb parrot are the loss of hollow-bearing trees, clearing of woodlands and vehicle strike while feeding on roadside grain spills.
This project will work with landholders to restore foraging habitat and flyways for superb parrots by:
- protecting remnants containing hollow-bearing trees by fencing and excluding grazing stock
- planting and direct seeding of known food plants for superb parrots, such as gold-dust wattle, silver wattle, Deane’s wattle, wallaby grass, wedge-leaf hopbush and creeping saltbush
- creating revegetation flyways to improve connectivity between foraging and breeding habitat, including paddock trees with hollows where possible.
Contact Shanna Rogers, 02 6051 2241, 0457 733 261 for more information about the project.
This project has been assisted by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.