Swift Parrots in the news
Posted on 10 November, 2015 by Connecting Country
A few Connecting Country members alerted us to a recent segment on the ABC science program, Catalyst, about the plight of Swift Parrots.
Swift Parrots are one of the iconic species of the Box-Ironbark region. The Mount Alexander shire and surrounds is one of its favoured mainland foraging locations, and its particularly well known from the forests of Muckleford. Local naturalist Deb Worland has released a short documentary video about the species – The Swift Parrots of Muckleford – and its often a focus of Natural Newstead blogs (click here). On the mainland, it’s a migratory visitor during the winter months for non-breeding activities only.
All Swift Parrot breeding activity occurs in Tasmania during the spring-summer months, and this is where the Catalyst story focuses. There is concern that the species could disappear entirely within 16 or so years without dramatic intervention. While habitat loss, fragmentation and a scarcity of suitable hollow trees for nesting have long been known as threatening processes for the Swift Parrot, this program introduces a new threat. I won’t give away the unexpected twist here, but I encourage you to watch the story online (click here for the Catalyst website). (NB: However, it is worth noting that this is new threat is not relevant to the mainland foraging grounds of the Swift Parrot).
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