Orange-bellied Parrots in South Australia (1 Viewer)

Forenote: This might have been more suitable in the Local Patches section.

Pretty much I have been influenced (too much?) by the several news articles on the "Extinction of the OBP". The average time they will survive in the wild according to these reports is but a few years, and there is virtually no chance of introducing a migratory species into the wild.

So, as a birdwatcher who has yet to see one, this scares me. I want to see one of these birds more than ever. Tell me, where do these birds go and at what times of year (I know at some point they turn up at Werribee but that's all I know)?

Regards,
James

Hi James, I think these links will help you:
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1485&m=0
http://www.parrotsociety.org.au/articles/art_015.htm
http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/our-projects/orange-bellied-parrot-mainland-recovery.html

As I never was in Oz I don´t have any other advice.

Silverwolf said:

Tell me, where do these birds go and at what times of year (I know at some point they turn up at Werribee but that's all I know)?

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I think that's part of the problem at present - as I understand it, no-one knows where the bulk of the population is wintering at present. The best bet is to see them on their breeding areas in Tasmania, but that can take a bit o effort and gets quite costly I think (never done it myself)

The situation doesn't appear to be looking good. My best bet where I live is likely to hang around Werribee during the winter and hope they come by.

There are a couple of airlines that fly into Melaleuca where there is a hide to view the birds during the breeding season http://www.tasair.com.au/ and http://paravion.com.au/wilderness.html

The small number of wild birds disperse widely across the coast of SA and Victoria. Werribee is certainly one spot where they turn up, but the behaviour of some d**kheads this year lead to parts of the plant having to be made 'out of bounds' to birding permit holders to prevent three birds that turned up there being harassed.

If you really care about the future of OBPs get involved in the BA winter surveys to help find where the birds are (and are not) and help focus conservation efforts.