The Glossy Black Cockatoo is one of Australia's rarest birds and is facing existential threats from bushfires, habitat loss and illegal poaching.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
They are picky eaters who prefer to feed from the seeds of mature casuarina trees and have suffered from clearing of woodland areas and loss of mature eucalypts for nest hollow.
Charles Sturt University professor of ecology David Watson said the loss of casuarina trees during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020 was a blow to a struggling population.
"Those fires burned some of the last remaining strongholds of preferred habitat for this cockatoo.
"Fifty per cent of the known range was decimated, and another 50 per cent was really severely impacted by the fires," he said.
According to the Australian World Wildlife Fund, more than half of the forests and woodlands that existed before European settlement in NSW have been lost.
That equates to the loss of 54 per cent of the state's original forest or an area about the size of New Zealand.
The Riverina in NSW is one area in the birds' range that has suffered a major decline in population due to the removal of habitat.
Birdwatcher John French said before the 2019/2020 drought, Glossy Black Cockatoos were regular visitors to his property in Koorawatha, south of Cowra in NSW.
"The drought caused many mature casuarina tree losses, and we haven't seen Glossies since." he said.
"However, the casuarina is recovering vigorously with lots of cones on the remnant mature trees, and some very young trees are fruiting and coning earlier than usual.
"So we are hopeful that it again won't be long until we observe, or see chewing evidence, of them soon."
Illegal poaching
There has also been evidence to suggest that some Glossy Black Cockatoos from this region have been trapped for the illegal bird trade.
"They are poached and smuggled," Professor Watson said.
"Illegal poachers chop away the hollow and remove the eggs and then smuggle those eggs overseas, especially to to Europe.
"But it's really habitat loss, habitat destruction, and the fires, that's really what's driving population decline."
A recent study found that the domestic illegal pet trade is thriving. Researchers from the University of Adelaide analysed online pet trade data and detected the trade of more than 100,000 individual live animals. That included 81 threatened species.
Using traditional knowledge
The Healthy Country for Glossy Black-cockatoos program is working with Aboriginal custodians of the Shoalhaven region to reconnect with fire impacted landscapes.
Dharawal and Dhurga speaking communities have strong cultural connections to the Glossy Black Cockatoo, which is integral to songlines, stories and traditional ecological knowledge for Aboriginal communities.
NSW Department of planning and environment is collaborating with Aboriginal communities to integrate traditional knowledge into management strategies for the cockatoo.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Conservation under way but citizen scientists have a role to play
Conservation efforts are focused on targeted revegetation of casuarina trees to ensure lasting food supplies for Glossy Black Cockatoos.
In Koorawatha, John French and his partner Fiona have allocated just over 76 per cent of their property to conservation, overseen by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. They have noted 130 species of birds at their property.
While that task is under way Australians are encouraged to snap a photo if they recognised a Glossy Black Cockatoo in the wild.
"One of the fundamental objectives is just to work out, where are they? They're quite sneaky," Professor Watson said.
"So it's about raising public awareness about this critter and what they look like."
The annual Great Glossy Count will be held in September and citizen scientists will be encouraged to help participate in a survey of the endangered bird.
