Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo numbers down

Lynn Maclaren MLC joined thousands of volunteers in the Great Cocky Count on Sunday 15 April. The Great Cocky Count is a process where volunteers go to registered night-time roosting sites and count all the cockatoos flying into those trees. Ms MacLaren was stationed at the Kensington site which is at the Kent Street High School oval on the corner of Kennard and Rathay Streets. Although some red tailed cockatoos were spotted passing through on their way towards the major Bentley roost off Kent and Hayman Streets, no cockatoos landed on the Kensington site. Tamara Kabat, the Black-Cockatoo Conservation Officer surveyed a site in Jarrahdale that had 60 cockatoos in 2011 and reported that there were none this year.

Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo numbers have decreased by nearly 50% in the last 45 years. There is no accurate estimate of how many remain in the wild. The 2011 Great Cocky Count report showed that the cockatoos decreased in the Perth area by 37% between 2010 and 2011. The overall decrease in numbers of Carnaby's Black-Cockatoos is due to many factors, but the major reason is loss of habitat. Ms Maclaren participated in this important survey to highlight how devastating habitat destruction is for the Carnaby’s.

To get involved in ongoing Great Cocky Counts, please contact:

Tamara Kabat, Black-Cockatoo Conservation Officer

Mobile: 0457 333 177    

Email: greatcockycount@birdlife.org.au

Website: www.birdlife.org.au/projects/carnabys