I have fallen in love with the Orange-bellied Parrots.
I went back to the Healesville Sanctuary today , especially to see them. They were hiding way up in the shrubs, very hard to get some photos, although the light was very nice, as the sun just filtered through the branches. I think the bird in the first photo is one of 3 juveniles? Or is it a female? The others show the orange patch very well.
Enjoy
Great photos, the first bird is a Juvenile as it does not have a blue band on its forehead like the male and female have. I would love to see an OBP one time. How many of the parrots do they have there?
And well you might fall in love with this beautiful parrot, Araminta. Especially since there are probably less than 150 left in the wild. As you would know the Orange-bellied Parrot is one of the world's most endangered birds so it & its habitat need every bit of tender loving care we can muster.
I share your passion for this species as back in the day Ms Woko & I were involved in the annual counts in the Coorong in SA. My sightings are part of my very special bird moments.
Juveniles lack the blue frontal band so the first photo is a juvenile.
Wow! And there's me spending Saturday afternoon meticulouslly photographing a Blue Faced Honeyeater and feeling like I have just discovered a once in a lifetime encounter!
Samford Valley Qld.
Very beautiful photos of a special bird - thankyou for sharing these Araminta
I counted 5 birds, but I'm not sure how many they have all together? I will try to find out. They might keep some seperated as part of their breeding program. I don't think the three juveniles were there last week. They are with the Helmeted Honeyeaters in a special , large walk in area.
M-L
Hi all, here is an article from 2013, showing the OBP is probably far fewer in numbers that Woko mentions. I think the 150 wild birds was from servey results @ 2009. The captive breeding program is working well, but it is unclear yet if the 23 birds bred in captivity and released in 2013 will succeed in breeding in the wild.
For those keen enough and have the time, you can volunteer to assist the project, contact details in the second link.
http://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-orange-bellied-parrot-20777
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=6783
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thank you so much Dale for putting up the links.Very interesting and compelling reading.If I was 20 years younger , I'd be one of the volunteers. These days my legs aren't made for hiking in the bush anymore.
I hope this beautuful bird will survive
M-L
Thanks so much for that gloomy piece of information, Dale! However, some Orange-bellied Parrots are better than none. Let's hope the captive breeding programme eventually reaps rewards.
When Ms Woko & I were involved in the Orange-bellied Parrot counts I recall a birder from SE South Australia telling me that many years ago the species was trapped for cage birds from islands in the Coorong. Also, I believe that the local council at Robe years ago approved a rubbish dump right in the middle of prime Orange-bellied Parrot habitat. The dump attracts cats. So we can add human greed, need for control & stupidity to the reasons for the decline in Orange-bellied Parrot numbers.
I believe the OBP is not generally found in aviculture in Australia other than registered captive breeding programmes, however I found this link which says that says 'many were illegally trapped and sent to Europe' which although sad in itself is intriguing as many other Neophema parrots are bred by the thousands there, I wonder if any o/s aviculturalists still have captive populations. Also Swift Parrots are uncommon in Aust. aviaries yet common in Europe (indeed apparently there are more swifties in European aviaries than there are in the wild and in captivity in Aust combined)..
http://nswfmpa.org/Husbandry%20Manuals/Published%20Manuals/Aves/Orange%20Bellied%20Parrot.pdf
What an interesting publication zosterops, very detailed. Thanks so much for posting the link.
M-L
zosterops, perversely, it seems that Europe might be a source of some species to restock Australian wild populations.