It is great that someone has now found Night Parrots somewhere in SW Queensland. John obviously did a great job in tracking them down. I do not know John but I have heard he is a very skilled field ornithologist / naturalist.
Is it a surprise that there are Night Parrots in SW Queensland? I would suggest – no – not at all. With the past records of dead birds (particularly the immature in Diamantina National Park in 2006) and the rains that the area has experienced on and off since 2007 – their presence here was almost a certainty as far as I am concerned. It just took someone with the skill, time and money to find them.
But what now? Where from here? To me this find, the photographs, the recordings and the enthusiasm will be almost irrelevant unless something comprehensive and well thought out is now implemented. We now have an opportunity to learn and apply the principles of conservation biology to a species which is endangered, possibly even critically endangered.
If everything is now kept a quiet secret and nothing is done – it is not only a wasted find, it is not doing the right thing from a conservation perspective for the birds themselves – NIGHT PARROTS. They clearly need help (as a species not necessarily these individuals).
Now I do not know what will happen and who will be told. I should add that I agree that the site should be kept secret from the general public and I for one would be happy never knowing where they are. However the finders need to act on this and engage the right conservation bodies and State and Federal departments to:
1). Look at the short, medium and long term protection of the habitat and bio-region, its tenure, security etc..
2). Assess the habitat requirements of the Night Parrots.
3). Look at feral pest levels in the region and the wider area; cats, dogs, foxes etc. and look at control programmes if possible.
4). Look at the habitat and how it has been managed and the treats it faces – grazing, drought, fire etc.
5). Establish through comprehensive survey the population, and monitor the population (using calls!) in this area;
6). Use the calls to survey other similar habitats (as identified from habitat research on where the birds are now) in adjacent and other areas (both by listening and doing play back).
7). If possible, do some applied conservation research on the species once we get a handle on population size.
I could go on – but as an ecologist I feel it is essential that we shouldn’t lose this opportunity. I have heard comments like “John is securing the area and protecting the area”. Well – that is great. However, I feel that something more coordinated and applied needs to happen to try and secure this birds future. If that happens – then John will be a true hero. Time will tell. Rob Morris
Brisbane, Australia
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au
http://birding-aus.org ===============================
