LOOKING FOR GANG-GANG COCKATOOS IN LANE COVE VALLEY, SYDNEY – SINCE DECEMBER 2016

Hi Martin (& others who have responded)
it’s not my local patch so although I visit, I am not a daily observer. However, my understanding is that the population in Lane Cove Valley was only ever small (Alan Morris – if you read this you might know more?).
I agree that no reports in 8 months might be a bit early to make the call, but it also seems sensible to put out a request to see if they have been around. The records for the last 4 years or so that the council bloke referred to seemed pretty sparse – of course that that might be a function of not many birders and not many observations. To counter that, I suggested to the council bloke that he put an advert in the local free newspapers for the areas around the valley (with a picture) asking “has anybody has seen this parrot?”
If it is a small population, one belt of something nasty could be the cause – certainly the last bird I saw (as opposed to heard) looked in extremely poor condition – a male with about 1/3 of his head plumage missing.
So I hope you are right that 8 months is a bit soon – but then that is why I put the request out in the first place.
Cheers
Tom

From: Martin Butterfield
Sent: Sunday, August 6, 2017 4:34 PM
To: Tom Wilson
Cc: birding aus
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] LOOKING FOR GANG-GANG COCKATOOS IN LANE COVE VALLEY, SYDNEY – SINCE DECEMBER 2016

Tom

Surely an 8 month period is far too short to start thinking about “extinction” ? That isn’t even a breeding season.

Perhaps they’ve found better feed somewhere else and will be back in a little while?

Martin

Martin Butterfield
franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On 6 August 2017 at 15:24, Tom Wilson < wilsonsinoz@optusnet.com.au> wrote:

Hi All
Through a referral from Kurtis Lindsay as an eBird and Birdline moderator, I was recently approached by a conservation officer from Ku-Ring-Gai Council with disturbing news that the last reported sighting of a Gang-gang Cockatoo in the Lane Cove Valley (northern Sydney) was in December 2016. It has been surmised that they are (sadly) locally extinct in the valley. Unfortunately, I had no more recent records that would prove this to be incorrect (my last record was mid-2016 near Blackbutt Avenue in Pennant Hills).
If you have more recent evidence (ie after December 2016) that would help show that this is not the case, please can you forward as much detail as possible to me. I will collate and forward all information to the council officer. Ideally, please can you provide as much of the following information as you can:
– Date and Time;
– Exact location in the Lane Cove Valley;
– Number and Mix of Birds (ie Male/Female/Young);
– Sighted or Heard Only;
– Activity Observed (including species of tree being used if feeding); and
– Any Other Relevant Comments.
You can forward your information to me at the above email. Let’s hope we can prove that they are still about.
Cheers
Tom Wilson



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