Tasmanian Endemics and the OBP Situation at Melaleuca

Hi All,

First, I would just like to thank again those people that emailed me with information about the Tasmanian endemic sites and also the great volunteers at Melaleuca who kindly showed us around and helped us to get the Orange-bellied Parrots in the nick of time.

My wife and I visited Peter Murrell Reserve and Bruny Island which got us most of the endemics pretty quickly, except for Scrubtit. Bruny Island was great for Forty-spotted Pardalotes, especially staying at Inala, which basically had them almost outside the bedroom window. During our stay we also searched everywhere for Swift Parrots, but couldn’t find many flowering gums anywhere on the island or mainland. We were told by the locals it’s been a very bad year for flowering. We couldn’t get Srubtit at any locations (eg Ferntree) that people suggested near Hobart, but found them fairly common and showing well at the Cradle Mountain campgrounds and also on the walk to Black Bluff at Loongana. Maybe they spend the summer on higher grounds?

As for the OBPs at Melaleuca, our flight package was suppose to be a full day, but had to be cut short to a half day, due to impending thunderstorms at Hobart in the afternoon. There are always 4 variables with this flight, the out and back at Hobart and the in and out at Melaleuca, so be prepared to cut it short or not being able to fly.

Our birding time there had been cut very short, but we were lucky to meet up with some helpful staff. The pilot was also great and said he would come along or at least point us in the right direction. My suggestion is bring a scope as some trees are a fair way from the track or in locations near the private no entry ‘homes’. The old hide (which is a great ‘English’ style wooden hide) is still open but has no feeding station, hopeful it can reused in time. The new hide is a small tent (only about 2 people), it had an old scope, but don’t rely on it to be there as it is used at other locations sometimes. The main trouble is that by the time your flight lands, most of the parrots have finished their morning feeding and are a lot harder to see. Maybe organising an overnight stay if possible, is a better option. The volunteers are busy, so don’t rely on them to show you around.

I think we were very lucky to see the parrots, as many entries in the visitors book at the old hide stated they didn’t see any parrots. I know the parrots come first, but more birders are coming to the area, so maybe for a small fee (~$50) that goes to the conservation of the OBPs, a volunteer could be organised as a guide to always show visiting birders around (also keeping them in check). The money could also go towards setting up a better permanent new hide and arranging the location to be slightly more visiting birder friendly, as some other conservation locations overseas are. I know it’s a sad situation, but for wildlife to exist in the modern world it almost has to pay it’s way. For a vast majority of governments and general public, the attitude is ‘if I can’t make money out of it’ or ‘if I can go and see it, it might as well go into extinction’.

Regards,

Richard King

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