Cocky count attracts record counters

Bird lovers from Geraldton to Esperance brought out their binoculars to take part in an annual survey of an endangered black cockatoo species this month.

Birdlife Australia’s sixth Great Cocky Count aims to estimate the population of Carnaby’s black cockatoo, which was once numerous but is now classed as rare or likely to become extinct and listed federally as endangered.

This year, the survey attracted a record number of more than 500 volunteers — a marked increase on last year’s 335 participants.

The count involves staking out a registered roosting site for 30 minutes either side of sunset, when pairs or flocks of the large black birds with distinctive white tail panels and cheek patches settle in trees for the night.

Albany resident Catlyne Hos has been a Birdlife Australia member for 40 years and took part in the count for the third consecutive year on Sunday, stationed at Lake Seppings.

She was compelled to take part in the survey because it provides rigorous data on Carnaby’s black cockatoo, which is endemic to South West WA and has declined dramatically in recent decades.

“I am old enough to remember living in Perth and seeing huge flocks come past and sit in the trees and eat the nuts,” she said.

“Many people will remember the beautiful sound … In Perth now you only see small flocks, but once it was thousands.”

Ms Hos is concerned about the future of the species, which is only found from the Murchison River in the north to Esperance in the east and extends inland to Cotoow, Kellerberrin and Lake Cronin.

“It feels like so many bird species are disappearing at such a terrible rate and we ought to be taking more notice,” she said.

Great Cocky Count co-ordinator Hugh Finn said Carnaby’s black cockatoos had lost a third of their range in the last 40 years, making it crucial to document where they occured in the wild.

“If we see a decline in the number of birds at a known roosting site that is a worry,” Dr Finn said.

“In the Albany and Great Southern region we are just starting to build a history of roost counts which, continued over time, will allow us to see if the birds in the area are declining, stable or, one hopes, recovering.”

The birds’ population has halved in the last 50 years, mostly due to native vegetation being cleared for development and agriculture, according to Birdlife Australia.

Other factors affecting their survival are competition for available nesting hollows with galahs, corellas and feral bees, vehicle strikes, poaching and climate change.

“In 2010 two flocks in the Hopetoun-Munglinup area died when the temperature soared to 47C,” Dr Finn said.

“Those kinds of events will become more common.”

Carnaby’s black cockatoos live for up to 50 years so bird experts are worried those remaining in the wild are an ageing population and few chicks will be raised to adulthood to boost numbers.

Compounding the problem is that they require two different feeding and nesting habitats.

The cockatoos feed on marri seeds, banksias and hakea, but need mature trees with suitable nesting hollows such as salmon gum and wandoo trees, and if these two diverse environments are not close enough for the male to deliver food to his mate during breeding season, reproduction efforts fail.

Dr Finn said the Great Southern had “tremendous” cockatoo territory, making the region “critically important” to the persistence of the endangered species.

“We hear a lot of bad news, but what we do know is that individuals and groups can make a real difference for this species,” he said.

“Planting food plants, putting up nest hollows, fencing off native woodland where the birds feed and breed — these are actions we can all take … working together we can create landscapes that will sustain Carnaby’s black cockatoos into the future.”