Twenty-eight years of monitoring a breeding population of Carnaby's Cockatoo

Abstract

The breeding population of Carnaby's Cockatoo at Coomallo Creek in the northern kwongan (sandheath) of southwestern Australia was monitored from 1969 to 1996. The cockatoos breed in hollows in trees in a belt of woodland through the centre of the study area and feed in adjacent kwongan. During the period, the study area was progressively and rapidly cleared for broad-scale cereal and sheep farming. The area of native vegetation cover was reduced from 90% in 1959 to 25% in 1996. The number of breeding attempts fell over the period of the study from around 80 attempts in the early part of the study to less than 40 by 1996. The initial decline was due to a combination of loss of habitat and increased mortality of the birds due to the use of wing tags to mark them individually. The subsequent decline was most likely due to loss of habitat. The importance of the northern kwongan and associated woodland patches to the conservation of animals like Carnaby's Cockatoo that breed in tree hollows is discussed. Unless areas of woodland on private land and adjacent kwongan are afforded more protection, the future for hollow nesting species that feed on native vegetation like Carnaby's Cockatoo is bleak.

Aging nestling Carnaby’s cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus latirostris, and estimating the timing and length of the breeding season

“…Both areas are described by Saunders (1982) and Saunders and Ingram (1998). Manmanning was visited at weekly intervals during the breeding seasons of [1970][1971][1972][1973][1974][1975][1976], and the length of the nestlings' folded left wings (mm) were measured once during each visit from the time the nestlings were large enough to handle safely (at least 13 days old), until just before they fledged (after 10 weeks from hatching).…”

“…Aging data are also important for planning the timing of visits to breeding areas to maximise the numbers of nestlings banded/ringed for the minimum number of visits (Saunders and Ingram 1998), thus minimising the disturbance to breeding populations. Methods for estimating the ages of nestlings have been developed for some avian species, especially raptors (Steenhof andNewton 2007, Penak et al 2013).…”

Update on Longevity and Movements of Carnaby?s Black Cockatoo

“…They were also marked with a numbered leg band of stainless steel supplied by the Australian Bird Banding Scheme. Observations made of tagged individuals provided much of the data used to explain the breeding biology, behaviour and movements of this species (Saunders 1980(Saunders , 1982(Saunders , 1986Saunders and Ingram 1998). Despite major problems associated with the use of patagial tags (Saunders 1988), much of the ecology of the species could not have been investigated without their use.…”

“…These results were published in Saunders (1980). The population at Coomallo Creek was monitored for 28 years, the last year of data collection being 1996 (Saunders and Ingram 1998). At that time the oldest known individual was a female, tagged as an adult, who was at least 19 years old.…”

PRESENTATION AND PROGNOSTIC INDICATORS FOR FREE-LIVING BLACK COCKATOOS (CALYPTORHYNCHUSSPP.) ADMITTED TO AN AUSTRALIAN ZOO VETERINARY HOSPITAL OVER 10 YEARS

“…The populations of all three endemic species of black cockatoo in the southwest of Western Australia (Carnaby's BlackCockatoo [Calyptorhynchus latirostris], Baudin's Black-Cockatoo [Calyptorhynchus baudinii], and Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo [Calyptorhynchus banksii naso]) are in decline due to many factors including habitat loss, competition with other species, and poaching (Saunders 1990;Mawson and Johnstone 1997;Saunders and Ingram 1998). In 2000, the growing number of traumatic injuries in wild black cockatoos on the Swan Coastal Plain, an area including Perth city and an important region of black cockatoo habitat during the nonbreeding season, prompted a collaboration between the Perth Zoo Veterinary Hospital (PZVH) and the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife to provide treatment and rehabilitation for these birds.…”