Swift parrot report release
We are pleased to release 'Swift Parrots Beating the Odds', reporting our findings from two years of intensive, multidisciplinary research into nesting outcomes for the swift parrot. Our work combined field surveys, passive acoustic monitoring, sugar glider capture, health and diet analysis, and forensic veterinary investigation into swift parrot mortality, supported by two decades of longitudinal monitoring of this critically endangered species in Tasmania.
We found that swift parrots nest successfully across mainland Tasmania where sugar gliders also occur, and that rates of nesting success are substantially higher than previously reported estimates. These findings will guide conservation resources to most effectively change the swift parrot's trajectory.
Ongoing habitat loss remains the decisive threat to the species' future. While there are multiple interacting threats to swift parrot survival, protecting remaining breeding habitat is crucial to the species' recovery. We need your support to ensure this important work continues.
Read full report here
Join us for an interview with Dr Matt Web and Dr Leanne Wicker as they discuss the results of their research, investigating factors affecting swift parrot nesting success, on the Enviro-dynamics podcast.
Continue reading below to discover an overview of our swift parrot research.
Swift Parrot Conservation
Image: Rob Blakers
Swift parrot conservation
Swift parrot (Lathamus discolor)
Image © Eric Woehler
Used with permission
The swift parrot is a fast flying, brilliant bright green parrot with splashes of red on their forehead and throat and blue on their crown. They overwinter on the mainland before migrating to Tasmania to breed over summer. The parrots feed on blue gums and black gums and nest in tree hollows in mature trees that are in close proximity to their feeding grounds.
The species is critically endangered and continues to decline due primarily to a loss of foraging and nesting habitat, with predation for Krefft’s gliders and collision with man-made structures also impacting birds.
The Landscape Recovery Foundation contributes to the conservation of the endangered swift parrot by undertaking ongoing monitoring of the population and nesting success. Our new project “Swift Parrots: Beating the Odds” will investigate the relationships and interactions between the presence of Krefft’s gliders, habitat quality and nest outcomes in Swift Parrots.
The LRF is also continuing our partnership with NRE and statewide land managers to further assess the distribution and population dynamics of the species and support management of the key threats to this iconic species.
Our work includes:
Ongoing annual assessment of breeding season distribution and occupancy
Assessment of nest success using acoustic monitoring
Investigation the relationship between predication, habitat quality and nest outcomes
Information systems to improve access to distribution and occupancy data during the breeding season.
