Swift Parrot Conservation

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.