Working to save the South-Eastern Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo

South-Eastern Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos. Copy photoright Bob McPherson.

In an effort to curb the decline of South-eastern Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoos in Victoria, Greening Australia is working to restore critical habitat and food sources for the iconic bird.

The endangered cockatoo relies heavily on the fruit of Desert and Brown Stringybark trees for survival, species which have decreased dramatically in number over recent decades due to wildfire and invasion by weeds.

Through the Australian Government’s 20 Million Trees Programme, we are working to restore 2,000 hectares of habitat and sources of food for the cockatoo and other threatened animals by the end of 2018.

On National Threatened Species Day, over fifty partners and volunteers including 20 Grade six children from Casterton Primary, joined us at Drajurk State Forest to helped plant 1,500 trees to create and relink habitat for Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoos and other wildlife.

Seedlings sprouting on one of the 20 Million Trees sites.

“Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoos are an iconic and much-loved bird of western Victoria’s shrinking stringybark and buloke woodlands. Our work will help to ensure that these special birds survive into the future. It is good to see the local community rallying around this shared cause and getting on board to help make a difference,” says Greening Australia Project Manager, Doug Philips.

To date, 1,500 hectares of habitat has been established in Rennick, Drajurk, and Nangeela State Forests through a mix of hand seeding, aerial direct seeding and tube-stock planting.

The seeding crew preparing to hand seed.

Greening Australia will monitor the success of onground work including conducting ‘shade and shelter’ trials to better understand how wildfire impacts on the success of revegetation work.