If you have a Cockatube installed on your property, Landcare SJ is interested in hearing from you!
NRM Project Officer Sarah is in the process of designing a monitoring program for a sample of installed Cockatubes, thanks to funding from the WA Natural Resources Management Office.
The first step is to conduct a review of installed Cockatubes to determine their condition and whether they have been used by black-cockatoos and now is a good time to be checking your Cockatubes for black-cockatoo breeding activity.
If you have a Cockatube and would like to contribute to the review, please fill out the questionnaire, Find it here, and submit it by Monday 11th December 2017.
If for whatever reason you are unable to submit this form you can email sarah@landcaresj.com.au for a hard copy.
To help you, here are some tips when looking for signs of use:
- Look for evidence of fresh chewing on the chew posts. Old chewing marks weather the same colour as the rest of the post, whereas fresher chewing will be a slightly different colour and indicates more recent or current breeding activity.
- Cobwebs and sticks fallen across the opening is a sure sign the Cockatube has not been used recently.
- Observation of bird behaviour around Cockatubes can help confirm breeding (as opposed to a behaviour known as “prospecting”, e.g. house hunting/just looking!). The best time to check is at first light when male and female head out for a drink and a feed (depending on the stage of breeding) or at dusk, when parents return to feed the chick and the female re-enters the nest. But opportunistic observations are fine too!
Additional supporting information to help you fill out the review questionnaire can be found here:
http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/online-exhibitions/cockatoo-care/carnabys-cockatoo
http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/online-exhibitions/cockatoo-care/forest-red-tailed-black-cockatoo
For more information on Landcare SJ’s Cockatoo Project, click here
Please contact Sarah at the Landcare Centre on 9526 0012 or sarah@landcaresj.com.au if you have any questions.